What does philosophy do?

[DanielBenoit]

Philosophy in the end of its long twenty-three hundred year history has become a self-swallowing ouroboros. It has tangled itself up in its own puzzles and deluded itself with its own logic to the point that we are brought back to the very structures and syntax of our words. Philosophy as a rational practical system for life began its death around the advent of postmodernism and the influence of late Wittgenstein, and was abominated by the time deconstruction and Baudrillian simulacrum had come along. In fact, it was Heidigger some ninety years ago who was responsible for systimatically picking apart Western metaphysics until the whole of his influence brought Western philosophy to a self-depricating collapse. Everything since then has been an attempt to how we survive that collapse, post-philosophy.

Philosophy has proved itself to be just as futile and limited as all the other sciences and to be self-swallowing when it turns onto itself. It is no more than a decentralized state of floating abstractions, entertaining those willing to play its games. In fact, at least since Nietzsche, most of what philosophy has done is show how wrong it really is.

[blazeofglory]

You are right considerably. I do not think philosophy has helped me to understand my self and my relation with the universe. Philosophical notions are built around human cognitive abilities. Minds suffer limitations and philosophies are mostly hypothetical ideas. Philosophical reasoning and logics fuel our mental faculties, for minds are restive things and ideas need to be fed to them or else our minds get duller and duller and philosophy's role is confined to that and beyond that philosophy is gibberish

[Lumiere]

Philosophy in the end of its long twenty-three hundred year history has become a self-swallowing ouroboros. It has tangled itself up in its own puzzles and deluded itself with its own logic to the point that we are brought back to the very structures and syntax of our words.

As much as I would like to contradict this, it is true. (A great example of using syntax and wordplay to present lofty ideas would be The Ontological Argument, which is still taken very seriously among most philosophers today). I just finished a college class on the Philosophy of Religion. It was fascinating, stimulating, and just plain fun. But it was fun in the same way that dreaming is fun: pleasant while the deception of it lasts, but at some point you must wake up and become a part of reality again. The discovery that even Philosophy has failed in its purpose is unnerving, to say the least.

[Dinkleberry2010]

I go back to the word philosophy itself. What does it mean? It literally means love of wisdom or loving wisdom. Somewhere in the early twentieth century, philosophy got sidetracked and went in the direction of either semantics or the study of behavior.

[DanielBenoit]

I go back to the word philosophy itself. What does it mean? It literally means love of wisdom or loving wisdom. Somewhere in the early twentieth century, philosophy got sidetracked and went in the direction of either semantics or the study of behavior.

Well no not really. The study of the former brought philosophy to a new light (though a much bleaker one I suppose) in relation of our knowledge to the universe.

[Dinkleberry2010]

yes, really

[MarkC]

According to my study-
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning existence, knowledge, moral judgments, mind and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions (such as mysticism or mythology) by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned argument. The word philosophy is of Ancient Greek origin: φιλοσοφία (philosophía), meaning "love of knowledge", "love of wisdom".

The "real world" is our existence.

So, since the "real world" IS our existence and philosophy by definition is the study of the funamental problems of existence, philosophy applies to the real world because it is the study of the problems and questions of the real world.

[Libro]

No not actually - the philosopher has really NO job except to be gadfly to the societal questions of "what is morality"; "what is the good" and is there an ideal form of a chair. A recent writing assigment put to me by a Dominican teaching philosophy was 'what do religion. philosophy and science have as their common thread"...this is not an easy question to put forth a glib answer - philosophy does not tell anyone anything (that is psychatry - sic) but rather poses the momentous questions of BEING; of INVIDIDUATION; of BELIEF and the structure of the universe in cosmplogical terms. Philosophy is the sience of rational thought - it makes no pretense to being the "be all and end all" since theology takes on that role - the scienc of God and the beleif in divine introspection. If a doctor tells you he knows what you should be doing to lead your life ask him if he smokes or what his values and then maybe you'll see he/she hasn't a clue either. Yes philosophy "looks inward" but more than this it brings the person to a sesne of worth; the value of the ethics that should be are final and lasting clue. If a politician said he knew that waging war on whatever culture that happened to disagree with our particular viewpoint was the "way to truth and the essence of humanity" I doubt that many would adhere to that thought process yet wage these wars we do and seemingly always shall. If anything philosophy asks us to confront these ideations and perhaps challenges us to become more in touch with our own and the humanity of others.