Single Idea 21572

[catalogued under 1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 7. Despair over Philosophy]

Full Idea

Explicit controversy is almost always fruitless in philosophy, owing to the fact that no two philosophers ever understand one another.

Gist of Idea

Philosophical disputes are mostly hopeless, because philosophers don't understand each other

Source

Bertrand Russell (Our Knowledge of the External World [1914], 1)

Book Reference

Russell,Bertrand: 'Our Knowledge of the External World' [Routledge 1993], p.29


A Reaction

Contemporaries don't even seem to read one another very much, especially these days, when there are thousands of professional philosophers. (If you are a professional, have you read all the works written by your colleagues and friends?)