> And if philosophy is about having certain experiences, like poetry, but then it would seem to be a kind of entertainment rather than a project to gain knowledge, which is at least not what most philosophers would tell you.

I think all this trouble comes from the perverse desire to make Philosophy "valuable" in the way that sciences are perceived to be, rather than recognizing that it is indeed like poetry.

Not poetry "a kind of entertainment" - which is a gross reduction...but poetry as a means of direct experience and illumination.

Maybe philosophy cannot be "used" to model anything, predict anything or instrumentalize anything...but at the end of time when we have catalogued every atom, it's what we will have left with which to examine the remaining mysteries - which is ultimately a personal journey ... not some kind of utilitarian social achievement.