(November 15, 2023 at 7:16 am)Ahriman Wrote: I would say it's philosophy if it's meant (by the observer) to explore a deeper level of reality. If it's not meant to do that, I wouldn't call it philosophy. For me, it is not philosophy to ask myself, "Should I do those dishes right now?"
Oh, well, that's fair. "Coke or Pepsi?" is hardly a philosophical question.
Traditionally, I think philosophy breaks down into big issues of metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, and other questions that can't be settled through science.
To ponder usefulness, as in the OP, we'd have to do philosophy and define what "useful" means, what kind of usefulness is good, whether non-useful questions are worthy of our attention, etc. We live in a very utilitarian kind of culture, so "useful" appears to be an intrinsic good, though this is a question that only philosophy can address.
