scmbradley

This might seem like a hostile question, so let me preface it by saying I also work in philosophy. I'm always interested in how philosophers justify what they do. If someone is doing research in, say, biology, there's an easy answer to the question "What's the value of what you're doing?": you could say something like "My research might one day be part of curing some deadly disease". For example. Even if someone is doing esoteric research in basic physics, I guess one could say "I'm learning about the basic structure of the world.". I guess I always find these justifications more convincing than the justifications I've heard for research in the humanities.

When someone asks you why your research in philosophy is valuable, what do you say?

This is a question that's close to my heart, since I'd like a better answer to it to use myself!

Let me ask a related question. Do you think philosophy (or parts of philosophy) can actually help solve problems? Or is philosophy "only" valuable in the way that art is valuable?