In some of his writings, Fichte describes the Wissenschaftslehre as addressed exclusively to philosophers of profession; at other times, he argues that philosophy is of concern for every rational being. In this article I examine these seemingly contradictory stances by contextualising them historically. I claim that throughout his Jena-writings, Fichte presents a consistent idea of the societal and ethical relevance of philosophy. This idea, I further contend, can best be explained as an input into the debate about the popularity of philosophy that had been ongoing since the early 18th century. By tracing this debate from Christian Thomasius to Fichte, I show that while Fichte was certainly critical of the eclectics and popular philosophers, he was also influenced by some of their metaphilosophical conceptions.