The Value of Philosophy

Running head: THE VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY
THE VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY
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1THE VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy has been a way of perceiving the reality with the help of logic and reasons. It
helps in analyzing the world in a way in which humans experience the world1. The Nobel prize-
winning philosopher Bertrand Russell is one of the greatest logicians of the 20th century who
have explains the significance of philosophy in his work, ‘The problems of Philosophy’2.
According to Russell, philosophy is chiefly important for the fact it liberate an individual from
his or her own prejudice. The paper aims to develop critical response towards the value of
philosophy in the world. The papers will discuss the concept of philosophy along with its
significance of it considering the points represented by Bertrand Russell.
According to Hartshorne3 Bertrand Russell was a mathematician, philosopher and social
reformer of 20th century. He begins with an examination of the things that are considered as the
‘practical’ man. The definition of practical man is someone who recognizes only material needs
and believes food must be consumed for the body however is unaware that food is necessary for
the mind as well. This is the place where the importance of philosophy can be observed.
Philosophy is the food for the mind even though any Tangible result is not obtained through it.
According to Russell, philosophy is never ending filed of knowledge. When a philosopher finds
something that is known in philosophy, it becomes a filed in itself with endless directions. In
philosophy, the work is never complete however it is always on the verge of exploration by
philosophers. The view of philosophy appears from a wrong conception however while it is
investigated and pondered by the philosophers with reasoning and logical thinking it helps in
achieving an end result that gives justification of a phenomenon. Russell continues further by
stating that man who has no tincture of philosophy belong to a world of prejudices and contribute
1 Russell, Bertrand. The conquest of happiness. Routledge, 2015.
2 Reinhardt, Lloyd. "Bertrand Russell's triumph and failure." Think 15, no. 42 (2016): 79-95.
3 Hartshorne, Charles. Beyond humanism: Essays in the philosophy of nature. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2017.

2THE VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY
to make decisions on the basis of knowledge that is obtained through common sense. The
common sense is achieved from the habitual beliefs of surrounding that speaks of his nation, age
and convictions that have grown up in his mind without the deliberate person’s consent or co-
operation. In addition to that a man like that tends to become obvious, definite and finite which
are the common objects. These do not lead to arousal of any critical thinking, questions and
unfamiliar possibilities which are often rejected without paying much attention.
The philosophical contemplation is important and it is the path to greater possibilities4.
According to Russell, the mind that is accustomed to the independency and freedom of
philosophic contemplation will always preserve something of the same freedom and impartiality
in the world of emotions and actions. Through contemplation, it is not only the objects of human
thoughts that get enlarged but also the objects of human actions and their affections5.
Contemplation of philosophy makes human citizen of the universe and not a citizen of one
walled city at war along with rest of the people. a man’s true freedom and his liberation is
achieved in this citizenship of the universe from the thralldom of narrow hopes and fears.
Russell’s chief innovation with ‘The Problem of philosophy’ was the development of the
concept of sense-data. The data an individual receives through common sense. It has been stated
earlier that any knowledge that is gained through common sense or any forms sensory
knowledge is nothing more than simple opinion. Therefore, in order to move towards the real
knowledge one must use the skill of reasoning and logical thinking. Philosophy helps man to
improve critical thinking skills as stated by the Russell. He has pointed out in his work ‘the value
of philosophy’ in many a place. His work holds a fundamental relevance for the investigation of
4 Kuhn, Thomas. "The Relations between the History and the Philosophy of Science." Philosophy, Science, and
History: A Guide and Reader (2014): 95-105.
5 Swan, Melanie, and Primavera De Filippi. "Toward a Philosophy of Blockchain: A Symposium:
Introduction." Metaphilosophy 48, no. 5 (2017): 603-619.