| Philosophy (a combination of the Greek words philos
and sophia) is understood in different ways historically and by different philosophers. It, therefore, requires a meta-philosophy to adjudicate. Although it can be conceded that philosophy
aims at some kind of understanding, knowledge or wisdom about fundamental matters such as reality, knowledge, meaning, value, being and
truth, it is not clear whether these pursuits require a dialectical, i.e., dialogical, approach.
The term may also refer to the collective works of major philosophers.
It can mean the academic exploration of various questions raised by philosophers; it can also mean a certain critical, creative
way of thinking. Contemporary Western academic 'philosophy' has two broad traditions: 'analytic' and 'continental' philosophy.
The former tradition is commonly focused on conceptual analysis. The latter tradition is distinctive for its associations with
particular problems. Eastern philosophy is another, distinct tradition. Each of these can be considered individually or in
comparison with the others. Philosophy, thus, has several connotations in common speech. This article will focus on philosophy as
a field of study.
Philosophical topics
Philosophers are usually interested with such concepts as existence or
being, morality or goodness, knowledge, truth, and beauty.
Historically most philosophy has either centred on religious
beliefs, or science. Philosophers may ask critical questions about the nature of
these concepts--questions typically outside the scope of science. Several major works of post-medieval philosophy begin by asking
the meaning of philosophy. Asking what philosophy is is itself a philosophical activity, though philosophers are more
often motivated by specific questions such as:
- What is truth? How or why do we identify a statement as correct or false, and how do we reason?
- Is knowledge possible? How do we know what we know?
- Is there a difference between morally right and wrong actions (or values, or institutions)? If so, what is that difference?
Which actions are right, and which wrong? Are values absolute, or relative? In general or particular terms, how should I
live?
- What is reality, and what things can be described as real? What is the nature of those things? Do some things exist
independently of our perception? What is the nature of space and time? What is the nature of thought and thinking? What is it to
be a person?
- What is it to be beautiful? How do beautiful things differ from the everyday? What is Art?
In Ancient Greek philosophy, these five broad types of questions
were respectively called analytical or logical, epistemological, ethical, metaphysical, and aesthetic. They are not the only subjects
of philosophical inquiry. Aristotle, who was the first to use this
classification, also considered politics, modern-day physics, geology, biology,
meteorology, and astronomy as
branches of philosophical investigation. The Greeks, through the influence of Socrates and his method, developed a tradition of
analysis, that divided a subject into its components
to understand it better.
Other traditions did not always use such labels, or emphasize the same themes. While Hindu philosophy has similarities with Western philosophy, there was no word for philosophy in Japanese, Korean or Chinese until the 19th
century, despite long-established philosophical traditions. Chinese philosophers, in particular, used different categories than the Greeks. Definitions were not
based on common features, but were usually metaphorical and referred to several subjects at once [1] (http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/G001). Boundaries between
categories are not distinct in Western philosophy, however, and since at least the 19th century, Western philosophical works have
usually addressed a nexus of questions rather than distinct topics.
Motives, goals and methods
The word "philosophy" is derived from the ancient Greek (Φιλοσοφία,
philosophia) which may be translated as "love of wisdom". It suggests a vocation for questioning, learning, and teaching.
Philosophers are curious about the world, humanity, existence, values, understanding, and the nature of things.
Philosophy can be distinguished from other disciplines by its methods of inquiry. Philosophers often frame their questions as
problems or puzzles, in order to give clear examples of their doubts about a subject they find interesting, wonderful or
confusing. Often these questions are about the assumptions behind a belief, or about methods by which people reason.
Philosophers typically frame problems in a logical manner, historically using syllogisms of traditional logic, since Frege and Russell
increasingly using formal systems, such as predicate calculus, and then work towards a solution based on critical
reading and reasoning. Like Socrates, they search for answers through discussion, responding to the arguments of others, or
careful personal contemplation. Philosophers often debate the relative merits of these methods. For example, they may ask whether
philosophical "solutions" are objective, definitive, and say something informative about reality, On the other hand, they may ask
whether these solutions give greater clarity or insight into the logic of language, or rather act as personal therapy.
Philosophers seek justification for the answers to their questions.
