[Serious] Generally speaking, is philosophy a worthwhile subject of study?

[brewer]

I understand what he is saying, I also understand what he was and where he came from. I don't think he had much 'practical man' real life concerns and am quite certain he considered himself superior. Hence the "one who recognizes only material needs, who realizes that men must have food for the body, but is oblivious of the necessity of providing food for the mind."

His superiority statements strike me as vary similar to the religious.

Do you not think "food for the mind" is important? I think it is. Even for every day folks with a plateful of practical concerns. Maybe even ESPECIALLY for those folks. Maybe "food for the mind" is just another kind of nourishment that the elites horde for themselves when it ought to be available to everybody.

I dig what you are saying Brewer. I don't like intellectual elitism much at all. I agree that privileged rich men ought not be the only ones exploring these questions. But that has little to do with the value of the questions themselves.

Yes, I think food for the mind is important, but that food is found in many ways that do not need to be based in philosophy. Can a mechanic improve his skills with learning more and better techniques? Can someone learning to sew expand their mind and creativity? Or the first farmers testing how to improve production? Questions and resultant answers or acquisition of skills (mind food) do not need to be derived only from philosophy.