The original idea of the word 'philosophy ' was a 'love of wisdom ' (Cowan 2). Philosophy is meant to explore the 'big questions ' and try to find answers as best we can in the time we have been given. One of the areas of study in philosophy is metaphysics, which deals in the ideas of the nature of reality. "We look at the world, and we assume that it is the way it appears to be. It is not." (Carreira 7). There is much to reality that can be discussed, debated, and disagreed upon. Within metaphysics is the realm of ontology, which poses the question 'what is there? ' (Cowan 146). Two of the major views in ontology are Dualism and Materialism, both of which deal with the nature of the world. Between the two ontological arguments, Dualism and Materialism, Dualism is the superior view as it explains many aspects of our world that materialism does not. Metaphysics is a very complex area of study and requires a bit of a background to fully understand the ontological arguments being presented.…
Philosophy is the rational analysis of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct; the pursuit of happiness. The greek translation for Philosophy means the love of wisdom. The love of wisdom, as discussed in class, is best modelled after a quote by Pope Benedict XVI: “The world can offer you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” It is pushing and venturing outside of your comfort zone in search for the knowledge and understanding that wisdom offers. There are many concepts often misconstrued in philosophy that we discussed in class. For example, it is a misconception when people come to the conclusion that there are no correct answers in Philosophy. It is a fact that there are indeed correct answers…
Philosophy serves one purpose, bringing order to reason. This, on so many levels can organize ones way of thinking into a structured manner; therefore rendering it much easier for one to conclude solid conclusions, thereby avoiding error.…
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument.The word "philosophy" comes from the Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophia), which literally means "love of wisdom.…
Since the dawn of time, humans have searched far and wide trying to find out why we are here, how we got here, and who or what, if anything, put us here. It is hard to say whether we will ever find the true answer. That does not mean that we do not still try, however. The study of philosophy helps us to dive deeper and to take a closer look into everything we think, believe, know, and do. Philosophy urges us to analyze the very basis of our knowledge, so we can understand exactly why we might think this or that way, instead of just blindly accepting it. Although philosophy is very useful in solving many of life’s mysteries, there are some things we are simply incapable of truly knowing. This could change in the future, perhaps with advances in technology, but sometimes, no matter how deep we might dig, and no matter how far we may delve, there is simply no way to find out the whole truth. That being said, studying philosophy is vital to understanding not only the very foundations of our lives and beliefs, but the question of “why,” as opposed to “how”; however, philosophy does have its limits and is not helpful with all of life’s questions.…
So what is philosophy some would say? Well, “the word philosophy comes from the Greek philein, which means “to love,” and sophia, which means “knowledge” or “wisdom”” (Moore, p.2). Therefore, philosophy means to love wisdom or knowledge. This meaning of philosophy has lasted more than two thousand years (p.2). It is suited in today’s world because it is the official meaning of philosophy even today.…
The term philosophy was brought about from the ancient Greeks meaning “wisdom of love.” The true nature behind this social science is to use reason and logic to fully understand certain things. It is the study of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially as an academic discipline. The question every philosopher wants answered is, “How do we know the knowledge that we do?” There is a process they go through to help them understand this phenomenon. They first examine their own beliefs and find doubt within them. Questions begin to emerge which causes them to analyze each question to a precise answer. They make reasoned arguments for their answers and begin to hear criticism from others. Through the judgment and criticism, they prove the rationality of their beliefs and find the fundamental truths to understand the phenomenon. When studying philosophy, asking a question is more fundamentally important than answering. Questions bring about skepticism, which brings up opposing views and Philosophy relies on rational argument to fully understand a concept.…
Philosophy is everything of the mind. The goal of philosophy is to address the “big questions” that do not fall into other disciplines: how people should act (ethics), what exists (metaphysics), how individuals know what they know (epistemology), and how people should reason (logic). Originating from Greek, the word means “love of wisdom.”(WiseGeek,2015) Metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, political philosophy, and social philosophy, these six branches give philosophy categories of questions. Let’s take a brief glance of what these branches mean.…
Philosophy is the evolution of human thought process. It is how variables like religion, culture, social practices and others ideas have influenced scholars over time and helped them to find meaning to their life and other natural phenomena.…
- Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. The word "philosophy" comes from the Ancient Greek (philosophia), which literally means "love of wisdom"…
