Philosophy is Useless

Professor Peter Strawson once answered my question, How do you respond when someone says philosophy is useless?

This claim that philosophy is useless is commonly held by educated and uneducated alike. Even scientists have bitten off the hand that fed them with this statement.

Professor Strawson answered, All the best things in life are useless: love, music, sex, friendship, happiness, art etc. They are all things we seek to have for their own value. Not because they are useful.

The status of usefulness must be re-evaluated from ultimate greatness to its true subordinate status.

Useful things are by definition not as important as their aim. A thing is useful because it acheives a greater good, the thing desired in the first place. A useful thing is merely a tool for achieving our goal, which itself may be useful or may be useless. If a useful things achieves another useful thing, we will eventually end at the thing wanted and that itself has no use.

The useless thing is that which has no further use; it is wanted for itself.

Useful things are only wanted to achieve what they are being used for. After that aim is achieved, the useful thing can be abandoned.

So usefulness does not deserve the status some give it.

Wittgenstein said, tools are like boats used to cross a river. Why drag the boat with you after you've crossed the river?

Usefulness is secondary to what it aims to be used for. It must be remembered as merely a means to an end. The end is of more value than the means, because we only want the usefulness to achieve the end.

So, if philosohy is useless, it is because it is the end. Like happiness and fine art, philosophy can be appreciated as an end in itself.

So, the statement that philosophy is useless becomes a compliment.

Aside from being an end in itself, a thing worthy of acheiving for its own value, philosophy actually is also uselful.

Philosophy also is used to achieve other ends, such as understanding, clarification, identification of fallacy and meaninglessness, knowledge and wisdom, solutions to problems unsolvable by no other means.

All the best things in life are useless.