What is philosophy?
Philosophy is a unique sort of activity that involves the analysis of concepts and the justification of beliefs. To analyze a concept is to determine what it means. In order to experience and communicate about the world we must employ concepts. But the concepts we employ in ordinary life are often vague and ambiguous. One activity of philosophy is to pass from those obvious, vague and ambiguous concepts whose meaning we are unsure of, to something definite, clear and precise which upon reflection and analysis we find to underlie them. Thus, for example, we use concepts such as love, justice, beauty, right, virtue, God, hate, substance, time, and cause, but what precisely do they mean? Philosophy seeks to answer that question.
There are many different areas of philosophy which can to some extent be delineated through a consideration of the concepts they analyze and questions they attempt to answer. Thus, for example,
There are many different areas of philosophy which can to some extent be delineated through a consideration of the concepts they analyze and questions they attempt to answer. Thus, for example,
- Epistemology or theory of knowledge deals with questions such as: "How are we to define truth?" "Can we know anything with certainty?" "What is knowledge?" "What is the distinction between knowledge and belief?" "When is a belief justified?"
- Ethics is concerned with what we ought to do and what is good for us. It asks such questions as: "What is the 'good life'?" "Is the rightness of an act dependent solely on its consequences?" "What is the definition of 'good'"? "Are our judgments about what we ought to do objective or subjective?"
- Logic studies the differences between valid and invalid reasoning. It provides techniques for developing proofs, and critically analyzing various points of view. Also, logic asks "What are the limits of what can be proven logically?" Although this question might sound paradoxical, it actually has a surprising answer.
- Metaphysics is concerned with the structure of the most general features of reality and asks such questions as: "Do we have free will?" "Is there a soul and is it immortal?" "How are we to define causation?" "Are there universals?" "What are space and time; are they infinite?"
- Philosophy of Art or aesthetics raises questions such as "What is art?" "Is beauty just in the eye of the beholder?" "How does the Western tradition in art account for the general lack of great women artists, and the marginalizing of the African-American tradition?"
- Philosophy of Mind theorizes about the nature of mental phenomena. "Can the mind be reduced to the brain?" "Is the mind like a computer?" "Could computers have minds?" "How does consciousness arise?" "What sorts of minds might non-human animals have?"
- Philosophy of Religion asks such questions as "What evidence is there for the existence of God?" "How can the existence of God be reconciled with the existence of evil?" "Can reason be reconciled with faith?"
Of course, philosophy not only poses these and other questions; it also proposes a variety of answers. Moreover, as these sample questions suggest, philosophy naturally connects with many other areas of study; for example, psychology, physics, art, music, literature, linguistics, computer science, history, and theology. Philosophers typically have many intellectual interests, and the study of philosophy is exciting because it reaches in many directions, and leads to a broad education.
Philosophy is not only concerned with the analysis of concepts, but also with the justification of beliefs. We often and indeed invariably grow up believing uncritically in many of the things that we have been taught by our family, religious leaders, teachers and friends. To say we believe them uncritically is to say that they are assumed to be true without question. Another task of philosophy is to question such beliefs, and this can only be done by subjecting them to every objection one can think of or find in the writing of others. The result of this process may be to strengthen our beliefs or perhaps to abandon them, but in either case, they will come to reflect ways of viewing ourselves and the world that are more truly our own.
One important reason for studying philosophy is that it deals with fundamental questions of human existence; questions that each of us has on occasion thought about. "Does God exist?" "What will happen to me when I die?" "Are there any objective values, and if there are, what are they?" "What makes an action right?" Philosophy is the exploration of answers to these important questions. By reading what philosophers through the ages have said in response to such fundamental philosophical problems, and by engaging in the activity of philosophizing, we will learn to think more clearly about a wide range of issues. And by analyzing arguments for and against different views we learn skills which can be used in other areas of life. Philosophy develops analytic reasoning skills. To be able to write and communicate with a clarity of thought is a great asset in careers as different as law, computer programming, and journalism, as well as in numerous other areas of employment. Thus, philosophy is not only a pleasurable activity in its own right; it has practical benefits as well.
Philosophy is not only concerned with the analysis of concepts, but also with the justification of beliefs. We often and indeed invariably grow up believing uncritically in many of the things that we have been taught by our family, religious leaders, teachers and friends. To say we believe them uncritically is to say that they are assumed to be true without question. Another task of philosophy is to question such beliefs, and this can only be done by subjecting them to every objection one can think of or find in the writing of others. The result of this process may be to strengthen our beliefs or perhaps to abandon them, but in either case, they will come to reflect ways of viewing ourselves and the world that are more truly our own.
One important reason for studying philosophy is that it deals with fundamental questions of human existence; questions that each of us has on occasion thought about. "Does God exist?" "What will happen to me when I die?" "Are there any objective values, and if there are, what are they?" "What makes an action right?" Philosophy is the exploration of answers to these important questions. By reading what philosophers through the ages have said in response to such fundamental philosophical problems, and by engaging in the activity of philosophizing, we will learn to think more clearly about a wide range of issues. And by analyzing arguments for and against different views we learn skills which can be used in other areas of life. Philosophy develops analytic reasoning skills. To be able to write and communicate with a clarity of thought is a great asset in careers as different as law, computer programming, and journalism, as well as in numerous other areas of employment. Thus, philosophy is not only a pleasurable activity in its own right; it has practical benefits as well.