[inimino]

I agree that mathematics is much bigger than applied mathematics. However, for precisely this reason, pure mathematics, like philosophy, isn't for everyone.

The main argument for teaching it this way is a pedagogical one. If it took physics to prompt the geniuses of the day to discover calculus, then following in their footsteps is probably the easiest way for us to get there as well.

[vincent-toups]

I think philosophy is much more for everyone than physics or mathematics. I can't conceive of a model of the human condition which I would want to adhere to that said philosophy wasn't for everyone.

We _all_ think about value and about the relationship between what we think and what happens in the world and these are the fundamental elements of philosophy. If people feel that philosophy isn't for them, its a failure of the teachers rather than the people.

Its my opinion, anyway, that children don't always know or appreciate what they ought to learn and that adults do them a disservice when they fail to teach them that which is not immediately interesting just because they don't want to learn it.

[inimino]

Some amount of practical philosophy or received wisdom is necessary for everyone, just like some amount of mathematical awareness. The formal study of philosophy as a discipline, like that of pure mathematics, is not for everyone. For most people it would be deeply unpleasant for almost no benefit.