What is philosophy?

Question

I want to know the correct meaning and defintion of philosophy and what are its scope?

Answer 1

Philosophy's goal is nothing less than a systematic world view

Answer 2

The definition of philosophy has itself been a central topic of philosophy for thousands of years.

It is generally agreed that the best way to find out about the scope of philosophy is to dive in and start reading, A good book to begin with is Bertrand Russell's "The Problems of Philosophy", which is both written as an introduction and contains some important statements about Russell's ideas. Don't be put off by the fact that it was written just before the First World War - good philosophy books last. You should realise, however, that Russell is very much in the Anglo-Saxom tradition of philosophy as opposed to continental philosophers like Heidegger and Sartre (who are for later reading).

Oxford University Press publish a series of small books called "A Very Short Introduction To.....", which include many on philosophers or topics on philosophy. You could try one or two of these, along with the major work of the philosopher concerned. For instance David Hume's "An enquiry concerning human understanding" is quite readable and A.J.Ayer (himself a famous philosopher) has written an introduction to Hume which is now in the Oxford series I have referred to.

If you are particularly interested in ethics try Peter Singer's "How are we to live?" or, for a famous book on a particular topic, "Animal Liberation"

Answer 3

"Philosophy" comes from two Greek words "philos" and "sophos" that signify "love of wisdom". It is the most basic of all studies and is divided into many branches. I minored in Philosophy in college. My first two courses were Logic and Aesthetics. The former concerns proper methods of thinking. The latter is philosophy of beauty. I paint pictures, so this course was helpful. Metaphysics asks "Why?" Teleology asks if there are purposes in life or the universe. Religion is explored too. Polytheism, Monotheism, Henotheism, Atheism and Agnosticism are the main attitudes toward gods. Early religions are polytheistic. Ikhnaten of Egypt was the first monotheist, Moses was a henotheist, Buddha was agnostic and Thomas Jefferson was probably an atheist.

Answer 4

Actually it is not so simple. Philosophy is made of two Greek word, philo- lover and sophia- wisdom. So a philosopher is a lover of wisdom. First, it is a discipline that teaches the rigors of thinking, in this case Logic. Second, studying philosophy help one to organize their thinking and form a consistent world view.
Third, it broadens your horizons, eliminates narrow mindedness and prejudices. Philosophy, teaches to be open minded and willingness to understand other points of view; however it doesn't mean we have to agree with those views. Finally, if a Philosopher is one who loves wisdom. and all wisdom originates with God, a philosopher should also be a lover of God.

Answer 5

The word "Philosophy" came from the Greek word philo and sophia means wisdom. It is a knowledge that comes from the creative thinking About the nature, the creation and all other fields of knowledge.

Answer 6

Philosophy means literally 'to befriend wisdom'. Its scope is infinite, as it is 'sui generis', which means self-generating, thus there is a philosophy of science, ethics, aesthetics, law, the list goes on and on.
Philosophy is generally considered to be the study of the greater meaning of life.

Answer 7

There are more than one definition. It is "the study of truths about reality. It is the search for wisdom.It is a love of wisdom. It is a way of viewing a topic. My friends philosophy about an issue of life may be different than mine. I like the words to a song that describes a philosopher. ..." He has the cool , clear eyes of a seeker of wisdom and truth."

Answer 8

Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. It is quite closely related to religion and asks questions such as 'What is the meaning of life?'

Answer 9

philosophy is all the knowledge you can talk about without actually doing anything.
All the knowledge that is derived plainly by thinking, discussion, arguments, without necessarily coming to conclusions.
I think Philosophy give us the basis of intelligence gathering methodology.

Answer 10

Philosophy is a bunch of deep questions that dont have a definitve answer!