[Labyrinthos]

Most people are simply do not have the required horsepower to study philosophy.

It may have has less to do with horsepower than it does with economics. There is also the snoot factor in that philosophers are far too full of themselves considering the fact that their work produces little if anything of immediate value to society as a whole.

One of the best definitions of philosophy is the one that I coined in response to an essay question on the final exam in a philosophy class I took back in college many years ago. The question was "what is philosophy?" and my response was "simple concepts made overly complicated by tenured egomaniacs with far too much time on their hands." The second question was "what is courage?" and my response was "see answer to question number one." I got an A+ on the exam.

[DannyTN]

One of my favorite observations of philosophy is that the word "philosophical" is pronounced wrong.

Notice that the pronunciation of the root doesn't change in other subjects.

Mechanic
Mechanism
Mechanist
Mechanical


Medicine
Medical

Chemistry
Chemist
Chemical

Theology
Theologian
Theological

So why change the pronunciation and emphasis on the root of philosophical.

It should be pronounced like philoso-fickle.

[CatoRenasci]

Clever, but irrelevant. You conflate academic philosphers (of whom your criticisms may be valid) with philosophy. Even the serious study of philosophers before the 20th century requires significant effort and mental ability. Moreover, I would argue that it takes the highest levels of intelligence to separate the profound from the merely confusingly presented.