What is Philosophy?
Some say that philosophy is all about answering that very question, but that’s not very helpful. Literally, the word “philosophy” means “love of wisdom,” from the Greek “philo-,” love of, and “sophia,” wisdom. So we might say that philosophers are lovers of wisdom. Historically, any sage or scientist would have been known as a philosopher. “Natural philosophy” was what they once called physics and biology.
Introduction….. Philosophy is a quest for a comprehensive understanding of human existence. The objective of philosophy is to consider the rational justification of logical inferences, human values, criteria for establishing the claims of knowledge and certainly, and intepretations of the nature of reality. The diverse insights of significant philosophers from ancient times to the present contribute resources to stimulate contemporary philosophical thinking in each of these areas. A major in philosophy prepares students generally for careers in areas which require the ability to analyze problems and to think and write clearly. It is an appropriate major for students planning to continue their education for professional careers such as law, medicine and theology.
by Professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong Well, what do you think philosophy is? Most people can’t answer this question. It’s too abstract. It’s also controversial. Philosophers themselves can’t agree on any answer. Sure, the name “philosophy” derives from the Greek for “love of wisdom”, but what’s that? There has been a long and glorious history of people called philosophers, but they talk about all kinds of topics in all kinds of ways. It is not clear what, if anything, they have in common that makes them all philosophers. Still, though many philosophers would dispute what I say, I will give you one model of philosophy. For me, philosophy is defined by a goal and a method. Philosophy’s goal is nothing less than a systematic world view. Other fields study particular kinds of things. Philosophy asks how it all fits together. For example, if you want to learn about bodies, take a course in physics or biology. If you want to learn about minds, take a course in psychology. But if you want to
The goal of philosophy is to address the “big questions” which do not fall into other disciplines: how we should act (ethics), what exists (metaphysics), how we know what we know (epistemology), and how we should reason (logic). Originating from Greek, the word philosophy means “love of wisdom.” Historically, philosophy has been a catch-all for academic subjects which don’t fit into the traditional disciplines of science and the humanities. However, this doesn’t mean it is disconnected from these areas: in fact, the relationship of philosophy and science is almost as close as the relationship between math and science, and many masters of literature have also started philosophical movements. Many academic disciplines have a corresponding philosophy behind them: philosophy of science, for instance, or philosophy of history. Less formally, a philosophy is just a way of thinking about something. Philosophy is thought to have truly begun under Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher who is c
Answered by William Thomas Philosophy studies the fundamental nature of existence, of man, and of man’s relationship to existence. … In the realm of cognition, the special sciences are the trees, but philosophy is the soil which makes the forest possible. Ayn Rand, Philosophy, Who Needs It (p. 2) A philosophy is a comprehensive system of ideas about human nature and the nature of the reality we live in. It is a guide for living, because the issues it addresses are basic and pervasive, determining the course we take in life and how we treat other people. The topics that philosophy addresses fall into several distinct fields.
