Why is it that I couldn't tell you the lyrics to a song I loved if you asked me on the spot? But if the song was playing, then I could magically recall the lyrics, and sing along with the song. Philosophy is like this. If someone asks me what good is philosophy, I stammer and stutter. But if a philosophical conversation was occurring, I suddenly know the words. Even by request: if a question is posed to me, my conscious attention to the form my answer will take muddles the process. But if in solitude I close my eyes and contemplate the question, I suddenly hear the music, and suddenly have sparkling glimpses of the answer . . .