A good point that Prof. George makes is that people do not raise similar issues with other similarly hard to understand realms, say physics or mathematics.
"The difference persists in part because to wonder about philosophical issues is an occupational hazard of being human in a way in which wondering about falling balls is not. Philosophical questions can present themselves to us with an immediacy, even an urgency, that can seem to demand a correspondingly accessible answer. High philosophy usually fails to deliver such accessibility and so the dismay that borders on a sense of betrayal."
Immediacy indeed! Suppose you are asked if you want to stop your father's pacemaker because he no longer knows who he is (this was a recent article in NYT). Or you have a premature baby with birth defects and you are asked if you want to "let her go" (happened to a close friend). Is it OK if I betray my wife just once (probably occurred to most of us)? I can list ten more from my immediate life, I bet you can do, too.
Of course, the problem people have with philosophy is that it provides no answers! It's a way to analyze problems, not answer them. Therefore it differs from all other sciences (does not use the scientific method) and mathematics (is not an axiomatic system, except for logic). This is why, so many people turn to religious fluff: the answers provided are not great but at least your question gets answered.
"The difference persists in part because to wonder about philosophical issues is an occupational hazard of being human in a way in which wondering about falling balls is not. Philosophical questions can present themselves to us with an immediacy, even an urgency, that can seem to demand a correspondingly accessible answer. High philosophy usually fails to deliver such accessibility and so the dismay that borders on a sense of betrayal."
Immediacy indeed! Suppose you are asked if you want to stop your father's pacemaker because he no longer knows who he is (this was a recent article in NYT). Or you have a premature baby with birth defects and you are asked if you want to "let her go" (happened to a close friend). Is it OK if I betray my wife just once (probably occurred to most of us)? I can list ten more from my immediate life, I bet you can do, too.
Of course, the problem people have with philosophy is that it provides no answers! It's a way to analyze problems, not answer them. Therefore it differs from all other sciences (does not use the scientific method) and mathematics (is not an axiomatic system, except for logic). This is why, so many people turn to religious fluff: the answers provided are not great but at least your question gets answered.