Philosophy Definition, Meaning, Branches & History

The term Philosophy means “love of wisdom.” Philosophy, in its broadest meaning, is the study of understanding basic truths about oneself, the world around them, and one’s place in it as well as in interactions with others. Philosophy is similar to an academic discipline in many ways. Philosophy students are constantly posing, responding to, and debating the most fundamental problems of life. In academic philosophy, key fields of study are generally separated to facilitate a more systematic exploration of the subject.

What is Philosophy?

Philosophy is the rational, abstract, and methodical study of reality as a whole or of the essential aspects of human existence and experience. The word comes from Greek via Latin, philosophia, which means “love of wisdom.” A key aspect of the intellectual history of many civilizations is philosophical investigation.

Philosophy is an approach to thinking about a variety of topics, including existence, ethics, meaning, and value. The four Rs of that “way of thinking” are reevaluation, reason, reflection, and response. Increasing understanding is the goal. It is hoped that studying philosophy will help us become more intelligent thinkers and wise decision-makers, which will enhance the quality of our lives in general.

Etymology of Philosophy

Philosophy originates from the ancient Greek terms ‘Philos’ meaning ‘love’ and ‘Sophia’ meaning ‘knowledge’. Although this is not confirmed, some sources claim that Pythagoras, a Presocratic philosopher, was the one who first used the phrase.

Beginning about 1175 CE, the word mostly came from Old French and Anglo-Norman into the English language. The Latin philosophia is the source of the French philosophie as well. Philosophy has taken on 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”, as well as “the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, and the basic limits of human understanding”.

Definition of Philosophy by Different Philosophers

Many thinkers and intellectuals have defined philosophy from different philosophical perspectives. Looking at the definitions they revealed their viewpoints about philosophy. Philosophers have explained philosophy in a number of ways throughout history. A few of the most well-known are listed below:

• According to Aristotle: Philosophical inquiry seeks to understand the true nature of supernatural substances.
• As said by Levison: “Philosophy is mental activity”.
• As stated by Karl Marks: “Philosophy is the interpretation of the world in order to change it”.
• As stated by Hegel: “Philosophy is that which grasps its own era in thought.”
• According to Immanuel Kant: The definition of philosophy is “the science and criticism of cognition.”
• As stated by Russell: “Philosophy proper deals with matters of interest to the general educated public, and loses much of its value if only a few professionals can understand it.”
• As stated by Henderson: “Philosophy is a rigorous, disciplined, guarded analysis of some of the most difficult problems which men have ever faced.”
• According to Dewey: “Philosophy is not a panacea (remedy for all kinds of diseases/troubles) for the problems of men, but is that which emerges out of the method employed by them to solve their problems.”
• Aristippus considers: “The ability to feel at ease in any society” is what philosophy is all about.
• As said by Socrates: “Philosophy is a daily activity”.
• As said by Phenix: “Science looks solely for new facts to find. Fact-finding is not of interest to philosophy. Instead, it is only concerned with facts as long as they may be used to inform a viewpoint. It attempts to arrange, construe, elucidate, and critique the scientific facts that have already been revealed.”

Branches of Philosophy

Towards the conclusion of the modern era, philosophy took on a more constrained meaning that is still in use today. The term’s primary associations in this new meaning are with philosophical fields including metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. It covers the rational examination of reality, knowledge, and values among other things. It differs, therefore, from other rational inquiry fields like mathematics and the empirical sciences. The four main areas of philosophy are metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and logic:

Metaphysics

The study of reality, or what exists in the world, what it is like, and how it is organized, is fundamental to the field of metaphysics. Philosophers in metaphysics discuss issues like these:

• Does God exist?
• What does truth mean?
• What is an individual? What remains constant about a person over time?
• Is matter the only substance in the universe?
• Do humans possess minds? If yes, how do the body and mind interact?
• Do humans possess free will?
• How does one incident lead to another?

Epistemology

Knowledge is the subject of epistemology. What we can know about the world and how we can know it are its main concerns. Commonly raised concerns in epistemology are:

• Knowledge: What is it?
• Do we have any knowledge at all?
• How do we get to our knowledge?
• Is it reasonable for us to assert that we know certain things?

