[woodruffw]

I seem to post a version of this comment whenever a philosophical subject ends up on HN:

First, Wittgenstein's ultimate views concerned the validity/fundamental meaninglessness of metaphysics, not all philosophical inquiry. There are other subjects in philosophy that require little to no metaphysical justification: aesthetics, mathematics, and certain branches of ethics are all examples of this.

Second, we (HN users) are all here because of philosophy. The fundamental theories and methods of computation stem directly from the work of philosophers in the 1920s and 1930s, who in turn were building off of systems of formal reasoning devised in the 5th century BC. The same can be said for our political organizations, our aesthetic considerations, and our basic Western metaphysical perspective. I'd call that "accomplishing something."

[hshehehjdjdjd]

Yeah, a rare few philosophers did some precursor work to my field before it was its own field of study. Well enough. Would someone else have done it if they hadn’t? Perhaps a mathematician? Maybe. Maybe not. Probably. Philosophers doing something useful a century ago tells us little about whether philosophy continues to be a productive force in society. If the best thing you can say about the pursuit is that many years ago its members contributed to studies we now think of as separate disciplines, well, that’s not much.

[woodruffw]

> Yeah, a rare few philosophers did some precursor work to my field before it was its own field of study.

We're talking about the late 19th and 20th centuries in the cases of Frege and Russell (two of dozens), well into mathematics being its own field of study. I brought up the 5th century BC to show a continuous line of inquiry, but you can look into most philosophy departments today to see novel work in the philosophy of mathematics. I studied under some professors who did that work.

> If the best thing you can say about the pursuit is that many years ago its members contributed to studies we now think of as separate disciplines, well, that’s not much.

I'm not understanding this reasoning. The "separate disciplines" you're talking about would not exist without philosophy. All modern computing, mathematics, and political science stems directly from relatively recent discoveries and insights by philosophers. In my book it's a sign of tremendous success, not failure, for one field to spawn another.

[bwasti]

>would not exist without philosophy >stems directly from relatively recent discoveries and insights by philosophers

You are affirming the consequent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affirming_the_consequent

[jacobush]

We have only the timeline we live in. Praising the impact and efforts of anyone for anything can be attacked as affirming the consequent.

[bwasti]

no. This is a response to the claim that these things would otherwise not exist