• The great virtue of philosophy is that it teaches us not what to think, but how to think. It is the study of meaning, of principles underlying conduct, thought and knowledge.
• The skills it hones are the ability to analyze, to question orthodoxies and to express things clearly.
• However arcane some philosophical texts may be, the ability to formulate questions and follow arguments is the essence of education.
• It can be studied at many levels. Philosophy has always been a good training for the law; but it is equally useful for computer scientists.
• In England, the philosophy of science is high up the list with medicine in the employment record for graduates.
• Philosophy is, in commercial jargon, the ultimate "transferable work skill". High schools would do well to introduce the teaching of philosophy, and encourage the reading of Plato, or John Stuart Mill on liberty.
• Chief school inspectors cautioned against obsession with the narrowly vocational.
• The Confederation of British Industry have been told that a "liberal education needs no justification beyond the satisfaction and enjoyment it brings".
• Philosophy is neither too rarefied nor too "academic" for mere mortals. It challenges us to dare to think.