Lindsay asked:

It seems to me that philosophy is just a bunch of bull. I don't see why someone would want to study
questions when you know you will never get any answers. It doesn't make sense to me, so my
question is:

What is the point of philosophy?

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I can't speak for all of my colleagues, but I am in it for the answers. Obviously, that means I dispute
your claim that I know I will never get the answers. Most philosophical questions are very hard, and I
don't expect 100 per cent agreement among all philosophers, but I see no reason to think that the
questions are not answerable.

I'll add that even if I don't get to the right answers, I think that there is considerable value in the effort
itself. However, if, like you, I was sure that I would never get answers, I would quit.

Scott R. Sehon
Dept of Philosophy
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, Minnesota

I suppose Lindsay means something like "definitive, clear, obviously true answers," because in
philosophy (as in most other fields) you get plenty of answers to the questions. The problem (as in
most other fields) is finding which answers are the best ones. What distinguishes philosophy from
many other areas of inquiry is that in philosophy it quicklybecomes obvious that there are conflicting
answers and there is no easy way to ascertain which ones are the best ones. That's also true of most
other fields but in those other fields you usually don't realize it until you get into advanced studies,
which most people never do.

The (well, at least a main) point of philosophy is to find (not to "get," as if some authority is going to
provide them for you) the best answers to the questions. And (as in any other field) if you're not
interested in the questions, you probably won't be very interested in seeking the best answers.

Frank Williams
Philosophy and Religion Department
Eastern Kentucky University