What's the good of philosophy?

Philosophy means 'lover of wisdom' .... Philo sophia but does Philosophy make one wise? Philosophers are often seen as having their heads in the clouds or quibbling over the meanings of words. The central questions of philosophy were first asked about 2,500 years ago and are still being asked now, so one might ask why philosophers have not found the answers. Philosophy it may be argued is a process of helping us to think clearly but think about what?

Science and Society.

Why does science have the status that it does in terms of its findings? What is the method of science and how objective are its products? Why does society need science?

What is Real?

The idea of reality is not straightforward. There are material realities, (bricks, motor cars, etc.) and non-material ones, (feelings, dreams, thoughts). Things exist in reality but what is the nature of their existence? Unicorns, we might say, do not exist but, if that is the case, how can we talk about them? When might fiction be more real to us than fact?

Do Animals Have Rights?

The Bible says that human beings have dominion over the animal kingdom but what does that mean? Do we have moral responsibilities towards animals and, if we do, why do we? What are the uses to which we are entitled to put animals, for example as food, as working creatures, as friends? Do animals suffer in the same way as human beings? What does it mean when we say that an animal has been badly behaved?

What is education?

What are we doing when we educate our children? How do we know what we should be teaching them and how we should teach it? What is more important, the interests of the pupils or the interests of the society in which they will have to live? How might these interests be in conflict with each other? How do we know that the interests of society today will be the same as those of society when our present children leave school?

Irrationality in Human Life.

Some have argued that our capacity for rational thought is what defines us as human beings. Our ability to give reasons for our actions and beliefs is what enables us to live amicably together. But what are the limits of rational belief and action? When are our actions necessarily irrational? What is the role of irrationality in our lives?