There's no use for philosophy

Abstract The question “What's the use of philosophy?” presupposes a practical attitude such that, whether one answers it by enumerating philosophy's benefits or by declaring outright that it has none, philosophy is expected to be a tool applicable to or removable from situations in the world. Challenging this, the present paper develops an account of an alternative view: philosophy is useless because it is not of the order of practicality. This alternative view may answer the question negatively, but infer that philosophy remains valuable, and also affirmatively, but qualify that philosophy's use is not immediate. The account offers a clarification of the essence of philosophy, which entails three interrelated insights: (1) philosophy is a way of life whereby theory and practice are intertwined, (2) philosophy is an endless search for knowledge that begins in wonder, and (3) philosophy is investigative by nature and finds its value in prioritizing questions over answers.