Philosophy: What for?

Abstract

In this paper, I shall present a reasoned answer to the question about the usefulness of philosophy. I start by analyzing the meaning and intentionality of the question "philosophy: what for?" Next, I study the different meanings of the word "philosophy" in the context of that question (section two). In the third section, I present some examples of certain answers given to the question "philosophy: what for?" as they can be studied from a historical and anthropological perspective. Next, I take into account certain outstanding philosophical systems to see how they have answered the question about the usefulness of philosophy (section four). Finally, I argue a reasoned answer to the question from the perspective of a Stoic, materialistic philosophy of the present (section five).