What is Philosophy?

nature of reality, of what exists in

the world, what it is like, and how it
- “philosophy” means “love of
is ordered. In metaphysics
wisdom”
philosophers wrestle with such
- philosophy is an activity people
questions as:
undertake when they seek to
Is there a God?
understand fundamental truths about
What is truth?
themselves, the world in which they
What is a person? What
live, and their relationships to the
makes a person the same
world and to each other.
through time?
- those who study philosophy are
Is the world strictly
perpetually engaged in asking,
composed of matter?
answering, and arguing for their
Do people have minds? If so,
answers to life’s most basic
how is the mind related to the
questions.
body?
- The derivation of the word Do people have free wills?
"philosophy" from the Greek is
What is it for one event to
suggested by the following words cause another?
and word-fragments.
• Epistemology – the study of
→ philo—love of, affinity for, knowledge. It is primarily
liking of concerned with what we can know
→ philander—to engage in love about the world and how we can
affairs frivolously know it. Typical questions of
→ philanthropy—love of concern in epistemology are:
mankind in general What is knowledge?
→ philately—postage stamps Do we know anything at all?
hobby How do we know what we
→ phile—(as in "anglophile") know?
one having a love for Can we be justified in
→ philology—having a liking claiming to know certain
for words things?
→ sophos—wisdom • Ethics – The study of ethics often
→ sophist—lit. one who loves concerns what we ought to do and
knowledge what it would be best to do. In
→ sophomore—wise and struggling with this issue, larger
moros—foolish; i.e. one who questions about what is good and
thinks he knows many things right arise. So, the ethicist attempts
→ sophisticated—one who is to answer such questions as:
knowledgeable What is good? What makes
actions or people good?
Branches of Philosophy
What is right? What makes
• Metaphysics/Ontology – the study of actions right?
metaphysics is the study of the
 Is morality objective or perspectives. This philosophical
subjective? subject is wholly devoted to
How should I treat others? defining the different aspects of
• Logic – Another important aspect of beauty, even its contours. How do
the study of philosophy is the we find something beautiful? Is
arguments or reasons given for beauty always subjective or can it be
people’s answers to these questions. objective too? Can everyone find a
To this end philosophers employ thing beautiful? It also examines
logic to study the nature and individual taste and attempts to
structure of arguments. Logicians provide answers about these things
ask such questions as: in a scientific manner. Aesthetic
What constitutes "good" or Philosophy’s primary topic of
"bad" reasoning? investigation is beauty and art. It is
How do we determine often debated inside its classrooms.
whether a given piece of It also talks about performing arts
reasoning is good or bad? like music.
• Axiology – Also referred to as the
Note: In some references, ethics and
theory of value, Axiology explores
aesthetics are two main parts of axiology.
the nature of value and its
metaphysical aspects. Value Theory Nature of Philosophy
is often interchangeably used as
The nature of philosophy can be said
Axiology and this branch of
to be purely scientific as it incorporates
Philosophy peruses upon the value
curious discovery of human reality and
of goodness. To put it simply,
integrates with other sciences like
Axiology looks at the concept of
Psychology, Sociology, Physics, Political
value in terms of its philosophical
Science, amongst others to understand
terms and argues questions about
various philosophical questions. Through
nature and what actually is valued.
the 7 branches of Philosophy, it sets out to
• Political Philosophy – Combining
harmonize sciences to understand the human
the two fields of Politics and
mind and the world.
Philosophy, Political Philosophy
studies political government, laws, History of Philosophy
liberty, justice, rights, authority,
The study of philosophy involves not
political states and systems, ethics,
only forming one’s own answers to such
and more. It explores the concepts
questions, but also seeking to understand the
of why we need governments, the
way in which people have answered such
role of played by governments, what
questions in the past. So, a significant part of
are its constituents, amongst others.
philosophy is its history, a history of
• Aesthetics – Every person defines
answers and arguments about these very
beauty as per his or her own
questions.
Western vs Eastern Philosophies
Western philosophy is referred to as Western philosophy, on the other
the school of thought from Greek hand, is based on self-dedication to be of
philosophy that influenced the greater part service to others. Life is service to God,
of Western civilization. In contrary, the money, community, and so on. Due to its
Eastern philosophy is based mainly in Asia, Christian influence, there has to be a
more specifically the Chinese philosophy. beginning and end to find meaning. Linear
Moreover, Western philosophy takes its as it seems, Western philosophy is logical,
roots from Rome and Christianity, scientific, and rational compared to the
specifically Judeo-Christianity. Eastern East’s concept of eternal and recurring.
philosophy, on the other hand, is from
Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism, and
Taoism. Thus, is it safe to say that Eastern Additional Info:
philosophy is classical Chinese, while
Western philosophy is more Latin in its The oriental philosophy It is a
roots. compendium of currents of thought that
address the existential concerns of the
The main differences between the human being, and that arose in the Middle
school of thought or the philosophies of the East, India and China, among other places.
East and West are the West’s Individualism These currents of thought began to expand
and the East’s Collectivism. The Eastern in the world for around 5000 years. The term
philosophy is drawn much more into groups “oriental philosophy “is used to distinguish
or society or people’s actions and thoughts them from traditional philosophy in the
as one in order to find meaning in life as West and, despite being encompassed under
they try to get rid of the false “me” concept the same name, most of the time there is not
and find meaning in discovering the true much in common between them.
“me” in relation to everything around them,
or as part of a bigger scheme. In contrast, the
Western civilization is more individualistic,
trying to find the meaning of life here and
now with self at the center as it is already
given and part of the divine.
The main principle of the Eastern
philosophy is unity. This cosmological
unity is the main point in the journey of life
as it goes towards the eternal realities. Life
is round, and the recurrence with everything
around it is important. Ethics is based on
behavior, and dependence is from the inside
to the outside. In order to be liberated, the
inner self must be freed first in accordance
to the world around it.