Editor’s introduction

Abstract

The question of the purpose of doing (or writing) philosophy can be a perplexing one. The literature on this subject is expansive, controversial and diverse. One useful way, however, is to construe philosophy as an intellectual service to humanity. I am not sure if Plato’s rendition of philosophy as a reflection on a problem until one reaches a state of “wonder” can be useful as a lens through which to make sense of the kind of intellectual service philosophy is to humanity. Kwame Gyekye’s adumbrations on the nature and function of philosophy, however, do shed some light on the kind of service that philosophy can and does offer to humanity. Note these reflections by Gyekye (1997, 6) on the nature and function of philosophy: