Re probably many of these students shrug their shoulders, go off to the economics dept, and pursue a career in finance,
And I would heartily encourage them in this direction provided they get a very good back background in other subjects (e.g., mathematics, computation, music, literature, history). This will enable to do something with their lives instead of simply talking about doing something or spending time arguing about "what it means to do something".
A philosophy professor cannot tell a student anything about God that a student cannot find out for himself (herself) in his (her) own way. I already gave you the example of the professor who cannot swim but still teaches a class on the art of swimming.
Re shrug their shoulders, go off to the economics dept, and pursue a career in finance, and are not troubled by the use of fiat money, derivatives, and re-hypothecation,
No philosopher in the world can help such a student. This is a function of the morality he (she) was already taught by his (her) parents, peers and society.
Re we really cant know anything and even the words we use are some kind of vague convention which might shift meaning with time, culture, gender or age...
There is no way for one to verify what you personally know about anything though we may devise (usually) faulty testing schemes for this purpose. Einstein and Ramanujan came close to being lost to the world due to such methods. And yes, everything changes with time, including the person you think you are.
Einstein quote:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge," he once said. "Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
Observe his attitude to the "foundation of knowledge". Had Einstein been a philosopher, in place of E = MC^2 you'd have had a million philosophy papers on "what is the meaning of light?". |
