What can philosophy accomplish?

markgernot wrote:

I know what philosophy is but if every philosopher on this planet dropped dead it would have no effect on science. Scientists can do their own conceptual analysis. Conceptual analysis within science belongs to the history of science. Numerous scientists with no philosophical training have done this.

Before you say that kind of thing again and embarrass yourself, you might want to inform yourself a little. A good place to begin would be here:

http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/2683/

markgernot wrote:

Yes I agree I obviously was not too focused on this statement. Im concerned with what philosophy can accomplish. Your right of course.
There are historical questions as well and questions on how to hit a tennis ball. Im really more interested in what philosophy can accomplish, thats all. Thats what I was focusing on. My point being that philosophers sometimes are trying to accomplish things they cant. So what can they accomplish?

They can try, and sometimes answer, philosophical questions like: is there free will even if determinism is true? How are determinism and fatalism different, and is either true? When I know something, must I also be certain that what I know is true? Can there be morality even without a God? And, so on.

Philosophy is critical thinking applied to very abstract problems we call philosophical questions. So philosophy is an activity called, philosophizing. And, just a critical thinking can often answer non-philosophical problems; what ought to be done about North Korea's hostility (a question for the United States government) so critical thinking can be applied to philosophical problems as well. At any rate, unless critical thinking works it is highly unlikely any other method (like crystal ball gazing) will work.

When I know something, must I also be certain that what I know is true?

Quote:

When I know something, must I also be certain that what I know is true?

Yeah, and being a good guesser helps too. OK that's that one sorted.
- Persiflage

we do not have to be certain in order to know

Quote:

we do not have to be certain in order to know

i know but are you certain

They can try, and sometimes answer, philosophical questions like: is there free will even if determinism is true? How are determinism and fatalism different, and is either true? When I know something, must I also be certain that what I know is true? Can there be morality even without a God? And, so on.

What, in your opinion, are the major unanswered philosophical questions? Are there any important philosophical issues that you find difficult either to (a) understand or (b) make up your mind about?

I am interested in what I am interested in, and if I read something that perks my interest, I may think about it, and if I have anything intelligent to say about it, I may say something about it.

Greek words philos and Sophia mean respectively ‘love of ‘and ‘Wisdom’ and thus the term philosophy primarily means ‘love of wisdom’”

Speculative philosophy” for Whitehead is a phrase he uses interchangeably with “metaphysics.” However, what Whitehead means is a speculative program in the most scientifically honorific sense of the term. Rejecting any form of dogmatism, Whitehead states that his purpose is to, “frame a coherent, logical, necessary system of general ideas in terms of which every element of our experience can be interpreted”

Whitehead’s words are: “The explanatory purpose of philosophy is often misunderstood. It is a complete mistake to ask how concrete particular fact can be built up out of universals. The answer is: in no way. Philosophy must explain abstraction, not concreteness”. He speaks of “an instinctive grasp of ultimate truth”: “The sole appeal is to intuition”.

Thus, to sum up our discussion of the value of philosophy; Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves; because these questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation; but above all because, through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the mind also is rendered great, and becomes capable of that union with the universe which constitutes its highest good. from Bertrand Russell's The Problems of Philosophy

One way to determien the purpose(s)of philosophy would be tracing back to its origin.

Well, dear Kennethamy, first, I emphasized in the first place that "tracing back to its origin"is only "one way" to determine the purpose-namely, there could be other methods; second, I did not claim that "tracing-to-origin" strategy is a panacea in determining purpose(s) of every subject. This strategy may not even be applicable to the examination of the purpose(s) of philosophy. But when you get back to its origin, it surely gives you some insight as to, at least, why philosophy appeard-that is to say, philosophy came into being out of certain purposes initially; and the purpose of it was adjusting what was falsified or misled.
According to Aristotle, everything's existence can be accounted for by a purpose. Althought this theory seems a little bit out-dated, it nevertheless shed some light upon the topic being discussed here.
Be that as it may, a subject may well have different purposes during different eras/periods. But, for me, philosophy serves as a tool whereby we seek truth.

Waitting for your response.