, can gain knowledge. And knowledge is the primary aim of philosophy, according to Russell and my own opinion. Socrates summarizes it best in Plato’s, Apology: Defense of Socrates, when he stated, “...an unexamined life is no life for a human being to live...” (page 40). Humans were given the capacity to have thought processes and go beyond the routine existence of lower level life forms. To let this possession go unused would be neglecting the possibilities of the mind.However, the value of philosophy for society at large is limited by self-assertion. The masses will find themselves looking for knowledge but being blocked by the view that the world is of less worth than themselves, or the Self. This will be the downfall of the instinctive man; he is contained in his private interests. It is almost like a trap, man fills his life with family and friends and believes that he has found his place in life. A true student of philosophy will have a want of knowledge that is free and pure. This want contains no concerns of Self, but rather of the not-Self. Knowledge arrives when man lets go of trying to fit the universe into his world and instead fits his world into the universe. In order to be a philosopher, one must overcome the narrow circle of the Self and of private interests. Therefore the largest value of philosophy is for the philosopher, for he is able to completely be open to the acquisition of knowledge. Most of the value of philosophy is then sent indirectly to the larger society.The fact that philosophy, as a subject, is prone to uncertainty can arouse disbelief in its value. It can be argued that no knowledge can possibly be gained by studying a field in which there are no definite answers. Russell agrees with this point when he maintains that even if answers are determined, none of them can be proven true without exception. The subjective areas of thought, those dealing with opinions and difference...
