Full Idea
Philosophical problems are problems about how what is actual is possible, given that what is actual appears, because of some faulty argument, to be impossible.
Gist of Idea
Philosophy tries to explain how the actual is possible, given that it seems impossible
Source
Cynthia Macdonald (Varieties of Things [2005], Ch.6)
Book Reference
Macdonald,Cynthia: 'Varieties of Things' [Blackwell 2005], p.219
A Reaction
[She is discussing universals when she makes this comment] A very appealing remark, given that most people come into philosophy because of a mixture of wonder and puzzlement. It is a rather Wittgensteinian view, though, that we must cure our own ills.