Madeleine asked:

Is there a place for philosophy in the modern world?

Paul asked:

Why is philosophy important?

April asked:

The mind is a beautiful thing...

How does it fit into philosophy, and why is philosophy so popular?

David asked:

I would like to ask you, Why did you choose to be philosophers? and why do you think philosophy is
such as important part in our lives, and if philosophy didn't exist what would be of us?

Mauricio asked:

How does science modify philosophy?

Shemel asked:

What does it take to be a philosopher? Is the philosopher someone of great importance?

MD asked:

What is a philosopher? what does a philosopher do?

Sabrina asked:

What type of questions does a philosopher ask?

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Yes, there is an important place for philosophy in the modern world and it has to do precisely with
those things that our culture presupposes and assumes uncritically. The mind may be a beautiful
thing but the beliefs and concepts that constitute it need maintenance if they are to cohere and cope
with changes. Some would say they need a more radical overhaul.

You only have to look at the questions on this site to see why philosophy is important. Questions
about truth, reality, meaning, God, selfhood, justice,love. These are the things that matter to us, not
just as curious individuals but as a species — an endangered and not altogether happy species.
Despite our resourcefulness and optimism, as manifested in artistic and technological achievements,
we are vulnerable to disaster. One source of disaster is the natural world, but another is our own
conceptions. Ways of thinking change. Values change. Every so often we reconceive the relationship
between nature, society and individuals. Religion gives ways to materialism, then materialism itself is
undermined. Absolutism gives way to relativism and that to subjectivism: there is no ultimate truth, so
believe what you like. New technologies make possible what previously would have been considered
miraculous, but being possible doesn't make something right or prudent. Philosophy is a discipline of
thought that tries to keep track of the conceptual changes and to cling to whatever unchanging
conceptual truths or necessities it can discover. This is an important task. In every age there must be
people who can say "We don't have to think like this" — who can conceive of different conceptual
schemes, who can orientate current concepts of truth, reality, selfhood, justice against previous and
alternative schemes. No doubt, sometimes, in trying to sort out the knots that conceptual change gets
us into, philosophy contributes to tighter entangling.

It is not necessarily philosophers who communicate their ideas best to the general public. Their ideas
become incorporated into the intellectual chatter and the literature and art of the day. They become
part of a wider cultural project of explanation and justification. Artists and scientists cannot avoid
philosophy, whether they read it directly or not.

Here are some big questions that philosophers have a role in discussing. What is consciousness?
What, if anything, can I ever know about myself? Do I ever act freely? Is a human being more than an
animal; are the differences ones of degree or of kind? If scientists could manipulate human genetics
to the extent of making us immortal, should we permit it, should we aim towards it — and what would
be the consequences for other concepts? Is deliberate human extinction, for the sake of the survival
of other life, compatible with morality? Would the world be a better place if everyone shared the same
beliefs? Are we living in a make-belief world, with a false view of reality and a false view, even, of our
own subjective experience?

Of course, professional philosophers, like professional scientists, are working at a highly technical
and precise level on sub-questions of the bigger questions. They may sometimes lose sight of the big
questions. They will generally be working in a university and will have teaching and administrative
duties. They will have to keep themselves up to date in a much wider sphere of learning than just
their own specialism. But for some of their time they will be thinking and writing, rethinking and
rewriting. They will discuss their ideas with colleagues, then think and write again. It is, like most
things that are worth doing — despite what Bart and Homer Simpson may tell us — a painstaking
occupation. But, the importance and influence of a major philosophical work or theory (to which many
philosophers may have contributed) should not be underestimated. It can reorientate us to the world
we live in and to the way we experience it.

Graham Nutbrown

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