Language is the philosopher’s primary tool. In the analytic tradition, debates about philosophical method have been closely connected to debates about the
relationship between philosophy and language. There is a similar concern in continental philosophy. Meta-philosophy,
the "philosophy of philosophy", studies the nature of philosophical problems, philosophical solutions, and the proper method for
getting from one to another. These debates are also connected to debates over language and interpretation.
These debates are not less relevant to philosophy as a whole, since the nature and role of philosophy itself has always
been an essential part of philosophical deliberations. The existence of fields such as pataphysics point to a lengthy debate that
is beyond the scope of this article (see meta-philosophy).
Philosophy may also be approached by examining the relationships between components, as in structuralism and recursionism. The nature of
science is examined in general terms (see philosophy of
science), and for particular sciences, (biophilosophy).
Non-academic uses of the word
Popularly, the word philosophy is often used to mean any form of assimilated knowledge. It may also refer to someone's
perspective on life (as in "philosophy of life") or the basic principles behind, or method of achieving, something (as in "my
philosophy about driving on highways"). This is also commonly referred to as a worldview.
Reacting to a tragedy philosophically might mean abstaining from passionate reactions in favour of intellectualized
detachment. This usage arose from the example of Socrates, who calmly discussed the
nature of the soul with his followers before consuming a deadly potion of hemlock as ordered by an Athenian jury. The Stoics followed Socrates in seeking freedom from their passions, hence the modern use of the term
stoic to refer to calm fortitude.
Philosophical traditions
Members of many societies have considered philosophical questions and built philosophic traditions based upon each other's
works. The term "philosophy" in a Euro-American academic context may misleadingly
refer solely to the philosophic traditions of Western European
civilization. This is also called "Western
philosophy", especially when contrasted with "Eastern
philosophy", which broadly subsumes the philosophic traditions of Asia. Both terms
group together diverse, even incompatible schools of thought.
Eastern and Middle Eastern philosophical traditions have influenced Western philosophers. Russian, Jewish, Islamic and
recently Latin American philosophical traditions have contributed to, or been derivative of Western philosophy, yet retain a
unique identity.
It is convenient to divide contemporary Western academic philosophy into two traditions, since use of the term "Western
philosophy" over the past century has often revealed a bias towards one or the other.
Analytic philosophy is characterized by a precise
approach to analysing the language of philosophical questions. The purpose is to lay bare any underlying conceptual confusion.
This approach dominates Anglo-American philosophy, but has roots in continental Europe, where it is also practiced. The tradition
of analytic philosophy began with Gottlob Frege at the turn of the
twentieth-century, and was carried on by Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore and Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Continental philosophy is a label for various
dissimilar schools, predominant in continental Europe, but also at home in many English-speaking Humanities departments, that may
examine language, metaphysical approaches, political theory,
perspectivalism, or various aspects of the arts and culture. One of the focuses of recent continental philosophical schools is the attempt to reconcile academic
philosophy with issues that appear non-philosophical, subverting common expectations of what philosophy is meant to be.
The divisions between all of these traditions are arbitrary. The differences between traditions are often based on their
favored historical philosophers, or emphases on ideas, styles or language of writing. The subject matter and dialogues of each
can be studied using methods derived from the others, and there have been significant commonalities and exchanges between
them.
Other philosophical traditions, such as African, are rarely considered by foreign academia. On account of the widespread
emphasis on Western philosophy as a reference point, the study, preservation and dissemination of valuable but not widely known
non-Western philosophical works faces many obstacles.
Languages can either be a barrier or a vehicle for ideas. The question of which specific languages can be considered essential
to philosophizing is a theme in the works of many recent philosophers.
Western philosophy
The Western philosophic tradition began with the Greeks and
continues to the present day. Major Western philosophers include Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Michel de Montaigne, Francis Bacon, René Descartes, Baruch
Spinoza, George Berkeley, John Locke, David Hume, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant,
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich
Nietzsche, Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Henri Bergson, Edmund Husserl, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger,
Jean-Paul Sartre, Theodor Adorno, Jacques Derrida, Willard van Orman Quine, and Karl
Popper.
Other influential contemporary Western philosophers include Hilary Putnam, John
Ralston Saul, David Wiggins,
John Rawls, Bernard
Williams, Saul Kripke, Donald Davidson, Thomas Nagel,
Jerry A. Fodor, Frank Jackson, and Max More.
