By Michael De Dora I am a student of political philosophy, and more specifically a person interested in the intersection of political and moral life. This has placed me in the middle of numerous conversations about the nature of politics and morality. But it has also forced me into discussions on why I care about such subjects at all. Indeed, people often tell me that my interest in philosophy is weird. They tell me that while I might enjoy philosophy, it is an esoteric and useless enterprise. Before moving on, I should define philosophy. For this, I reference philosopher Massimo Pigliucci (note that this is an abbreviation of his definition): “An activity that uses reason to explore issues that include the nature of reality…