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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Scepticism About Philosophy What Type of Defence Do We Want? =================================== Suppose that accepting a philosophical theory cures tooth decay. This would make the theory a good thing , but not a good theory . Similarly, a good hammer is good at driving nails. If it is bad at driving nails but using it cures tooth decay, this makes the hammer a good thing, but not a good hammer. So, what is the nail to which philosophy is the hammer?

We have sets of questions we want theories to answer. We want philosophy to get us the truth. We want it to answer our questions or to show us that the questions were mistakes (because they represent pseudoproblems). There are a number of types of defences of philosophy: 1- Epistemic : Philosophy is good because it gets us to the truth, or something reasonably truth-like (such as understanding). 2- Intrinsic : Philosophy is good as an end in itself.

3- Instrumental : Philosophy is good for getting some values other than truth. 4- Aretaic : Philosophy is good for fostering wisdom, good character, or various intellectual virtues. Aretaic defences could be considered a subset of instrumental defences. When academic philosophers defend philosophy, e.g., by explaining its value on the ‘Why Study Philosophy?’ webpages many departments post for prospective majors, they often list defences of types 2, 3, and 4.

Each of these are good defences, and conjoined they might be excellent reasons to study philosophy or to pursue a philosophical career. They might be excellent non-epistemic reasons for becoming an insider rather than an outsider, or for coming to accept some philosophical doctrines rather than remaining agnostic. Yet, ultimately we want a defence of type 1. If we do not get that, there is something disappointing about the philosophical enterprise.

It is not enough that philosophy leads to some truths; it needs to lead to truths about philosophical issues. If philosophical theories helped us learn the truth about physics, that would not quite be the target value. There are some distinctly philosophical questions we want philosophy to answer.[^4] Ultimately, we need 1*. 1*. Proper Epistemic : Philosophy is good because it gets us to the truth (or something reasonably truth-like) about philosophical issues.

Below, I will consider a number of defences of philosophy. In the next section, I consider common defences and explain why they are inadequate.