Betrand Russell: The Problems of Philosophy
The value of Philosophy is, in fact, to be sought largely in its uncertainty.
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 the convictions which have grown up in his mind without the
co-operation of his deliberate reason. Bertrand Russell, The Problems of
Philosophy.
Philosophy is commonly thought of as an activity reserved for Oxbridge high-
brows; or a sort of intellectual table-tennis indulged in by the Ancient Greeks
to while the time away before television came along. Russell suggests that it
may actually serve a purpose for everyone.
In the first line, Russell is clearly contrasting his own belief in the inherent
uncertainty of philosophy with the attitude of those people who dedicate their
lives to a search for the "right" theory, in an attempt to understand the
"truth" about human nature. He argues that, were a philosopher to write the
perfect, unanswerable theory, the solution to life, the universe and everything,
then philosophy would itself become responsible for inducing the very mental
laziness which it should help us to avoid.
Disagreement and debate between the adherents of rival theories is, moreover,
essential to the health of philosophy. Just as many major advances of science
are catalysed by war, so the great intellectual insights are sparked by
discussion. If there were universal agreement on one philosophical theory, then
all further thought would be rendered useless. (See p.319, Small World by David
Lodge: "?what matters in the field of critical practice is not truth but
difference. If ...