What is philosophy?

Philosophy is what we do when we can't do a proper job.

Time after time, the topics that philosophers chew over are appropriated by scientists, once the scientists get the right tools for studying the field in question objectively. At the moment, consciousness seems to be the topic that is slipping from the philosopher's grasp as more and more scientists start to work in the field, thanks to advances in the tools of neuroscience. The result is philosophers getting defensive about their value to the intellectual community.

If philosophical theories are doomed to extinction when science starts to get some traction in a subject matter then what is point of philosophy?

It seems to me that philosophy should be focused on looking just over the horizon of our objective knowledge. Given that we know A, B and C, then if D and E are true we should expect X, Y and Z. In other words, philosophy can generate hypotheses and predictions based on current knowledge.

On the other hand, what philosophy often seems to do is sit in an armchair gazing out the window at the horizon and drawing fantasy maps of the far side of the planet. The worst offenders are not those who forecast 'There Be Dragons', but those who conclude 'Here Be God'.

And yes, I am currently disillusioned by what I've seen pass for philosophy recently.