Is philosophy useless?

The answer might surprise you.

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THE USUAL...

[MajestyofReason]

I just asked ChatGPT, "What is the value of philosophy?", and here's its response:

1. *_Intellectual Exploration_* — Philosophy encourages individuals to engage in critical thinking, question assumptions, and explore fundamental concepts. It promotes curiosity and a deeper understanding of complex issues.

2. *_Ethical Guidance_* — Philosophy often addresses questions related to ethics and morality. It helps individuals reflect on their values, make ethical decisions, and understand the principles that underlie ethical systems.

3. *_Problem-Solving_* — Philosophical thinking can be applied to problem-solving in various domains, from ethics to science to everyday life. It provides tools for analyzing and evaluating arguments and ideas.

4. *_Self-Reflection_* — Philosophy encourages self-reflection and self-awareness. It can lead to personal growth, a better understanding of one's beliefs and values, and the ability to articulate and defend one's views.

5. *_Cultural and Historical Understanding_* — Philosophy has played a significant role in shaping the intellectual history of humanity. Studying philosophy can help individuals understand the cultural, historical, and intellectual context of different eras and societies.

6. *_Interdisciplinary Insights_* — Philosophy often intersects with other disciplines, such as science, psychology, politics, and religion. It can provide a bridge between these areas, fostering interdisciplinary insights and dialogue.

7. *_Aesthetic Appreciation_* — Philosophical inquiry extends to questions about art, beauty, and aesthetics. It contributes to the appreciation and understanding of art and culture.

8. *_Social and Political Change_* — Philosophical ideas have influenced social and political movements throughout history. Thinkers like John Locke, Karl Marx, and John Rawls have had a profound impact on the development of political ideologies and systems.

9. *_Challenging Assumptions_* — Philosophy challenges entrenched beliefs and assumptions, helping society evolve and adapt to changing circumstances. It can lead to the reconsideration of long-held views and the development of more inclusive and just societies.

10. *_Satisfaction of Intellectual Curiosity_* — For many individuals, the pursuit of philosophy is driven by a natural curiosity about the nature of reality, knowledge, and existence. The intrinsic value of intellectual exploration is a significant motivation.

[Saol.Alainn]

The shorter format is wonderful, especially as fast-paced as this was.
...I can't honestly say I dont have time for the hour-plus videos, but they're definitely more intimidating 😅
I'm always shocked to see your sub count, but I'm guessing that will change rather quickly if you make more like this. Thanks again!

[bds]

I wish for the love of God that Hollywood would get some philosophically informed writers 😁 The writer of True Detective is a rare example and its first season is one of the most highly praised seasons of any show. Good writing makes $$ and philosophy absolutely improves your creative writing.

[thatgirlray]

I want to thank you for both this video and yourself.
I was always intimidated and afraid of studying philosophy in the past, mainly because 1. I thought it was useless (no longer after this video) and 2. People who had tried to teach me in the past were always trying to teach me why their views were right, rather than the process of coming to truth so I analyze it for myself. You’re the first person I’ve come across with your approach, where philosophy isn’t about scoring points, it’s about learning the truth, and that we’re all on the same team.
Learning this new perspective, (plus the points in this video proving to me it’s worthwhile) you’ve lit the spark in me and I now look at the topic with excitement to learn more. What used to overwhelm and scare me now motivates me, and I’m actually finding joy in learning as I get deeper. Thank you for all you do and have done, never give up your honest pursuit of truth and keep at it!

[DigitalGnosis]

Depends what you care about. To me it (mostly) is and thats only been vindicated more and more the further I’ve got from philosophy which is a quite closed bubble.

[manavkhatarkar]

Thank u Joe for these videos. I've been learning a lot from em and all for free... ❤

[blorkpovud]

We're philosophical beings. There's no escape really. Even those who reject philosophy in the attempt to try to become Vulcan-like robots that adopt an implicit scientism are philosophers.
Just embrace it!

