If there is such a thing as philosophical progress, then why – unlike scientific progress – is it so invisible? Philosophical progress is invisible because it is incorporated into our points of view. What was torturously secured by complex argument comes widely shared intuition, so obvious that we forget its provenance.
Rebecca Goldstein, in her book "Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away," addresses the notion of philosophical progress and its invisibility compared to scientific advancement. She suggests that philosophical insights often become so integrated into our everyday understanding that we overlook their origins. These insights evolve from intricate debates into widely accepted intuitions.
This transformation renders philosophical progress hard to detect, as what was once a contested idea becomes common knowledge. The complexities of argumentation that once surrounded these concepts fade from our consciousness, making it seem as if philosophy has not advanced when, in reality, it has significantly shaped our thinking.