Western philosophy is sometimes divided into various branches of study, based on the kind of questions addressed. The most
common categories are: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and aesthetics. Some other disciplines include logic, philosophy of language and political philosophy. For more information, see Western philosophy.
Eastern philosophy
Eastern philosophy follows the broad traditions that originated from, or were popular within. ancient India and China. Major
Eastern philosophers include Kapila, Yajnavalkya, Gautama Buddha, Akshapada Gotama, Nagarjuna, Confucius, Lao
Zi (Lao Tzu), Zhuang Zi (Chuang Tzu), Mencius, Xun Zi, Zhu Xi,
Wang Yangming, Dharmakirti, Sankara, Ramanuja, Narayana Guru, Vivekananda, Aurobindo and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
Indian philosophy is perhaps the most comparable to Western philosophy. For instance, the ancient Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy explores logic as some modern Analytic
philosophers do; similarly the school of Carvaka was openly atheistical and empirical. However there are important
differences - e.g. ancient Indian philosophy traditionally emphasized the teachings of schools or ancient texts, rather than
individual philosophers, most of whom either wrote anonymously or whose names were simply not transmitted or recorded. For more
information on Eastern philosophies, see Eastern
philosophy.
Other philosophical traditions are linked below.
Applied philosophy
Though often seen as a wholly abstract field, philosophy is not without practical applications. The most obvious applications
are those in ethics -- applied
ethics in particular -- and in political philosophy.
The political philosophies of Confucius, Kautilya, Sun Tzu, John
Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx, John Stuart
Mill, Mahatma Gandhi, Robert Nozick, and John Rawls have shaped and been used to
justify governments and their actions.
Philosophy of education deserves special mention,
as well; progressive education as championed by John Dewey has had a profound
impact on educational practices in the United States in the twentieth
century. It could be argued that some New Age philosophies, such as the "Celestine Prophecy", inadvertently educate people about human
psychology and power relationships through the use of spiritual metaphor.
Other important applications can be found in epistemology, which might
help one to regulate one's notions of what knowledge, evidence, and justified belief are. Two useful ways that epistemology and
logic can inform the real world are through the fields of journalism and police investigation. Informal
logic has fantastic applications, helping citizens to be critical in reading rhetoric and in everyday discussion. Philosophy of science discusses the underpinnings of the scientific method. Aesthetics can help to interpret
discussions of art. Even ontology, surely the
most abstract and least practical-seeming branch of philosophy, has had important consequences for logic and computer science.
In general, the various "philosophies of," such as philosophy of
law, can provide workers in their respective fields with a deeper understanding of the theoretical or conceptual
underpinnings of their fields.
Often, philosophy is seen as an investigation into an area not understood well enough to be its own branch of knowledge. What
were once merely philosophical pursuits have evolved into the modern day fields of psychology, sociology, linguistics, and economics (among others). Computer science, cognitive science and artificial
intelligence are modern areas of research that philosophy has played a role in developing.
Moreover, a burgeoning profession devoted to applying philosophy to the problems of ordinary life has recently developed,
called philosophical counseling. Many Eastern
philosophies can and do help millions of people with anxiety problems through their emphasis on meditation for calming the mind
and the connection between the health of the body and the health of the soul.
Bibliography
Introductions
For beginners
- Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction by Edward Craig
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Philosophy (2nd Edition) by Jay Stevenson
- Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder
- Philosophy
Now (http://www.philosophynow.org) magazine
- Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy by Robert C. Solomon
- A Short History of Philosophy by Robert C. Solomon, Kathleen M. Higgins
- The Problems of Philosophy (http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/phil/russell/) by Bertrand Russell
- Philosophy: The Basics by Nigel Warburton.
- Sober, E. (2001). Core Questions in Philosophy: A Text with Readings. Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall.
