Abstract
‘Sapere aude: The exhaustion of theory and the promise of philosophy’ explains that current divisions in the study of philosophy are a consequence of professional self-descriptions which have led to the weakening of philosophy's critical function and its emancipatory intent, and to its progressive marginalization in the life of culture. By overcoming any lingering sectarianism, we might begin to move on philosophically and face up to issues of deep and enduring intellectual interest, such as those concerned with the gap between knowledge and wisdom, and philosophy might form an essential part in the life of a culture, and in how a culture converses with itself and with other cultures.