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The Value of Philosophy (According to Bertrand Russell)
From https://kyleaknott.com/2018/07/05/philosophy-the-value-of-philosophy-according-to-bertrand-russell/
The Value of Philosophy (According to Bertrand Russell)
Kyle A. Knott
The Nobel Prize-winning philosopher Bertrand Russell is considered by many as one of the greatest logicians of the 20th century. In the closing chapter of his work The Problems of Philosophy he explains why you should value philosophy - chiefly because it will liberate you from your own prejudice.
...
Philosophy relieves prejudice
He continues, stating that the man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense- “from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co−operation or consent of his deliberate reason.” Adding that, “to such a man the world tends to become definite, finite, obvious; common objects rouse no questions, and unfamiliar possibilities are contemptuously rejected.”
However, once a man begins to understand and appreciate the value of philosophy “even the most everyday things lead to problems to which only very incomplete answers can be given.” Russell writes:
...
Kyle A. Knott
The Nobel Prize-winning philosopher Bertrand Russell is considered by many as one of the greatest logicians of the 20th century. In the closing chapter of his work The Problems of Philosophy he explains why you should value philosophy - chiefly because it will liberate you from your own prejudice.
...
Philosophy relieves prejudice
He continues, stating that the man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense- “from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co−operation or consent of his deliberate reason.” Adding that, “to such a man the world tends to become definite, finite, obvious; common objects rouse no questions, and unfamiliar possibilities are contemptuously rejected.”
However, once a man begins to understand and appreciate the value of philosophy “even the most everyday things lead to problems to which only very incomplete answers can be given.” Russell writes:
“Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom. Thus, while diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it greatly increases our knowledge as to what they may be; it removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism of those who have never travelled into the region of liberating doubt, and it keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing familiar things in an unfamiliar aspect.”
...
More at link.
The Problems of Philosophy can be downloaded from Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5827
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