Well, it may be ironic—in case you didn’t know—, but here’s something I wrote less than a week ago:
In other words, I do think philosophy is intellectual or mental masturbation in a sense… Technically, though, philosophising for its own sake would not be masturbation yet:
“‘Knowledge for its own sake’—this is the last snare set by morality: one therewith gets completely entangled with it once more.” (Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, aphorism 64 whole, translation Zimmern.)
No; knowledge or philosophising for the sake of pleasure (the feeling of power): that is the transmoral formula of philosophy. (“Pleasure”, not “joy”, for “joy” is not lecherous enough.)
Of course, this is not to say philosophy is wishful thinking. For the pleasure derived from philosophy is not the pleasure of apprehending good or beautiful truths (or “truths”), but the pleasure of seeking the truth, no matter how bad or ugly it may be.
A result is not necessarily an intended result; and with “intention” we’re still in the realm of morality. But as for unintended results:
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