what is the point of philosophy?

Question

as far as i know no philosopher has ever answered a question without asking many more

wouldnt the world be less confusing with out philosophy

Answer 1

philosophy is a very very important contributor to society. who knows how many eager young minds waiting and willing to learn the secrets of life have taken a philosophy course (or even majored in it) only to answer a question with a question. you hit the nail on the head!

philosophy is intended to expand the mind, create intrigue and look at reality from a different perspective. philosophers consider themselves on the cutting edge of intelligence and are at he forefront of humanity and ethics.

now for the reality of the philosophy:

i know quite a few dimwits who majored in philosophy (even one with a phd) and have contributed ZERO to society. they claim to be so enlightened with humanity that they can not hold down any form of real work to provide the basic needs of life in the united states (even as most know, working for minimum wage and sharing an apartment is more than doable here).

the claim superior insight yet can not substantiate the claim with any evidence or proof that they are. they claim a lot of things but have nothing to show for it!

the 'philosophers' that i know are all on welfare, eating garbage and begging for money. they smell of urine, feces and bad breath.

it's interesting though because when you strike up a conversaation with them, they are actually pretty articulate...just not very realistic.

philosopher's should, in my opinion, get a job taking repetitive orders, flipping burgers and serving fries...so that they can focus their mental energies in ponerance of humanity.

philosophers will ALWAYS say that they are intelligent but i have yet to meet one that has said anything remotely intelligent that can be applied to real life...and in my profession, i deal with a lot of people in the public everyday (note i said 'profession' and not 'job'...there is a big difference, if you dont know it...more than likely, you have a job).

on a somewhat positive note...i NEED philosophers and need them desparately! i need them o mow my lawn, serve me my burger and clean my toilet. also, who is going to be delivering my $350 bottles of wine, washing my car or grooming my dog. it isnt going to be my physician!

see why philosophers are needed in society? they play a vital part in the employment field where you need someone who speaks english but does the same disguting filthy job an illegal immigrant would barely want to do.

addendum:

believe me...i am far from ever being hurt (ego, intellectually, financially) by any philosopher. the real reason i think so incredibly low of philosophers? it isnt just the fact that every 'philosopher' that i know is some unemployed bum living off the social system and being a parasite to society...it is that one of my very close friends thought it would be a good idea to take philosophy. now, all i hear is this question after question banter. when a concrete (of course, it isnt concrete to a philosopher) answer is given...further questioning is raised upon it. he is unemployed, in HUGE debt, cant hold a decent job down, has horrific social problems and has had nothing but a downward spiral. did philosophy contribute to this? in my opinion and observation...YES. would he have been the same without it? possible but he is really off in a bad shape.

philosophy is right up their with someone i know who has a phd in naturopathy from an uncredited school. it was a six week mail order degree program. this person can now have the title dr in front of their name. does it make him/her a real doctor? you be the judge. he/she already has killed one person, is in court on negligence causing death charges.

philosophy is a useless form of 'higher' thinking and is even more usless degree. the people i know who majored in philosophy would have been better off shooting heroin. their life is so in the dumpster.

but hey, mr high and mighty omnipotent philosopher...what do i know about the real world? apparently nothing at all! i just live in it...not just think about it.

Answer 2

To teach you how to think! Not necessarily WHAT to think.

I was surprised when more than one philosophy Professor told me this. I began by thinking that the whole idea was to (eventually, at least) find the best theory of human conduct (I have more of an ethical focus). At the same time, the teacher is not supposed to bias the student with claims that "Hey, this guy here, had the right idea." We/you were/are supposed to think this out for our/yourselves - in a reasonable, rational way.

Would the world be less confusing?

No the world would not be less confusing. On the contrary, I believe that successful philosophy has made the world a less confusing place. There is more reason in most peoples' lives as a result. Not necessarily because they themselves directly understand the ideas put forth by all those great philosophers.

Example - You can be confused about how a car works, but still gain a large balance of benefit by being able to drive one (despite that confusion).

Answer 3

It's difficult to comprehend how you could be asking about "philosophy," or some of the answers who haven't a clue WHAT it is. I suspect some of the people here would subscribe to the old, "Dogs have four legs, therefore all animals with four legs are dogs" & never get past it. Philosophy is primarily the search for LOGICAL reasoning. Study the METHODOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHY. There is "low level" philosophical debate, in which people opine, mix apples & oranges, are subjective, biased & so on. A true philosopher would NEVER question about "how tall is god," it has nothing to do with the "secrets of life," nor would a philosopher claim to be "intelligent" since intelligence cannot be defined as an ABSOLUTE. It would "appear" but I won't speculate, that someone here has had a "personal" experience with a philosopher that wounded their self esteem, since such outrageous things are otherwise unlikely to be said. The world is "confused" because (from my observations) the majority of people don't know what LOGIC is, & go on foolish, meaningless little diatribes. Philosophers don't ask question after question, they suggest things that would (hopefully) spark a logical little gray cell (if the person has any).I've clicked on over a dozen questions in this section, & not one of them even had an acceptable premise.

Answer 4

Actually philosphy is more than that. Philosophy trains people to think better (critically), it gives you a practice so you can better arguments you already have and that could be useful for other classes, like English where you write essays to state your argument. It may seem that they ask a bunch of questions, well thats the point, they really aren't looking for answer just provide others with insights and they can either choose to agree or not. Philosophers do not ask: "why use Philosophy?" they ask "what can Philosophy do for me?" It is basically something that enriches your life.

Answer 5

Philosophy is a labor of love.

I often find a particular philosophical conversation abstractly rewarding, thus enticing.

The logical reason that I advocate philosophy is that it’s the most conducive forum for exchange views about life, (IE. it tolerates merging the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional aspects).

Answer 6

Philosophy is fallen humanities attempt at grasping at the Truth. It finds its origin based on the 5 senses and as such is subject to major distortion, deception and partial half-truths.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8 - Biblegateway.com

Answer 7

I think that the basic point of philosophy is to get bright eyed wannabe college students to fork over more of their cash to hard-nosed corporate colleges.

Of course, I also think that philosophers spend too much time wondering about pointless questions, and mind-numbingly illogical theories. How tall is God? Oohh! Good philosophical question! Let's see, if we can use the hubble space telescope, and point it at heaven, then we can use the small angle formula to approximate his height when he comes into view....

It does teach you critical thinking. I set foot in one of their classes, and critically thought: Do I need this for my degree? No, Well, then I'm dropping this class today.

Answer 8

Question the absolutes in others and find a way to beat what they do and say and find out why? everyone is right and it really is like t.v. and know one cares about anyone but themselves.

Answer 9

It would be far less confusing. You are the weakest link, goodbye.

Answer 10

Wow, I had never thought of it that way but now that you mention it, thanks for the heads-up !!

P.S..... better change yer name now