Most students and practitioners of philosophy, we suspect, have felt something of the unease Ayer expresses in this quote. Sometimes we would prefer no one asks what we do. And if we cannot avoid that, then at least we would like the topic dropped after the confession, ‘I am a philosopher’. But often, to our discomfort, it continues in one of the ways mentioned by Ayer.

Of the possible continuations of the conversation Ayer imagines, one is, perhaps, less frequent nowadays, whereas the other three are very common. It isn’t clear that many people today associate philosophy with the ability to remain calm in the face of adversity. Indeed, this conception of philosophers and philosophy has long been lampooned, from Shakespeare’s ‘For there was never yet philosopher. That could endure the toothache patiently’ to Oscar Wilde’s ‘Philosophy teaches us to bear with equanimity the misfortunes of others’. Nevertheless, the broader idea that philosophy can help us to deal with life’s problems is still current.