What is the point of teaching and/or learning philosophy?

Abstract

This paper critically examines the purpose of teaching and learning philosophy, particularly for those who have chosen «philosophizing» as a way of life. This activity should be regarded as essential to teaching the discipline. A major challenge for philosophy teachers is responding to the «utility test» posed by those who claim that philosophy is «useless» or «worthless». Such judgments generally presuppose the concept of utility imposed by the «market society». Against this criterion, the article argues that philosophy’s genuine utility, or true meaning, lies in its critical capacity to denaturalize the ordinary citizen’s everyday attitude. Since engaging with philosophical problems is inherent to the human condition, the philosopher-teacher’s role is to awaken this critical, denaturalizing disposition in students, where it may merely lie dormant as a potentiality awaiting actualization.