Full Idea
Philosophy marks the limits of human theoretical intelligence. Philosophy is an attempt to overstep our cognitive bounds, a kind of magnificent failure.
Gist of Idea
Philosophy is a magnificent failure in its attempt to overstep the limits of our knowledge
Source
Colin McGinn (The Mysterious Flame [1999], p.209)
Book Reference
McGinn,Colin: 'The Mysterious Flame' [Basic Books 1999], p.209
A Reaction
No one attempts to overstep boundaries once they are confirmed as such. The magnificent attempts persist because failure is impossible to demonstrate (except, perhaps, by Gödel's Theorem).