[rumraket]

To my mind philosophy is basically critical thinking about any subject. It's not only not useless, it's absolutely necessary in any intellectual endeavor, from science, arts, games, to politics, economics, and everything in between.

[jursamaj]

It largely depends on just what the speaker means by 'philosophy'. I suspect a great many who say "philosophy is useless" are referring to the professional philosophers at universities. Memorizing the works of famous dead philosophers is not very useful. Publishing books on philosophy that are literal word salad, is not useful. As prime evidence of how useless philosophy can be, I present the famous and respected Alvin Plantinga.

[predatorcrush]

Thank you for this video, Joe. Completely agree! That philosophy is 'useless' seems presumptious about the nature of philosophical discourse and should be critically examined, using...

[pnkekff]

A fair bit of this seems to just be interpreting "philosophy is useless" in the least charitable light. When most people say that, they are envisioning a certain kind of thing that only people who have been socialized into philosophy tend to engage in. Something like "imagine a lamp that can perform a super task" comes to mind as the sort of philosophy that many people are talking about when they make that statement. It's kind of like someone saying "alchemy is useless" and then pointing out all the chemistry that largely fell out of alchemy. Like sure, technically. But you don't get to smuggle in all the worthless parts of alchemy under that sort of defense.

[CjqNslXUcM]

before philosophy, all my arguments were just regurgitated talking points that i thought made my side look good and the other look bad. vibes-based argumentation. I didn't consider how exactly they relate to my premise at all. man I was dumb.

[blamtasticful]

I think the better question is if the field of professional academic philosophy is useless. Unfortunately it seems that an idealistic notion of what philosophy is often not the the same as professional academic philosophy.

[existential_o]

Our culture should really normalize philosophical discussions into “everyday interactions.” If done, the usual period of awkward silence after default dialogue options are used up would no longer exist. Just imagine a world where asking, “How’s the weather?” Is equivalent to, “What do you believe is the foundation to consciousness?”

[jimmyfaulkner]

What are your thoughts on Kane B recent video titled “Anti-Philosophy: A Pessimistic Induction?” It seems rather coincidental that video comes out when this video of yours is uploaded

[Nick-Nasti]

I often jokingly say: philosophy is great for asking questions, but answers nothing.

Apologists frequently try to make some complex philosophical theory to show evidence for god. It’s blatantly hollow and weak.

Yes, philosophy can be useful but has its limits.

[kito-]

A great example of the utility of philosophy is traffic light checking systems. They use linear temporal logic, which is a type of modal logic, which was obviously invented by philosophers

[radscorpion]

To be frank I think I honestly find philosophy's greatest value to be subverting the harmful or ridiculous philosophical positions of others, such as ontological or fine tuning arguments for God's existence. And then secondly it has some useful but mainly practical applications in teaching us how to think logically and rationally about the world; what follows from a conclusion and what doesn't, burdens of proof and this sort of thing that clarifies how to make a compelling argument. And then lastly there are lots of directly useful topics in modern ethical philosophy, such as whether we should pursue AI and issues related to sentience, the animal rights and welfare movements, and climate change culpabilities for the richest nations.

But I do agree that largely, otherwise, philosophy seems to be something of a fruitless exercise in that the only real way for anyone to make progress is to do real scientific work. The ideas of postmodern philosophers, like Deleuze or Lacan or Baudrillard...the fact that they wrote it in a way that is nearly impenetrable and almost deliberately obscurantist makes me skeptical that they have any real value. It largely seems like a sham. And beyond this I am sure you will never touch critical race theory with a ten foot pole in any future youtube video :P. But I read parts of it when I could still read the textbook online for free that they use in university and found it deeply ahistorical and scarily wrong in many ways

[mistyhaney]

The interaction problem is one of those subjects where I question my interests in philosophy. I don't disagree that people can make theoretical arguments, but they aren't really engaging with what is known regarding the brain.

[howwitty]

Philosophy or girlfriend, your choice