What is the value of philosophy?
1. Understanding our society: philosophy has profound influence on our social institutions and values. 2. An antidote to prejudice and provincialism: developing our critical and evaluative abilities gives us a distance from our own beliefs and helps develop a healthy skepticism about them. This helps us to avoid prejudice, narrow-minded acceptance of our own ways of life, and poor reasoning. It also helps us avoid becoming the prey of contemporary thought patterns. 3. Wisdom and happiness: clarity about our fundamental concepts helps our lives and contributes to the attainment of wisdom. 4. Strengthens and supports religious (esp. Christian) values: the wisdom gained by philosophical study can strengthen and mature our personal faith in God, as well as help contribute to Christianity’s attempts to stand up to intellectual challenges against it. It can also help us learn what beliefs we gain from society fit with Christianity, and which are inimical to it. Philosophy has traditionally p
