Philosophy as a Herculean labour

Philosophy presents itself as an endeavour to know oneself and understand others, to know the world and the universe around us, to investigate the limits of human cognition, to understand the relations between reason and mysticism, between reason and faith, and between philosophy and science. The history of western philosophy is an account of the strenuous eff orts to discover the truth and give it a reliable justification. But it must be preceded by a critical assessment of the abilities of our senses and reason and the removal of illusions, prejudices, falsehoods, and false philosophy. Philosophers usually perceive the philosophy of their time as something similar to the Augean stables requiring a radical cleaning to turn philosophising into an unbiased investigation. The philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Leibniz, Kant and Hegel, as well as logical positivism and analytical philosophy are good examples of Herculean labours, involving one’s entire intellectual and mental powers. But it is not Erystheus, a tool in the hands of fate and gods, who orders philosophers to make these gigantic eff orts, but an internal imperative to discover the whole truth. Is philosophy a successful labour? Can philosophy be given up