The Importance of Philosophy ‘Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers
to its questions, since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known
to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves.’
(Bertrand Russell, Problem of Philosophy, pp. 93-94).
Discuss the usefulness (or the lack of it) of studying philosophy with
reference to the statement above. Draw appropriate examples from your
engagement with the subject so far as well as from your own personal
experience.
I agree with the above statement to a moderate extent, as I believe
that while there are some definite answers to some of the questions
Philosophy poses, it is true that Philosophy is to be studied for the
sake of the questions themselves. I also feel that studying Philosophy
can be useful to a large extent in many areas of life, as it is not
limited by factors pertaining to a single subject, apart from the
question of knowledge.
The mention of the word ‘Philosophy’ is more than likely to evoke
images of old men with long beards and white hair, as well as abstract
and incomprehensible truths and axioms. In fact, the phrase "a
philosophical attitude" is often used to refer to a stoical and
passive approach to life and taking things without caring too much
about their consequence and implications. From my personal experiences
with the study of Philosophy this year, I can attest to the fact that
this is most certainly not the case.
Philosophy is alive, practical, and applicable to everyone in all
walks of life, in eve...
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...s how to think, reason
and live our lives. The bottom line here is that Philosophy is useful
because of its practical aspects. There may certainly be other
possible ways Philosophy can be studied, such as solely for the sake
of questioning, as Russell suggests. However, these methods pale in
comparison to the practicality and versatility of studying Philosophy
in order to learn new thinking skills.
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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy
[2] Bertrand Russell, “The Philosophy of Logical Atomism," in his
Logical Atomism, 141.
[3] Adapted from
http://www.philosophy.uncc.edu/mleldrid/intro/odop.html
[4] Adapted from
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/EPS/PES-Yearbook/95_docs/hager.html
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mathematics