Publisher's Synopsis
/Vhat philosophy is and how much it is worth .re matters of controversy. One may expect it to yield xtraordinary revelations or one may view it with ndifference as a thinking in the void. One may look ipon it with awe as the meaningful endeavour of excep-ional men or despise it as the superfluous broodings of Jreamers. One may take the attitude that it is the;oncern of all men, and hence must be basically simple tnd intelligible, or one may think of it as hopelessly lifficult. And indeed, what goes by the name of philosophy provides examples to warrant all these: onflicting judgments. I For the scientific-mnnded, the worst aspect of philosophy is that it produces no universally valid DEGREESesults; it provides nothing that we can know and thus possess. Whereas the sciences in their fields have gained;ompellingly certain and universally recognized in->ights, philosophy, despite thousands of years of endeavour, has done nothing of the sort. This is undeniable: in philosophy there is no generally accepted, definitive knowledge. Any insight which for cogent t-easons is recognized by all has ipso facto become scientific knowledge and ceased to be philosophy; its relevance is limited to a special sphere of the knowable. Nor is philosophical thought, like the sciences, characterized by progressive development. Beyond any..
