The Value of Philosophy

Bertrand Russell
 The Limitations of Philosophy
A. Criticisms raised against philosophy

1. It produces limited benefits

2. Philosophy bakes no bread

3. As a discipline, it does not produce certain

knowledge
 Three Philosophical Questions
1. Who Am I?
What it means to be a human person?
(Madaling maging tao, mahirap magpakatao.)
2. Where have I come from?
Two levels: question of location & origin
3. What do I ought to do?
Ethical question which can be taken in
particular or general way (e.g. the honest
student; the question of good life)
 Russell’s Response to Criticisms
A. … because it extends strictly to the one who
exercises it and tot hose who deal with
them (advantage: it has the capacity of
effecting improvement on the one who
exercises it)
e.g. Michel Foucault: ‘The reason why I
word (hard) academically is because I am
concerned with my own transformation.’
B. … because philosophy appeals to the more
ephemeral dimension of man by producing
the goods for the soul/mind

e.g. 1. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

2. Victor Frankl’s disticntion between,
means to live and meaning to live for
3. Bill Gates
 “The value of philosophy is to be
sought in its very uncertainty.”
C. … The element of uncertainty is crucial in the
enterprise of philosophy

Aristotle: ‘Philosophy begins in wonder.’

B. Russell: ‘In philosophy, questions are more

important than answers.’

“Philosophy is the mother of all sciences.”

 Uncertainty as a Crucial Element of
Philosophy
A. Process of knowing

1. Knowing is a relation between the “self”

and “not self’

2. Knowledge is widening of one’s horizon

B. Hindrances to the Process of Knowing
1. One’s fear to step outside one’s comfort
zone hinders the acquisition of new ways of
being.
2. Relation with the other can be characterized
by domination.
3. Man has the tendency to define evertything
according to human terms.
 Concluding Remark
KNOWING OR LEARNING IS
NOT DOMINATING THE
OBJECT OF THOUGHT
(It is a process of adjusting ourselves to
accommodate the other.)
 PHILOSOPHY LEADS TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF VALUES
• Philosophy establishes a considerable
distance between a person and his situation
which is conducive for self-examination
– man’s horizon expands and gives clearer
perspective in his situation or life thru
philosophical contemplation (the farther the
better)
– a shift of orientation from the superficial to the
essential (“The bird that flies highest, sees
farthest.”
 PHILOSOPHY LEADS TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF VALUES
• Philosophy establishes a considerable
distance between a person and his situation
which is conducive for self-examination,
allowing him to see his situation in a better
light
• The acknowledgment of the complexity of
the world becomes one’s antidote to the
attractive yet presumptuous and lazy lure of
dogmatism
• The activity of philosophy leads a person to
acquire important virtues in life.
- through philosophical thought, a person
develops the capacity for freedom and
impartiality
- freedom and impartiality, when applied to
thought is called WISDOM
- these two, when applied to action leads to
JUSTICE
- the same, when transposed to our emotion
becomes the UNIVERSAL LOVE
• 3. Russell The Value of Philosophy.mp4
Thank you!