A Loss of Interest in Philosophy

I am often frustrated about the lack of interest in philosophy even amongst the 'intelligentsia' and academics. However, I have learnt that this isn't a new phenomena. Theon, in "The Exercises of Aelius Theon" (~1st A.D.), wrote,

"The ancient rhetoricians...did not think one should come to rhetoric at all before grasping philosophy... Now, however, most students are so far from appreciating such studies that they rush into public speaking without even getting a knowledge of what are called general studies [grammar, arithmetic, geometry, etc]..." (The Exercises of Aelius Theon) 1

From the perspective of the 1st century, it is interesting to note that there appears to have been a loss of interest in philosophy. Well, this is at least true within Theon's socio-cultural environment.

1. Kennedy, George, Progymnasmata: Greek Textbooks of Prose Composition and Rhetoric (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003), p. 3.