What is philosophy? That’s probably the first question you ask yourself when you read the word in this article title. You see, philosophy can take on different meanings depending on whom you ask. But it all begins with asking that very same question—what is it? For the purposes of this article, we will break it down into its most basic components. And we will discuss what it means to study it as an academic subject.
Defining
It is the study of general and fundamental questions. Such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Major fields of philosophy include logic, metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Philosophy covers a very wide range of approaches to these questions which are historically important. Such as Socrates (dialectic), Plato (mathematical), Aristotle (logic), Descartes, and Kant(rationalism/idealism) as well as Hegel (historical) and Marx (scientific). These disputes often involve many other fields in addition to or instead of philosophy, including mathematics and logic; physics; linguistics; psychology; economics; politics, and history. There is no broadly accepted agreement among philosophers on many central philosophical questions.
Etymology
The word philosophy comes from a combination of two Greek words, Philos, which means love, and Sophia, which means wisdom. So, philosophy literally means love of wisdom. However, it’s difficult to pin down exactly what philosophy is because there are many different approaches to answering these questions. If you ask someone like Socrates or Plato they might define philosophy as asking questions about knowledge and how people gain it. If you ask someone like Confucius they might define it as maintaining order in society through morality and ethics.
Who invented philosophy
While there is no single inventor of philosophy, many credit Thales of Miletus, one of ancient Greece’s earliest thinkers as being the first philosopher. Of course, it would be difficult to pinpoint exactly what Thales thought or believed because his works did not survive. Most people view Socrates as the father of Western philosophy. His teachings dominated much of ancient Greek thought and continue to have a strong influence on modern philosophical approaches.
How did it start?
Much of what is believed to be true in today’s world was actually first stated by a philosopher. While there isn’t a clear set date for when philosophy started. It likely began with early humans questioning their surrounding environment and looking for answers. Perhaps one of the most important figures from ancient history that played a key role in philosophical thoughts was Plato (428/427 BCE-348/347 BCE). Some scholars believe he was also involved in politics. As he said that a well-governed city would require philosophers to rule it. In more modern times, however, it has become common for people to not like philosophy and shy away from it.
Different schools of thoughts
The word philosophy comes from ancient Greek: Philosophia, meaning love of wisdom. There are many views on what philosophy is. Different schools of thought have emerged over time. These schools share some general themes but differ in their assumptions about human knowledge and how that knowledge relates to questions about values, reality, and other subjects.
As a result, they tend to disagree with each other about a number of things including epistemology (the nature and scope of knowledge), ontology (questions about whether entities such as physical objects exist or whether only abstract concepts exist), and ethics (which deals with moral value). Schools agree that philosophy deals with fundamental questions about existence and has practical application for other fields—including logic, science, politics, and law.
Philosophy isn’t just knowing stuff
it’s about being able to know when and how to apply knowledge. After all, not all knowledge is created equal; some information has more punch than others. Being a good philosopher means knowing which kinds of knowledge are relevant and useful in which situations. In other words, it means being able to think creatively – especially when it comes to building relationships with others. After all, one can be great at mathematics, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be great at teaching math or conveying ideas mathematically… even if they do have a degree in mathematics!
Is there a difference between philosophy and science?
According to Friedrich Nietzsche, philosophy and science are separated by one thing alone: their goals. While both strive for truth, scientists want to understand that truth is at its most basic level (what it means) while philosophers are concerned with what it could mean in context. Also, unlike science, which is preoccupied with empirical truths (truths that can be verified or proven through testing and experimentation), philosophy deals mostly with questions of ethics and value.
In a sense, then, many philosophers believe that both men and women have an equal capacity for thought—it’s just that women have tended to focus on different areas of study. Because of these differences in perception and study, philosophy has never been a field where women were truly welcome until relatively recently (though there have always been some notable exceptions).
Why should you study philosophy?
There are many reasons why you should study philosophy; however, I want to point out three major reasons why. The first reason is that students who study philosophy learn how to think for themselves and question everything around them. Learning how to think properly is a key skill necessary in order to succeed in life.
The second reason is that philosophy majors learn how to make judgments on important matters by examining evidence rationally and impartially before making a decision or drawing a conclusion.
Thirdly, studying philosophy gives you an appreciation for all other types of academic studies since it allows you to see all other disciplines as interconnected as they all help shape your understanding of reality, truth, ethics, and society.
We use philosophy in our daily lives but don’t know it
Like a fish in water, we’re often unaware of what’s happening around us. Many people use philosophy every day without even knowing it. Think about how you make decisions, conduct yourself at work or interact with other people. Philosophers analyze these interactions and their effects on our behavior and values—and that’s exactly what you do when you consider a new job offer, ask your boss for more time off or determine which political party to support in an election.
Philosophical progress
The main focus of philosophers during much of history was to understand the true nature of reality, knowledge, and society. These questions often included issues related to metaphysics (questions concerning what truly exists), epistemology (questions concerning what we can know with certainty), and axiology (questions concerning value or morality). The answers given by philosophers have had a profound effect on western culture. Indeed, in some cases, philosophers became leaders and changed societies for better or worse (examples include Plato, who became a teacher; Socrates, who offended Athenian values; and St.
Final verdict
Philosophy is a broad discipline that studies general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Does philosophy aim to provide answers to questions such as what is existent? what does it mean that existent X exists? and how do we know what existent X exists?
It often involves significant metaphysical theories. The first philosophers are usually regarded as pre-Socratic thinkers of Ancient Greece; however, philosophy as a specific discipline can be said to have begun only around 400 BC with Socrates. Since then philosophy developed into different branches (metaphysics/epistemology/ethics/political philosophy) which cover most of these basic questions in more detail.