1. E) My idea of philosophy is that Philosophy is a World-View. By this I mean philosophy is the attempt to understand all matters of the universe, encompassing anything the human mind is capable or incapable of thinking up. It is a personal perspective that can differ even among the smartest of humans. In a world-view, there are always contradictory proposals because it is not dictated by scientific verification. Take the case of Lucretius and Hegel. Lucretius imposes that everything, including mind and soul, is atomic, or made up of atoms. Hegel presents a completely contradictory view, claiming, “Spirit is the only reality. What looks like matter is really a sub-unit of Spirit.” These men have opposing viewpoints on the world, but both are attempting to understand it, and that is key. Philosophy is a world-view because it is the attempt to identify and explain the universe in entirety, not limiting its knowledge to previously made proposals, or scientific facts, but allowing for personal interpretation of anything and everything.…
Hello! Welcome to the course. Idea is to give you a brief intro to some of the main areas of philosophy Aim for this week: to think about what philosophy is Five short parts: Introductory part, where we try and get an initial idea of what philosophy is Next 2 parts where we try and assess some common claims made about philosophy: that it’s (somehow) fundamental and that it’s about important questions Case study: how a philosopher (or anyone) might address the question ‘what is the meaning of life?’ Finally, we’ll look ahead to the rest of the course, thinking about how the topics we’ll cover there relate to what we’ve said about philosophy this week. So… 1. What is Philosophy? Easiest definition: Whatever it is that philosophers do… - This is what the course is designed to show you! - Might be true that this is the most important def: I’ll suggest philosophy importantly involves activity, so actually doing it is the best way to understand what it is - So you’ll learn more about what it is by working your way through the course than by (just) listening to what I have to say… 2nd easiest definition: The love of knowledge (from the Greek philosophia) - But what does it mean to love knowledge? Will any knowledge do? 3rd easiest (route to a) definition: Google what other people have said about it: - Wilfrid Sellars: ‘The aim of philosophy, abstractly formulated, is to understand how things, in the broadest possible sense of the term, hang together, in the broadest possible sense of the term.’ - Martha Nussbaum quotes Epicurus: Philosophy is an activity that uses reasoning and rigorous argument to promote human flourishing - Barry Smith: Thinking clearly and well about reality and our place in it. - Attempt to think systematically about the presuppositions of a given topic I think these are all right, and our job for this week is thinking a bit more about what…
Philosophy is a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means. It signifies a natural and necessary urge in human beings to know themselves and the world in which they live and move and have their being. Western philosophy remained more or less true to the etymological meaning of philosophy in being essentially an intellectual quest for truth. Hindu philosophy is intensely spiritual and has always emphasized the need for practical realization of Truth. 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. Hence we can say that all the aspects of human life are influenced and governed by the philosophical consideration.As a field of study philosophy is one of the oldest disciplines. It is considered as a mother of all the…
Origin. The word “philosophy” is derived from the Greek “philia” meaning “love” and “sophia” meaning “wisdom” or “knowledge”. The literal definition of philosophy, therefore, is “love of wisdom”. In current popular usage, many different ideas are involved in the manner we use the term. In some cases, philosophy refers to an attitude toward certain activities. For instance, during election, we often hear some people say, we are voting for a certain candidate because we favour for his philosophy of government. In classes in philosophy, the most common question the teacher asks is what the philosophy of student is. The popular conception of philosophy, in spite of many ways we may use the term, is a complex intellectual undertaking. Regardless of the various ideas of the role of philosophy in one’s life, its importance cannot be overemphasized.…
Philosophy is a study that seeks to understand the mysteries of existence and reality. It tries to discover the nature of truth and knowledge and to find what is of basic value and importance in life, by studying philosophy, people can clarify what they believe, and they can be motivated to think about ultimate questions. Philosophy is a system of principles that are used for guiding us in what we do in life. The reason philosophy is important is because when we examine our own philosophy, we allow ourselves to discover and point out all errors and contradictions so that we are more easily able to acquire knowledge. Philosophy helps us to be reasonable, it enables us to make good choices, accomplish our goals, live a better life, and become better people. Our decisions can help or hurt people it is a big impact on us. It helps lead to many of the greatest achievements. It is the way to know how to make the world a better place and live in the best way that we want to happen. We can use philosophy to help us figure out how to improve the world, improve ourselves, and have better relationships.…