Why Philosophy?

Richard Ostrofsky
(July, 1996)
Interest in philosophy seems to be undergoing something of a revival, I’m
glad to say. A mood of thoughtfulness, even when it leads nowhere in
particular, seems preferable to a general absence and contempt for thought.
Personally, for reasons that I'll present aphoristically below, I think
philosophy is still a vital field, and that reports of its demise have been
greatly exaggerated. There is no way a complex multi-ethnic and otherwise
multi-cultural world can stay civilized without a tradition of lively and
responsible philosophical discourse. For reasons of space, I will not attempt
to defend any of these opinions here; but would welcome the chance to do
so either by e-mail or at the store, face-to-face.
1) Except by usurpation or default, philosophy is not really an academic
subject. Philosophy is simply the world-class bull session. The history
of philosophy, and the criticism of philosophical arguments can be
treated and studied as academic subjects; philosophy itself, like art, is
better served by amateurs who don’t have to worry about being
respectable.
2) The problem with philosophical questions is not that they have no
answers, but that they have too many answers. Everybody has his own.
One major purpose of philosophy is to learn to deal civilly with persons
whose answers are different.
3) When it makes sense to ask whether an answer is right or wrong, the
question at point is not a philosophical question but an empirical one.
The possible answers to genuinely philosophical questions [like Kant’s
famous three: “What can I know?”, “What must I do?”, “What can I
hope for?”] cannot be judged on mere facts, but by appeal to something
different entirely: to our “values,” whatever exactly these are.
4) In general, philosophical ideas represent interpretations of human
experience, articulated more or less comprehensively and
systematically for purposes of discussion. More precisely, they
represent articulated cognitive strategies for making sense of life, and
 the situations it presents. Some of these strategies are serious, in the
sense that someone might possibly wish and be able to live by them;
others are silly, in the sense that no one – not even their author – ever
intended to try.
5) The often-heard claim that “philosophy makes no progress” is false.
Philosophy makes progress not by “solving” its problems, but by
enriching and refining the vocabulary available for their discussion.
Successful philosophy enters the language as common parlance. Words
like “justice”, “God”, “freedom”, “authenticity”, “responsibility”,
“truth”, “culture, “existence”, and many others are all concepts whose
meaning has evolved in philosophical discussion. Philosophy has made
progress over the centuries by adding to our repertoire of cognitive
strategies, and through critique, evaluation and refinement of existing
strategies.
6) Philosophical silliness is unmasked less through argument than through
historical and biographical experience. Bad ideas limit human
possibility unnecessarily. Bad ideas hurt people.