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- The author's expectation that philosophy would provide ultimate wisdom was unmet; he learned that philosophical debates often stem from ambiguous language.
- A key insight is that everyday words are imprecise and break down when pushed too far, causing most metaphysical disputes.
- Aristotle's pursuit of 'useless' theoretical knowledge sent philosophy down a wrong path that persisted for centuries.
- Wittgenstein highlighted the language problem but philosophy's self-protective nature prevented real reform.
- A better approach is to seek the most general truths by starting from practical utility and gradually increasing abstraction.
- Philosophy is still in its early stages; most past work was wasted, but there is great potential if reoriented toward usefulness.