Philosophy (, 'love of wisdom', in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its own methods and assumptions.
Major branches of philosophy are epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epistemology studies what knowledge is and how to acquire it. Ethics investigates moral principles and what constitutes right conduct. Logic is the study of correct reasoning and explores how good arguments can be distinguished from bad ones. Metaphysics examines the most general features of reality, existence, objects, and properties. Other subfields are aesthetics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of history, and political philosophy. Within each branch, there are competing schools of philosophy that promote different principles, theories, or methods.
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Philosophers use a great variety of methods to arrive at philosophical knowledge. They include conceptual analysis, reliance on common sense and intuitions, use of thought experiments, analysis of ordinary language, description of experience, and critical questioning. Philosophy is related to many other fields, including the sciences, mathematics, business, law, and journalism. It provides an interdisciplinary perspective and studies the scope and fundamental concepts of these fields. It also investigates their methods and ethical implications.
The word philosophy comes from the Ancient Greek words (philos) 'love' and (sophia) 'wisdom'.[2][a] Some sources say that the term was coined by the pre-Socratic philosopher Pythagoras, but this is not certain.[4]
The word entered the English language primarily from Old French and Anglo-Norman starting around 1175 CE. The French philosophie is itself a borrowing from the Latin philosophia. The term philosophy acquired the meanings of "advanced study of the speculative subjects (logic, ethics, physics, and metaphysics)", "deep wisdom consisting of love of truth and virtuous living", "profound learning as transmitted by the ancient writers", and "the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, and the basic limits of human understanding".[5]
Before the modern age, the term philosophy was used in a wide sense. It included most forms of rational inquiry, such as the individual sciences, as its subdisciplines.[6] For instance, natural philosophy was a major branch of philosophy.[7] This branch of philosophy encompassed a wide range of fields, including disciplines like physics, chemistry, and biology.[8] An example of this usage is the 1687 book Philosophi Naturalis Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton. This book referred to natural philosophy in its title, but it is today considered a book of physics.[9]
The meaning of philosophy changed toward the end of the modern period when it acquired the more narrow meaning common today. In this new sense, the term is mainly associated with philosophical disciplines like metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Among other topics, it covers the rational study of reality, knowledge, and values. It is distinguished from other disciplines of rational inquiry such as the empirical sciences and mathematics.[10]
The practice of philosophy is characterized by several general features: it is a form of rational inquiry, it aims to be systematic, and it tends to critically reflect on its own methods and presuppositions.[11] It requires attentively thinking long and carefully about the provocative, vexing, and enduring problems central to the human condition.[12]
The philosophical pursuit of wisdom involves asking general and fundamental questions. It often does not result in straightforward answers but may help a person to better understand the topic, examine their life, dispel confusion, and overcome prejudices and self-deceptive ideas associated with common sense.[13] For example, Socrates stated that "the unexamined life is not worth living" to highlight the role of philosophical inquiry in understanding one's own existence.[14][15] And according to Bertrand Russell, "the man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the cooperation or consent of his deliberate reason."[16]
Attempts to provide more precise definitions of philosophy are controversial[17] and are studied in metaphilosophy.[18] Some approaches argue that there is a set of essential features shared by all parts of philosophy. Others see only weaker family resemblances or contend that it is merely an empty blanket term.[19] Precise definitions are often only accepted by theorists belonging to a certain philosophical movement and are revisionistic according to Sren Overgaard et al. in that many presumed parts of philosophy would not deserve the title "philosophy" if they were true.[20]
Some definitions characterize philosophy in relation to its method, like pure reasoning. Others focus on its topic, for example, as the study of the biggest patterns of the world as a whole or as the attempt to answer the big questions.[21] Such an approach is pursued by Immanuel Kant, who holds that the task of philosophy is united by four questions: "What can I know?"; "What should I do?"; "What may I hope?"; and "What is the human being?"[22] Both approaches have the problem that they are usually either too wide, by including non-philosophical disciplines, or too narrow, by excluding some philosophical sub-disciplines.[23]
Many definitions of philosophy emphasize its intimate relation to science.[24] In this sense, philosophy is sometimes understood as a proper science in its own right. According to some naturalistic philosophers, such as W. V. O. Quine, philosophy is an empirical yet abstract science that is concerned with wide-ranging empirical patterns instead of particular observations.[25] Science-based definitions usually face the problem of explaining why philosophy in its long history has not progressed to the same extent or in the same way as the sciences.[26] This problem is avoided by seeing philosophy as an immature or provisional science whose subdisciplines cease to be philosophy once they have fully developed.[27] In this sense, philosophy is sometimes described as "the midwife of the sciences".[28]
Other definitions focus on the contrast between science and philosophy. A common theme among many such conceptions is that philosophy is concerned with meaning, understanding, or the clarification of language.[29] According to one view, philosophy is conceptual analysis, which involves finding the necessary and sufficient conditions for the application of concepts.[30] Another definition characterizes philosophy as thinking about thinking to emphasize its self-critical, reflective nature.[31] A further approach presents philosophy as a linguistic therapy. According to Ludwig Wittgenstein, for instance, philosophy aims at dispelling misunderstandings to which humans are susceptible due to the confusing structure of ordinary language.[32]
Phenomenologists, such as Edmund Husserl, characterize philosophy as a "rigorous science" investigating essences.[33] They practice a radical suspension of theoretical assumptions about reality to get back to the "things themselves", that is, as originally given in experience. They contend that this base-level of experience provides the foundation for higher-order theoretical knowledge, and that one needs to understand the former to understand the latter.[34]
An early approach found in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy is that philosophy is the spiritual practice of developing one's rational capacities.[35] This practice is an expression of the philosopher's love of wisdom and has the aim of improving one's well-being by leading a reflective life.[36] For example, the Stoics saw philosophy as an exercise to train the mind and thereby achieve eudaimonia and flourish in life.[37]
As a discipline, the history of philosophy aims to provide a systematic and chronological exposition of philosophical concepts and doctrines.[38] Some theorists see it as a part of intellectual history, but it also investigates questions not covered by intellectual history such as whether the theories of past philosophers are true and have remained philosophically relevant.[39] The history of philosophy is primarily concerned with theories based on rational inquiry and argumentation; some historians understand it in a looser sense that includes myths, religious teachings, and proverbial lore.[40]
The Renaissance period started in the 14th century and saw a renewed interest in schools of ancient philosophy, in particular Platonism. Humanism also emerged in this period.[48] The modern period started in the 17th century. One of its central concerns was how philosophical and scientific knowledge are created. Specific importance was given to the role of reason and sensory experience.[49] Many of these innovations were used in the Enlightenment movement to challenge traditional authorities.[50] Several attempts to develop comprehensive systems of philosophy were made in the 19th century, for instance, by German idealism and Marxism.[51] Influential developments in 20th-century philosophy were the emergence and application of formal logic, the focus on the role of language as well as pragmatism, and movements in continental philosophy like phenomenology, existentialism, and post-structuralism.[52] The 20th century saw a rapid expansion of academic philosophy in terms of the number of philosophical publications and philosophers working at academic institutions.[53] There was also a noticeable growth in the number of female philosophers, but they still remained underrepresented.[54] 152ee80cbc
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