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Full Idea
The reason why unprovable philosophizing still has some value - more value, in fact, than many a scientific proposition - lies in the aesthetic value of such philosophizing, that is, in its beauty and sublimity.
Gist of Idea
Philosophy is more valuable than much of science, because of its beauty
Source
Friedrich Nietzsche (Unpublished Notebooks 1872-74 [1873], 19 [076])
Book Ref
Nietzsche,Friedrich: 'Unpublished of 'Unfashionable Obs' period (v 11)', ed/tr. Gray,Richard T. [Stanford 1995], p.28
A Reaction
I am increasingly inclined to agree. I love wide-ranging and ambitious works of metaphysics, each of which is a unique creation of the human intellect (and with which no other individual will ever entirely agree). A great short paper is also beautiful.
| 1649 | Socrates opened philosophy to all, but Plato confined moral enquiry to a tiny elite [Vlastos on Socrates] |
| 1749 | If all laws were abolished, philosophers would still live as they do now [Aristippus elder] |
| 559 | Even people who go astray in their opinions have contributed something useful [Aristotle] |
| 15624 | Free thinking has no presuppositions [Hegel] |
| 19227 | Philosophy is a search for real truth [Peirce] |
| 14862 | Philosophy is more valuable than much of science, because of its beauty [Nietzsche] |
| 8226 | A well-posed problem is a problem solved [Bergson, by Deleuze/Guattari] |
| 2944 | If a question can be framed at all, it is also possible to answer it [Wittgenstein] |
| 9763 | For a good theory of the world, we must focus on our flabby foundational vocabulary [Quine] |
| 9198 | It is no longer possible to be a sage, but we can practice the exercise of wisdom [Hadot] |
| 9408 | Science studies phenomena, but only metaphysics tells us what exists [Mumford] |