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Perplexed comments on Were atoms real? - Less Wrong
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People have solved good chunks of "Why do all dogs resemble one another", which is a problem that Plato cared a lot about. (Mendelian genetics, Darwinian evolution, and our understanding of how the brain clusters perceptions are all parts of the answer here.)
People have also solved good chunks of: "Is there a God?", "Is there likely to be an after life?", and "In what sense do we have free will?", among other questions.
If a problem is solved in philosophy, but nobody reads it ...
Of course, if all we care about are lay beliefs the same could be said for physics, biology and neuroscience.
Good point. But I think it is the case that almost everyone who has need of (i.e. uses) information from physics, biology, and neuroscience uses the standard, though esoteric, information produced by scientists.
But people who need (i.e. make decisions based on) ideas from philosophy regarding metaphysics, generally do not make use of what you and I might call the "state of the art" in this field.
Sure, unfortunately acting on the false beliefs that there is a God and you have a soul doesn't leave the loud and fiery explosions that acting on false beliefs about physics does.
Unless you count religious warfare, that is.