Quote:
Originally Posted by yaaarrrgg  The point of philosophy is not to find answers, but to understand critical thinking and debate.
I think this is why people don't see the value in it. The shell of the argument is a structure to be examined in it's own right. It doesn't matter what the conclusion is. We could study the philosophy of cheese, and sharpen debate skills on that. On a formal level, it's all the same. |
I think that's where I see a problem with formal philosophy. I agree that debate and argument are very important, but like I said, these are skills that can be easily learned without being a philosophy major. If it doesn't matter what you're debating, then why do people go on to become "philosophers" and spend their time pontificating on whether or not God exists, when they could be using these debate skills to actually make a difference in the world?