- What Philosophy Is (http://www.philosophicalsociety.com/What%20Philosophy%20Is.htm)
- Introducing Philosophy Series (http://www.galilean-library.org/philosophy.html)
Topical introductions
- A Short History of Modern Philosophy by Roger Scruton
- World Philosophies by Ninian Smart
- Indian Philosophy: a Very Short Introduction by Sue Hamilton
- A Brief Introduction to Islamic Philosophy by Oliver Leaman
- Eastern Philosophy For Beginners by Jim Powell, Joe Lee
- An Introduction to African Philosophy by Samuel Oluoch Imbo
- Philosophy in Russia: From Herzen to Lenin and Berdyaev by Frederick Copleston
- Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction by Simon Critchley
- Complete Idiot's Guide to Eastern Philosophy by Jay Stevenson
- Classic Asian Philosophy: A Guide to the Essential Texts by OmegaX
Anthologies
- Philosophic Classics: From Plato to Derrida (4th Edition) by Forrest E. Baird
- Classics of Philosophy (Vols. 1 & 2, 2nd edition) by Louis P. Pojman
- Classics of Philosophy: The 20th Century (Vol. 3) by Louis P. Pojman
- The English Philosophers from Bacon to Mill by Edwin Arthur Burtt
- European Philosophers from Descartes to Nietzsche by Monroe Beardsley
- Contemporary Analytic Philosophy: Core Readings by James Baillie
- Existentialism: Basic Writings (Second Edition) by Charles Guignon, Derk Pereboom
- The Phenomenology Reader by Dermot Moran, Timothy Mooney
- Medieval Islamic Philosophical Writings edited by Muhammad Ali Khalidi
- A Source Book in Indian Philosophy by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Charles A. Moore
- A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy by Wing-Tsit Chan
- Kim, J. and Ernest Sosa, Ed. (1999). Metaphysics: An Anthology. Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies. Oxford, Blackwell
Publishers Ltd.
Reference works
- The Oxford Companion to Philosophy edited by Ted
Honderich
- The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy by Robert Audi
- The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (10 vols.) edited by Edward Craig,
Luciano Floridi (also available online by subscription); or
- The Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy edited by Edward Craig (an abridgement)
- Routledge History of Philosophy (10 vols.) edited by John Marenbon
- History of Philosophy (9 vols.) by Frederick Copleston
- A History of Western Philosophy (5 vols.) by W. T. Jones
- Encyclopaedia of Indian Philosophies (8 vols.), edited by Karl H. Potter et al (first 6 volumes out of
print)
- Indian Philosophy (2 vols.) by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
- A History of Indian Philosophy (5 vols.) by Surendranath Dasgupta
- History of Chinese Philosophy (2 vols.) by Fung Yu-lan, Derk
Bodde
- Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy edited by Antonio S. Cua
- Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion by Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber, Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Kurt Friedrichs
- Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy by Brian Carr, Indira Mahalingam
- A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English by John A. Grimes
- History of Islamic Philosophy edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Oliver Leaman
- History of Jewish Philosophy edited by Daniel H. Frank, Oliver Leaman
- A History of Russian Philosophy: From the Tenth to the Twentieth Centuries by Valerii Aleksandrovich Kuvakin
- Ayer, A. J. et al. Ed. (1994) A Dictionary of Philosophical Quotations. Blackwell Reference Oxford. Oxford, Basil
Blackwell Ltd.
- Blackburn, S., Ed. (1996)The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
- Mauter, T., Ed. The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy. London, Penguin Books.
- Runes, D., ED. (1942). The Dictionary of Philosophy. New York, The Philosophical Library, Inc.
- Angeles, P. A., Ed. (1992). The Harper Collins Dictionary of Philosophy. New York, Harper Perennial.
- Bunnin, N. et. al.,Ed.(1996) The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy. Blackwell Companions to Philosophy. Oxford,
Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
- Popkin, R. H. (1999). The Columbia History of Western Philosophy. New York, Columbia University Press.
External links
Some of these websites contain links to online texts of philosophy, as do many related articles on Wikipedia.
Resources
Forums
- Philosophy
Forums (http://www.philosophyforums.com) -- a place to discuss Philosophy with
a discursive library on Philosophical topics.
- Talk
Philosophy (http://www.talkphilosophy.org) -- A place to discuss topics in all
areas of philosophy from ethics to aesthetics.
- The Academy (http://www.galilean-library.org/academy/) -- a place to
discuss philosophy from basic to advanced levels, with a library of introductory essays for beginners.
- PhiloWiki (http://www.philowiki.com) -- the Internet's first online Wiki for the development of multiple
points of view on a range of philosophical topics.
- Groves of
Academe (http://www.grovesofacademe.com/) -- A discussion board covering
Philosophy, Logic/Mathematics, Culture, Literature, The Arts, and Technology.
Organizations, Websites and Associations
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