[guesswest]

I've always been amused by DS's disdain for philosophy because that's exactly what he's doing with all the ethics and religion questions he posts on here. And doing it well. This stuff is all 100% philosophy - in fact I'd love if DS could clarify exactly what he thinks philosophy is.

As far as your general point goes I have nothing to add because I don't really disagree. Except to say philosophy is much more about finding questions than answers. It's not that it doesn't place a high value on the answers, rather that once a question is answered it is no longer philosophy - it finds its way into another discipline. That's why we see philosophy gives birth to new areas every so often, its latest graduate being psychology. Philosophy is often described as 'everything else', and I like that description. It's also why in most philosophy departments, philosophers are more closely alligned with their related departments outside of philosophy, than with other philosophers - eg philosophy of mathematics folk hang out with math people, not with philosophy people.