Is philosophical learning an antiquated folly? Imagine Walter Benjamin or Einstein as Don Quixote, insanely living a noble lie in a brutal world.
Consider the outcomes: Benjamin, a notoriously eclectic reader and philosopher, committed suicide fleeing the Third Reich. Einstein’s learning aided him in escaping by making him valuable to the Allies.
The key difference (for this supposition) is the practical use of Einstein’s mind rather than his philosophical considerations. Practical conversion (utility) may save you in the short-term to continue your musing, while primarily convoluted aesthetic or theological discourse tends to create a tragically celebrated martyr.
However, practical considerations make for a blunt human, and all grand creative endeavors and ideals stem from the philosophical “what if” instead of the sensible “what now.” The folly is to cling to the grand imagining (dream) rather than supplement reality with it. Yet, the fantastic becomes its own inverted form of survival, and it is infinitely more appealing to fight dragons than to design rockets.