What is the philosophy of philosophy?

[Jeannette]

What good is philosophy? Why do people study philosophy? What is the purpose of practicing philosophy? Does it do any good to philosophize?

According to Socrates, the purpose of practicing philosophy is to prepare for death, do you agree or disagree?  what are your viewpoints on this?

[Pica Pica]

Having spent three years and several thousand pounds on a philosophy degree I can hereby reveal the secret of philosophy. Philosophy exists in order to keep philosophers in business. It is a self perpetuating game of words which the players can carve careers and reputations for themselves, and provide springboards for other players to dispute back and therefore further their own careers. Philosophy further helps the careers of philosophers by putting its often simple ideas in strange and complicated ways, this also helps to disguise its ultimate vacuity. If philosophy ever rears towards something important, or even coherent it is deemed hopelessly old fashioned, or not proper philosophy in the first place.

[Jeannette]

Having spent three years and several thousand pounds on a philosophy degree I can hereby reveal the secret of philosophy. Philosophy exists in order to keep philosophers in business. It is a self perpetuating game of words which the players can carve careers and reputations for themselves, and provide springboards for other players to dispute back and therefore further their own careers. Philosophy further helps the careers of philosophers by putting its often simple ideas in strange and complicated ways, this also helps to disguise its ultimate vacuity. If philosophy ever rears towards something important, or even coherent it is deemed hopelessly old fashioned, or not proper philosophy in the first place.

lol I like your logic.

[Cindi Jones]

I think that philosophy is good to get a person thinking for him/herself instead of following the masses like a blind sheep.  We have brains.  It's nice to give them a bit of exercise from time to time.

Cindi

[katia]

philosophy teaches the rigors of thinking; studying philosophy broadens one's horizons, philosophers are characterized by organized thinking.  hence, i use philosophy as a tool to convey my ideas intelligently. i have discovered something disturbing though:  very few people understand the discipline of philosophy, but ask them who won american idol, that is another matter.

[The Middle Way]

What good is philosophy? Why do people study philosophy? What is the purpose of practicing philosophy? Does it do any good to philosophize?

By "good" are you actually asking: how much Use Value does it have? Define "do any good".
(& the purpose of <practicing> anything is to get better at it)

Having spent three years and several thousand pounds on a philosophy degree I can hereby reveal the secret of philosophy. Philosophy exists in order to keep philosophers in business. It is a self perpetuating game of words which the players can carve careers and reputations for themselves, and provide springboards for other players to dispute back and therefore further their own careers. Philosophy further helps the careers of philosophers by putting its often simple ideas in strange and complicated ways, this also helps to disguise its ultimate vacuity. If philosophy ever rears towards something important, or even coherent it is deemed hopelessly old fashioned, or not proper philosophy in the first place.

Wow. Sounds like you went into an ivory tower with some kind of ideals; romantic ones, even, and whoops/there it is! Now you're a cynic.

And the several thousand pounds (sounds cheap to me actually) shoulda been Other People's Money.

Philosophy (the discipline, not the hustle) is thinking about thinking. I think it is a crucial discipline.
And I won't throw any babies out with even the fouler bathwater.

Hey, I went to a Conservatory O Music. A lot of the product you see from that sector is, at the end of the day, about as useful to me as Pro Football. Doesn't mean music is necessarily a waste of time... though might tend to of little use, unless you're In It For The Money.

tmw

PS, Pica (pique-a?): I'd be interested in examples of coherent versus not. And/or important versus not.

[Pica Pica]

I prefer the term, 'disappointed optimist'.

The way i saw it, it was all hustle. The thinking about thinking type of philosophy is the not real philosophy. Real philosophy is the guy who writes a book with no real point in mind but keeps using words until he gets anywhere (and then doesn't use any of the words for there intended purpose - there was this one man whose argument consisted on re-defining words and then re-defining that word until he ended up back at the word he started with)...It is all rubbish and not worth the air that i breathed attending the lectures.

The only reason i graduated was because i stopped turning up and made my own rubbish up as i went along, i salvaged a 2:2 from a fail.

[The Middle Way]

I prefer the term, 'disappointed optimist'.

The way i saw it, it was all hustle.

The only reason i graduated was because i stopped turning up and made my own rubbish up as i went along, i salvaged a 2:2 from a fail.

Well that rather qualifies as 'bitterly disappointed optimist'. Music bidness, Art world, writing, U-Name-It, the whole damn ballgame is all hustle. You get a guy like Theodor Adorno, who was some kind of genius, going on and on and on - you ever try and read On New Music? Dude should just stuck with the 12-tone rows or whatever, Shut Up and Play Yer Whatchamacallit.


tmw

[Pica Pica]

Yeah, I suppose it's the hustle you like that wins.

I hope to become a pessimist one day, because then i can become a surprised pessimist, and then from a surprised pessimist to an optimist again.

[Yvonne]

The philosophy of philosophy is to be able to philosophize philosophically, philosophically speaking, that is.. >

[The Middle Way]

The philosophy of philosophy is to be able to philosophize philosophically, philosophically speaking, that is.. >

Here, hear. snicker.

tmw

[tinkerbell]

Philosophy is the search for answers to questions which have no factual answers, but to which some answer must be assumed in order to simply get through the day (i.e, Truth, love, religion, logic, ethics, beauty).....in other words, philosphy is the attempt to find out "what the hell it all means. LOL 

tink

[Butterfly]

~laugh~ Philosophy's philosophy is nothing less than a systematic world view.

[Doc]

The capital T truth. That logic and maths work reveals something about the structure of reality.

I too have a degree in Philosophy. I found it useful and entertaining and not the scam that Pica Pica describes. I got excellent grades in it, too.

[Dennis]

That makes three of us. I have a degree in philosophy too. After four years of it I got a bit tired of doing the intellectual equivalent of chasing my tail.

Dennis