Why Is Philosophy Valuable Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why Is Philosophy Valuable - Essay ExampleIt characteristically aspires to something preferably a bit more ambitious than the rhetorical and political, and presumes to be based on something considerably more substantial than holy assertion. Philosophical investigation is control by a passion for things like insight, understanding, and truth. Philosophy is thus founded in the human need to make sense of the world and our place in it. What distinguishes it from clean personal opinion and credulity is its rejection of passionate convictions as sufficient grounds for belief and action, and its commitment to c areful analysis and systematic reasoning (Granitto n.d.). Philosophy is the try which allows a person to be able to think rationally and irrationally. Philosophers are inveterate askers of questions, race who find intractable problems and issues in what to former(a)s seems obvious and utterly uncontroversial. It is non for no reason that the philosopher has been considered (t o put it politely) a gadfly. So to approach the study of philosophy with the expectation of finding a coolly dispassionate endeavor governed by strict laws of logic and marked by widespread agreement on fundamental issues is to seriously misunderstand its nature and underestimate its difficulty. Philosophy is no mere marshaling of views, no purveyor of irrefutable, absolute truths. It is, rather, a messy and disquieting process in which cherished beliefs and comfortable assumptions are subjected to critical scrutiny. Both philosophy and criticism try to educate sensibilities and enhance critical awareness, endeavors that, it should be noted, ultimately reduce esteem for the pedestrian and the commonplace. Criticism usually draws liberally on philosophical convictions, while philosophy can and frequently does seek to examine specific practices. Any academic discipline that teaches how to think rationally is valuable and worth studying. Yet it is hardly achievable to engage in criti cism without employing, beliefs as to what constitutes good or proper thinking beliefs whose formulation and examination are explicitly philosophical undertakings. Philosophys historical perspectives are no more lodged in some remote and distant past than acclaimed practices critics continue to enjoy centuries after they were created. Philosophys voices continue to speak to us, and they have a outstanding deal to say if only we try to understand their assumptions (Minton and Shipka 1990). Philosophy is valuable as the decisions and actions that shape philosophical practices are undertaken without such scrutiny. Such practices are likely to be haphazard and considerably less effective than we might hope. Even more to the point, they may inadvertently serve ends quite different from those we envisage. Ones choice, in other words, is not so much between doing and reflecting as it is between practice that unthinkingly replicates an unexamined status quo and practice guided by critical awareness of cautiously considered ends. Anyone interested in thinking who commits to systematic reflection on that interest engages in activity that is to some degree philosophical. Accordingly, the question is not whether to engage in it, but how to do it well. And we would do well to remember that there is more than one way to do it well. It is sometimes claimed that among philosophys benefits is its capacity to inspire, to instill in people a