Subject-Of-All-Subjects: The Value Of Philosophy By Bertrand Russell

. If one had to ask me before taking this “Introduction to Philosophy” course what Philosophy was, I would have formulated my answer to be somewhere along the lines of “It is..ya’ know… the questioning of everything?” and would have tried to promptly change the subject as I actually did not have any idea as to what the subject of Philosophy actually encompassed. However, now after the course’s completion, I have not only acquired greater understanding, but I have also gained much interest on this “Subject-of-All-Subjects”. I give Philosophy this name because it encompasses the exploration of many different ideas ranging from metaphysics- which is the study of reality, of what exists in the world and our relationship to it, to epistemology- which is the study of knowledge and how we come …show more content…
In his The Value of Philosophy essay, Bertrand Russell also discusses the use of Philosophy in our everyday lives. He explains that "through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the mind also is rendered great" (Russell, 4). In other words, philosophy helps develop imaginative and critical thinking as man develops an awareness that extends beyond the physical reality he experiences every day. However, Russell admits that philosophy does not often give definite knowledge like other fields of study do. He explains that the reason philosophy does not yield strong evidence is because once knowledge that can be considered conclusive becomes attainable, it breaks away from the branch of philosophy into that of the sciences, mathematics, or other disciplines and so we do not realize how much our everyday lives are impacted by