Philosophy is useless

For those who are not used to thinking, reflecting, seeking knowledge, not philosophizing is almost “norm”...

Philosopher's Day: a truly symbolic moment on commemorative dates, even more so given the notable lack of interest of a warlike society.

Have you ever heard that Philosophy "is good for nothing"? Have you ever wondered why such a statement? I won't say it now, of course, but I'll leave it between the lines.

Behold, a provocation intends to “maximize” our social gaze by training, opening (perhaps) some almost rusty, or plastered, windows of our epistemological house.

With our gaze trained like a “soldier” to follow “steps”, the social march points to a “force”, namely this one: exalting the power of force, even if unconsciously.

Proof of this is that, on Soldier's Day, for example, Brazil moves frantically, with festivities from Oiapoque to Chuí, full of actions, from shows to concerts across the country, in addition to the classic parade of Armed Forces handicrafts. .

See? On a day that is supposed to be forcefully, warlike, ipisis litteris, no efforts are spared to exalt a day of “so much prominence”.

Philosopher's Day... "Little strength" to celebrate a day that encourages us to think.

It becomes exciting to talk about the repercussions of the day in question. They tell ironies and there is a lot of sadness, although everything happens at the same time. Would that be teasing? It depends. For those who are not used to thinking, reflecting, seeking knowledge, not philosophizing is almost “the norm”; so, normal and more than common. In this path, the aforementioned day (already with several reticences...) must suggest or appear as the day of “thinking” (since Philosophy has thinking as one of its intentions).

Instead, the shows, concerts and various events are just in our imagination. Perhaps, the result of the following idea: “PHILOSOPHY DOES NOT USE ANYTHING”.

It is not? Not!

Many of us barely know what the “commemorative” date that marks that day is. That's right! We Brazilians, born or not, can know the day of the Indian, the Soldier, even the discovery of the country, but the day of the philosopher... Why?

All good! The horizon of expectation will be cracked (laughs). The date will be notified. Not for me, of course, but for you who, at least, take the trouble to research this important day, since such an act of research is already thinking about this so-called “normality”.

In the following paragraph, to further stimulate this curiosity, placing it as a duty of any thinking citizen, great personalities stand out who valued Philosophy and, therefore, left Philosopher's Day as ad infinintum for us, citizens of the world.

If Philosophy is good for something, it shouldn't be related to exact sciences, right? It is a mistake to assume that only great humanities thinkers explored Philosophy and enjoyed its benefits. Did you know, for example, that despite being the father of Mathematics, Pythagoras was also a philosopher? The Frenchman René Descartes, also a philosopher, created the so-called "analytical geometry" (it seems to me something very mathematical... But Philosophy served him well).

Do you want one more example of geniuses inclined towards exact sciences who have "strengthened" in Philosophy? Here it is: Galileo Galilei. Yes. Despite being a genius in exact sciences, he also dabbled in philosophy.

Faced with this, what shall we say? Is there still a need for more examples and support for the importance of Philosophy? I don't think so, unless Philosophy served only the vested interests of rulers who tend to train the people, preventing them from leaving Philosophy at their service.

I conclude, therefore, using one more philosophical tool, namely, maieutics (a philosophical tool that basically consisted of asking one question to answer another), under the aegis of another philosopher who needs no introduction (Socrates):

If Philosophy "is of no use", why did the great geniuses of history "make use" of it so much?

Albert Rios.

Lethrologist.