What is Philosophy? (original) (raw)
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The word philosophy literally means love of wisdom; It is derived from two Greek words i.e. 'phileo' (love) and 'Sophia' (wisdom). This tells us something about the nature of philosophy, but not much, because many disciplines seek wisdom. Since times immemorial there have been various pursuits for unfolding the mystery of the universe, birth and death, sorrow and joy. Various ages have produced different thoughts throwing light upon the mystic region. The ultimate truth is yet to be found out. This eternal quest for truth 'lends the origin of philosophy. A love of wisdom is the essence for any philosophy investigation. On the standard way of telling the story, humanity's first systematic inquiries took place within a mythological or religious framework: wisdom ultimately was to be derived from sacred traditions and from individuals thought to possess privileged access to a supernatural realm, whose own access to wisdom, in turn, generally was not questioned. However, starting in the sixth century BCE, there appeared in ancient Greece a series of thinkers whose inquiries were comparatively secular (see "The Milesians and the Origin of Philosophy"). Presumably, these thinkers conducted their inquiries through reason and observation, rather than through tradition or revelation. These thinkers were the first philosophers. Although this picture is admittedly simplistic, the basic 3 distinction has stuck: philosophy in its most primeval form is considered nothing less than secular inquiry itself. The subject of philosophical inquiry is the reality itself. There are different schools of philosophy depending on the answers they seek to the question of reality. It is the search for understanding of man, nature and the universe. There are different branches of philosophy-Epistemology, Metaphysics, etc. There are different fields of philosophy such as educational philosophy, social philosophy, political philosophy, economic philosophy etc. There are also different philosophical approaches such as idealism, naturalism, pragmatism, materialism, and so on.
What is Philosophy? An Introduction
Dunedin Academic Press Ltd
What Philosophy is About What is philosophy? In a sense, we all can answer that question, as philosophy is meant for everyone. We may make of it as little or as much as we please. But the more we make of philosophy, the more seriously we must take it. This book is for those who want to take a serious look at philosophy without necessarily becoming serious philosophers. It will particularly interest young people and adults who want to understand the basics of philosophy and get a gist of what the well-known philosophers were saying. It provides an overview which will hopefully give beginners the confidence to take their study of philosophy further. They may discover areas of special interest to them, be inspired to read the works of the great philosophers, or to consult, for instance, online resources such as the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Wikipedia without being bemused by the choice and range of material available. Philosophy ought to appeal to all of us because it comes from our sense of wonder about the universe and our place in it. As a species, we are naturally curious about everything, and we desire to know and understand things. As individuals, we want to be wise rather than plain ignorant. Hence the word ‘philosophy’ means ‘love of wisdom’ in Greek. It originally covered all intellectual pursuits. Everyone earnestly seeking knowledge and understanding was called a philosopher. Whenever we think deeply and consistently about our ideas, concepts, principles, theories, morals, or ways of living, we are doing philosophy. How do we know what we know? What is it to be a good person? What is art? Is an electron a real or imaginary object? Is religion fantasy or reality? These are all philosophical questions, and in considering them, we are philosophers of some type or other, as listed below. Every human activity has its ‘philosophy’. We can have a philosophy of how to run a business, of playing golf, shopping, eating carefully, or whatever. It becomes a philosophy when we think seriously about it and have our reasons for doing what we do. We philosophise about it when we examine what the activity involves and how it relates to other activities similar to or different from it. Philosophy is therefore the ultimate thinking activity. It reflects what is most distinctive about us as a species, namely, our ability to think abstractly about things. Once we humans give up thinking and questioning everything, we are indeed a doomed species. Any attempt to narrow its scope threatens our freedom to think about things from new, different and unaccustomed perspectives. But that is the general view of philosophy. There is also the academic study of philosophy which has developed in western culture as a distinct subject.
What philosophy is and what it could be
Philosophy By Women, 2020
In this essay I identify three characteristics that I think make philosophy the distinctive discipline that it is: its breadth, the fundamentality of the question it raises and its concern with the question of the difference of what appears to be the case from what is the case. I then argue that philosophy is necessary because it is at heart a very practical discipline. I end by arguing that philosophy has to a large extent lost its characteristic breadth and that it should regain it in order to be able to make a difference in the world.
Introduction to What is Philosophy? Critical Intro. and Guide
I lay out the general contours of the argument here, emphasizing, perhaps surprisingly, what I take to be the ethical significance of the book What is Philosophy? and philosophy more generally. I set the stage for a critique of analytic philosophy in later chapters.
Philosophy - what, why, how?, 2021
When reading a text in the Western tradition of philosophy, Kant, Hegel, et al, one notices that - much of consists of exploration of notions, ideas or concepts. Something else that strikes one is that the author reifies these notions and deal with them as if they are things. One finds the above in all disciplines, not just those that are passed off a ‘philosophy’. These explorations are usually executed by means of tools that include reasoning and argumentation. Nothing in particular makes some of them philosophical or more philosophical than other. Their supposedly philosophical nature and relevance occurs when this notion is projected on them when they are viewed as metaphysical, ontological, ethics, epistemological or another philosophical term, branch or domain. I deal with the what of philosophy, what it is about, in this case I emphasize conceptual exploration and analysis. This forms part of all disciplines when terms are expolored and defined. The how or methods and techniques of philosophizing and its techniques and tools.
Philosophy 101: Introduction to Philosophy
2018
The primary concern of philosophy is the study of ideas central to the ways we think and live. Accordingly, philosophical thinking is nothing but the quest for answers to relevant questions that have to do with our lives as individuals as well as a society. The value, however, of many of our key concepts-related to these answers-is often hidden from us. We take the ways we make sense of ourselves and the world for granted, but philosophy goes further than what is evident: Philosophy is the art of closing your eyes and opening your mind.
On The Meaning of the Word " Philosophy " (on History of the Word
The main subject of this article is the shift of meanings of the term " philosophy " in the different historical periods. " Philosophy " in ancient Greece was used in its literal sense – the love of wisdom – to explain the special cult " knowledge for the sake of knowledge ". It was believed that this " love " is the mother of all sciences. In the future, the word " philosophy " meant mostly " the love of knowledge " and a set of theoretical science. The word " philosophy " began to be used to refer to a particular branch of knowledge with its own issues (different than the issues of special sciences) only in the 19th century.