I think it is a load of nonsense. I can't think of a better way to spend time personally...

I have a similar reaction as to the quote "It's bad luck to be superstitious."

Time makes more converts than reason. or is that a philosophy.

I think whoever said that has clearly stated their own philosphy!

React negative. Philosophy is not a waste of time.Its a much deeper insight into various aspects of life which is not visible to the eyes of the layman.

I'd just probably say "well, that's your philosophy, mine is a bit broader."

Well, that's a very interesting philosophy. Why do you believe it's true?

I'm not sure. I'd rather not spend time on it myself, as it seems a little superfluous.

It is not a waste of time. It gets one thinking and questioning different things that you thought about and had a different view.

Philosophically.

then life would be a waste of time

It's not a waste of time, it's time spent discovering the limits of philosophy. Very important to do, if you ever want to get beyond that.

well I think sports is a waste of time but many people partake of it. I suppose its whatever gets you through your day.

I don't think anything that makes man think is a waste of time.

Whoever said it probably has no idea what 'philosophy' is! "Oh yeah, it's just a bunch of hippies sitting around thinking about the meaning of Om, or something..." Oh , but it's so much more... Welcome back Highlander, I love your questions :-)

The pursuit of knowledge by rational enquiry, was an elastic term; it began with scientific speculation but it also included speculation as to the conduct of political and social life, and this last was one of the main concerns of philosophers in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Later Greek philosophy dealt with moral and religious questions, the concept of virtue and the individual's relations with the divine; it had then become not merely a mental activity but a way of life in the olden days. Although most religions and spiritual beliefs are clearly distinct from science on both a philosophical and methodological level, the two are not generally considered to be mutually exclusive. The distinction between philosophy and religion, on the other hand, is at times less clear. Critical examination of the rational grounds of our most fundamental beliefs and logical analysis of the basic concepts employed in the expression of such beliefs. Philosophy may also be defined as reflection on the varieties of human experience, or as the rational, methodical, and systematic consideration of the topics that are of greatest concern to humanity. Philosophical inquiry is a central element in the intellectual history of many civilizations. Difficulty in achieving a consensus about the definition of the discipline partly reflects the fact that philosophers have frequently come to it from different fields and have preferred to reflect on different areas of experience. All the world's great religions have produced significant allied philosophical schools. Western philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas, George Berkeley, and Søren Kierkegaard regarded philosophy as a means of defending religion and dispelling the antireligious errors of materialism and rationalism. Pythagoras, René Descartes, and Bertrand Russell, among others, were primarily mathematicians whose views of reality and knowledge were influenced by mathematics. Figures such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Stuart Mill were mainly concerned with political philosophy, whereas Socrates and Plato were occupied chiefly by questions in ethics. The Pre-Socratics, Francis Bacon, and Alfred North Whitehead, among many others, started from an interest in the physical composition of the natural world. Other philosophical fields include aesthetics, epistemology, logic, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and philosophical anthropology. A philosophy of a discipline such as history, physics, or law seeks not so much to solve historical, physical, or legal questions, as to study the concepts that structure such thinking, and to lay bare their foundations and presuppositions. In this sense philosophy is what happens when a practice becomes self-conscious. The contemporary spirit of the subject is hostile to any such possibility, and prefers to see philosophical reflection as continuous with the best practice of any field of intellectual enquiry. In the last third of the nineteenth century the work of Darwin dealt a body blow to the religious orientation of American speculative endeavors. At the same time, in the space of thirty years, many old American colleges were transformed into large, internationally recognized centers of learning, while new public and private universities commanded national attention. Students who a generation earlier would have sought "graduate" training in Europe, especially Germany, or in an American seminary, would by 1900 attend a postbaccalaureate program in an American university to obtain the Ph.D., the doctoral degree. Many of these students now found in philosophy what previously had been sought in the ministry or theological education. Those who, in the nineteenth century, had been a creative force outside the system of the divinity schools and the colleges, vanished as professional philosophers took their place. At the same time, in the space of thirty years, many old American colleges were transformed into large, internationally recognized centers of learning, while new public and private universities commanded national attention. Students who a generation earlier would have sought "graduate" training in Europe, especially Germany, or in an American seminary, would by 1900 attend a postbaccalaureate program in an American university to obtain the Ph.D., the doctoral degree. Many of these students now found in philosophy what previously had been sought in the ministry or theological education. Those who, in the nineteenth century, had been a creative force outside the system of the divinity schools and the colleges, vanished as professional philosophers took their place. Moreover, scholars in other disciplines—most importantly in English departments—claimed that traditional philosophy had reached a dead end. These nondisciplinary philosophers challenged philosophers for the right to do philosophy. These developments took American philosophy from the high point of achievement and public influence of the "classic" pragmatists to a confused and less potent role at the end of the twentieth century.

"What is time?" Might as well piss them off right? :P

Philosophy fosters and promotes critical thinking; essential for the advancement of society ;)