“Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions, for no definite answers are, for the most part, possible, but for the sake of the questions themselves; because these questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination.”
—
Bertrand Russell
The Problems of Philosophy (1912), Oxford University Press, Ch. 15
Commentary
Russell defends philosophy against pragmatism and instrumentalism. Philosophy doesn't aim at 'useful' answers but at deepening thought and expanding imagination. Questions like 'what is beauty?' or 'does God exist?' may not have definite answers, yet asking them transforms our minds.
This is radically modest: philosophy's value is not in solutions but in the quality of reflection the questions invite. This influenced later philosophy of inquiry and resists the reduction of knowledge to 'what works.' Russell's defense of philosophy's uselessness is, paradoxically, a defense of its supreme value.
Commentary
Russell defends philosophy against pragmatism and instrumentalism. Philosophy doesn't aim at 'useful' answers but at deepening thought and expanding imagination. Questions like 'what is beauty?' or 'does God exist?' may not have definite answers, yet asking them transforms our minds.
This is radically modest: philosophy's value is not in solutions but in the quality of reflection the questions invite. This influenced later philosophy of inquiry and resists the reduction of knowledge to 'what works.' Russell's defense of philosophy's uselessness is, paradoxically, a defense of its supreme value.