I was thinking more "cosmology" and ultimate origins. I have little doubt that given the state of physics one day we will be able to answer many questions about protons, quarks etc.
There is definitely a place for philosophy in trying to understand the nature of what is around us. But it's also possible to explain most of our experience using physical aspects of the world alone. A good analogue would be taking psychedelics. They play around with the serotonergic systems in your brain and,
with just the addition of a chemical one can wind up seeing and feeling (with absolute certainty) things that are in no way based on reality around them.
There is no "ineffible soul" which is our core being. All we need do is look at cases where the physical brain is damaged. Take the case of
Phineas Gage who had a large pole driven through his head and he survived. But he apparently became a diametrically opposite type of person. Which version of Phineas was the one reflected by his "soul"?
Just go into any nursing home. See people who used to be one thing now rendered completely unrecognizable all because their brains are slowly decaying.
ANd therein lies the role of philosophy. We have this brain which is processing information and guiding our behaviors. Those are the things we want and the things which make for a stable social network which provides a survival advantage for the kind of animal that gathers in groups (like humans). That's when philosophy becomes important: how
should one act in given setting?
But even then philosophy can't answer all those questions either. That's when the anthropological, psychological and sociological sciences become important. We are, after all, just another animal making its way on the globe. We are still beholden to all the natural drives animals have. We are just the ones blessed with
this level of self-awareness and as such we are able to (occasionally) moderate our hungers.
