Philosophy is a field of study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics, in which people ask questions such as whether God exists, what is the nature of reality, whether knowledge is possible, and what makes actions right or wrong. The fundamental method of philosophy is the use of reasoning to evaluate arguments concerning these questions. However, the exact scope and methodology of philosophy is not rigid. What counts as philosophy is itself debated, and it varies across philosophical traditions.
The term philosophy comes from the Greek word "Φιλοσοφία" (philo-sophia), which means "love of wisdom" or less commonly "friend of wisdom". Many ancient Greek philosophers made the distinction between the desire for wisdom, as opposed to the desire for material things, vices, and the satisfaction of bodily desires. The definition of wisdom for many ancient Greeks would have been about virtue and the desire for knowledge and not false opinions. However, the term is notoriously difficult to define today (see definition of philosophy) because of the diverse range of ideas that have been labeled as philosophy. The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy defines it as the study of "the most fundamental and general concepts and principles involved in thought, action, and reality". The Penguin Encyclopedia says that philosophy differs from science in that philosophy's questions cannot be answered empirically, and from religion in that philosophy allows no place for faith or revelation. However, these points are called into question by the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, which states: "the late 20th-century... prefers to see philosophical reflection as continuous with the best practice of any field of intellectual enquiry." Indeed, many of the speculations of early philosophers in the field of natural philosophy eventually formed the basis for modern scientific explanations on a variety of subjects.
Informally, a "philosophy" may refer to a general world view or to a specific ethic or belief
2006-07-24 02:15:04
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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Philosophy means any things. to those whom have studied it philosophy begins to look like a noun: an area of study which includes ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, philosophy of mind and so on.
To those who haven't studied, and some who have (and I think this is more important than the former) philosophy is a verb. It is examining life, the way we live, and the world we live in. This is how all those other fields of philosophy began any way. After all Socrates didn't study metaphysics, he (or Plato) invented it.
2006-07-24 03:40:34
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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Philosophy comes from two Greek words, philo- love of and sophia-wisdom. So one who studies philosophy is a lover of wisdom. Philosophy covers a wide range of issues, it is the mother of all the sciences, thanks to Aristotle. Some of the specific topics addressed are Epistemology(theory of knowledge); Metaphysics(the nature of reality and being(ontology); Ethics, (what is right and wrong); Philosophy of Religion(this is a critical view of religion); Aesthetics(what is beauty); Political philosophy; there are also areas for Mathematics, Logic, Science and other disciplines. It also teaches the rigors of thinking, shallow thinking is prohibited in philosophy.
2006-07-24 03:17:56
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answer #3
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answered by tigranvp2001 4
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Russell has a good quote in this: We must be conscious one atypical function of philosophy. If someone asks the question what's arithmetic, we are able to provide him a dictionary definition, enable us say the technological understanding of selection, for the sake of argument. to this point because it is going that's an uncontroversial fact... Definitions ought to correctly accept in this kind of any field the position a body of certain expertise exists. yet philosophy won't be able to be so defined. Any definition is debatable and already embodies a philosophic body of options. the purely thanks to make certain what philosophy is, is to do philosophy. —Bertrand Russell, The information of the West
2016-10-15 03:41:53
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answer #4
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answered by garfield 4
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The search for a system of beliefs and values, using reason and intuition. While both religion and science seek to provide definitive answers, philosophy is defined by its questions.
2006-07-24 02:28:10
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answer #5
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answered by Keither 3
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Literally, it is greek for love of knowledge. Philosophy is a theory about the nature of truth.
2006-07-24 02:14:02
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answer #6
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answered by FiatJusticia 3
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Intellectual BS.
2006-07-24 02:37:12
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answer #7
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answered by Alobar 5
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study of the nature of knowledge, reality, truth
2006-07-24 02:15:06
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answer #8
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answered by Sufi 7
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