Bertrand Russell The Value Of Philosophy To Individual Life Analysis

This essay will summarize the article, The Value of Philosophy to Individual life by Bertrand Russell. Russell’s goal of his article is to explain the everyday uses of philosophy and how philosophy influences human’s life both directly an indirectly. Russell also discusses how philosophy expands the human knowledge of what could be. Philosophy, according to Russell, frees our minds from the imprisonment of common sense. Therefore, this essay will explain Russell’s work and the point of his argument. Many scientists who study modern science and other practical arts doubt whether philosophy is useful for anything other than innocent, pointless trifling on if knowledge is actually knowable. Russell says that this view arises from the misconception of the goals of life and from a wrong conception of the goals which philosophy tries to achieve. Physical science, Russell states, is the method through which inventions are made, but it is still useful to multitudes of people who are totally ignorant of it. The author makes the argument that philosophy does directly affect students of philosophy, but also indirectly affects bystanders through the impact it has on the student or scholar of philosophy. Therefore, Russell makes the argument that even though the direct effects of philosophy …show more content…
The author points out that the body does not just need food, but the mind needs nourishment also. Philosophy is among the goods of the mind. Philosophy’s goal is to achieve knowledge. Russell however, acknowledges that philosophy has failed to achieve many definite answers. The author counters this point by stating that once definite answers are found it becomes a science and is no longer philosophy. Astronomy and psychology were once included philosophy. Therefore, once a philosophy achieves definite answers it becomes a