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As a matter of taste, I mostly disagree. Poking holes can be worthwhile, and is necessary to some level, but I think it's the lesser part of the work. One could say that philosophies are like houses: none are empirically perfect, all are flawed, but many are nevertheless inhabitable. Finding weak points is an important part of structural engineering, but that's because you want to build stronger, better structures in the future. It's totally valid to say 'yes, we know Benthamite utilitarianism produces distasteful results in circumstances X, Y, Z but we think it's a pretty good way for mathematically-inclined people to make large-scale decisions'.*
Likewise, sometimes you have to destroy old buildings because they're obviously defunct beyond repair and you need the space for something else. 'Ruling philosophies' can become impervious to criticism through arrogance and social pressure, to the point of forgetting that their assumptions are assumptions and losing sight of their weak points. Sometimes you need a bloody minded bastard to stand up and keep nagging. But I think it would be perverse to value the demolisher more than the builder.
*Like software programming, really. Loads of problems don't have an accepted perfect solution, but instead lots of standard imperfect solutions that you can select depending on how the tradeoffs stack up for your use case.
** Sorry for inserting random thoughts, perhaps it will help you understand where I'm coming from. When I read your quote: "Socrates went to the statesmen, the poets, and the artisans, for he was told they were wise; but when pressed and questioned, their wisdom amounted to nothing. When the oracle at Delphi was asked who the true wisest man was, she answered that it was Socrates, for he knew that he knew nothing" it just seems like sophism to me. Yes, you can't prove that anything except your own mind exists, and maybe not that. It's worth knowing, and I've met very unreflective people who could use the reminder. But there's not much you can do with that except say "whoa". Sooner or later, you have to do what we all do: accept that the world probably does exist and so does your need for nourishment, and go and make a bacon sandwich. I find the latter wiser and more admirable.
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