Date: 5/9/2009

WHY PHILOSOPHY? ...an evaluative approach.

Introduction: it is well known that admission seekers (mostly Nigerians) do not like doing philosophy as a course. Many undergraduates hate themselves having philosophy as their potential degree. Infact most well grounded philosophers will prefer courses like Journalism and Law to Philosophy, for their kids. Whenever the above people come in contact with philosophy they do ask themselves why philosophy..? The question is not asked in respect to the existence of philosophy. John Mason(2000)claimed that "if you know the right questions you can find the right answers... ." But this seems not applicable to philosophy. That is why the evaluative analysis of the question is aroused. The analysis of the question came into being because it ought to be, and:
If philosophers will not stand up and defend what
they hold to be right, and attack what they hold
wrong,then either it will not be done, or it will be
done badly.(Marinoff 2002, 13)
Philosophy can never be made attractive by psychologists or Psychiatrists but only by Philosophers. Why people ask why... ?
Philosophy in a layman approach is seen as "a way of life" but why are people avoiding the study of (philosophy)way of life? There are multifarious reasons, why people avoid it, among which are discussed below.
Many, according to Marinoff, avoid it because they heared it is absolutely difficult. One can not get an "A" by adequate attendance. It is so tedious that it belongs only to "gurus", and men of intellectual rarity. Unfortunately, we have gurus and erudite scholars who also claimed that philosophy is not worth doing because it is irrelevant to human living.
There is a general misconception of philosophy
according to which philosophy is an abstract discipline
which has no relevance to practical life and influences
nothing beyond itself. The Anglo-Saxon analytic
tradition lends supports to this misconception by reducing philosophy to analysis alone. (c)2008 Omotoyinbo Femi.

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