Indeed even some professional philosophers think philosophy is useless! Instrumentally valuable for sure though — has helped me tremendously in a non-academic career.
I think the opposite is true: philosophy is probably just about the most practical field. Without it, there would be no cognitive science or computer science or AI, for starters. It takes a long time for philosophy's practical benefits to come about, but that's all.
Human good is always useful. Philosophy should promote that, or at least promote human understanding. I've used the philosophy I have learned to change how people thinking, how they approach both problems and solutions. I am proud of that.
I agree with Wittgenstein's point that philosophy does not bake any bread, but neither does math. And yet almost every baker and builder is using some tools that have been forged in math. Same is true for math.
However, there is an annoying aspect of philosophy that is much less observed in math. From Plato who advocated for philosopher kings to undergrad philosophy major substackers who claim only academic philosophers can rise above being confused and hazy thinkers, some philosophers have claimed an entitlement to an absolute authority in intellectual dpheres or highly coveted and rare power positions that of course the other ambitious people are not willing to just surrender to them.
There are three kinds of philosophy bc philosophy has three distinctive aims;
a) Truth Wisdom is the most universal answers to the most universal important questions. An answer is a framework of understanding.
b) Practical Wisdom is about custom solutions to individual problems. A solution is an action plan.
c) Academic Philosophy is about social acceptance, proven by credentials, earned through compliance. It is all trees, no forest; increasingly about less and less relevant minutae, and neither meaningful answers or solutions are required.
Stephen Hawking said that physics had nothing to learn from philosophy.
Einstein was wiser: "It finally turns out that one can, after all, not get along without metaphysics."
Indeed even some professional philosophers think philosophy is useless! Instrumentally valuable for sure though — has helped me tremendously in a non-academic career.
I think the opposite is true: philosophy is probably just about the most practical field. Without it, there would be no cognitive science or computer science or AI, for starters. It takes a long time for philosophy's practical benefits to come about, but that's all.
Human good is always useful. Philosophy should promote that, or at least promote human understanding. I've used the philosophy I have learned to change how people thinking, how they approach both problems and solutions. I am proud of that.
I agree with Wittgenstein's point that philosophy does not bake any bread, but neither does math. And yet almost every baker and builder is using some tools that have been forged in math. Same is true for math.
However, there is an annoying aspect of philosophy that is much less observed in math. From Plato who advocated for philosopher kings to undergrad philosophy major substackers who claim only academic philosophers can rise above being confused and hazy thinkers, some philosophers have claimed an entitlement to an absolute authority in intellectual dpheres or highly coveted and rare power positions that of course the other ambitious people are not willing to just surrender to them.
I meant same is true for philosophy at the end of paragraph one. A lot of tools that are necessary for any science are forged in philosophy
I’m no philosopher, but I tend to think of philosophy as humanity’s best attempt at seeking a second opinion from itself.
There are three kinds of philosophy bc philosophy has three distinctive aims;
a) Truth Wisdom is the most universal answers to the most universal important questions. An answer is a framework of understanding.
b) Practical Wisdom is about custom solutions to individual problems. A solution is an action plan.
c) Academic Philosophy is about social acceptance, proven by credentials, earned through compliance. It is all trees, no forest; increasingly about less and less relevant minutae, and neither meaningful answers or solutions are required.