Ethics

The optimal course of action and what we should do are frequently discussed in the study of ethics. Greater questions about what is good and right come up as one deals with this dilemma. Therefore, the ethicist tries to respond to queries like these:

• What’s impressive? What characterizes excellent deeds or people?
• Which is correct? What justifies certain behaviors?
• Is morality impartial or biased?
• And how should I treat others?

Logic

The justifications or explanations offered by people for their responses to these queries constitute another important facet of the study of philosophy. Philosophers use logic to examine the nature and organization of arguments in order to achieve this goal. Logicians raise queries like these:

• What makes thinking “good” or “bad”?
• How can we judge whether a particular line of argument is sound or flawed?

History of Philosophy

The history of philosophy as a field seeks to provide a systematic and historical presentation of philosophical concepts and doctrines. Western, Arabic-Persian, Indian, and Chinese philosophy are the primary philosophical branches of history. African philosophy, Latin American philosophy, and Japanese philosophy are further major philosophical traditions.

Western Philosophy

The Presocratic, around the sixth century BCE, brought Western philosophy to Ancient Greece. They made an effort to offer logical justifications for the universe’s existence. Following them, Socrates (469–399 BCE), Plato (427–347 BCE), and Aristotle (384–322 BCE) influenced philosophy. They broadened the scope of discussion to include issues such as morality, knowledge acquisition, and the nature of reality and the mind.

Arabic-Persian Philosophy

Early in the ninth century CE, arguments within the Islamic religious tradition gave rise to Arabic-Persian philosophy. Throughout its classical era, which lasted until the 12th century CE, Greek thinkers had an important influence. It made use of these concepts to clarify and explain the Quran’s teachings. Most people agree that the first philosopher of this philosophy was Al-Kindi (801–873 CE). In an effort to demonstrate the coexistence of reason and faith, he translated and interpreted a great deal of Aristotle’s and Neoplatonists’ writings.

Indian Philosophy

Indian philosophy is characterized by its integration of the study of the nature of reality, methods of knowledge collection, and the spiritual question of enlightenment. The Vedas were composed in the year 900 BCE. These texts serve as the cornerstone of Hinduism and address topics like how souls are reborn depending on their past deeds and the relationship between the self and the ultimate truth. During this time, non-Vedic teachings like Buddhism and Jainism also came into being.

Chinese Philosophy

Chinese philosophy is especially involved with practical issues related to self-cultivation, government, and proper social behavior. Several schools of thought evolved in conflicting attempts to address the politically unstable 6th century BCE. The two most well-known of these were Daoism and Confucianism. Confucius (551–479 BCE) created Confucianism. It examined the various moral virtues and how they promote peace in society. Laozi, who created Daoism in the sixth century BCE, studied how people should live in harmony with nature by adhering to the Dao, or the universe’s basic order.

Conclusion

In conclusion, philosophy studies are frequently driven not just by the arguments and answers themselves, but also by the question of whether or not they are sound arguments and convincing conclusions. Furthermore, a lot of the concerns and questions raised by the many branches of philosophy overlap and occasionally even coincide. Thus, philosophical issues come up in practically every field of study. Studying philosophy involves not only coming up with one’s own responses to these kinds of questions but also trying to understand the responses that others have already provided. Thus, the history of philosophy—a history of responses to and debates over these very issues—represents an important part of philosophy.

FAQs – What is Philosophy?

1. What is philosophy in simple words?

The definition of philosophy is “love of wisdom.” Philosophy, in its broadest meaning, is the study of understanding basic truths about oneself, the world around them, and one’s place in it as well as in interactions with others.

2. What is philosophy and its types?

The main fields of philosophy include axiology, which examines value in aesthetics and ethics, political philosophy, which studies governance, logic, which studies argumentation and reason, metaphysics, which studies reality and being, and epistemology, which studies knowledge.

3. Who is the Father of Philosophy?

As the father of Western philosophy and one of the first moral philosophers of the ethical school of thought, Socrates was an Athens-born Greek philosopher who lived from approximately 470 to 399 BC.

4. Why is it called Philosophy?

The word philosophy is derived from two Greek words, philein sophia, which means wisdom-lover. An admirer of wisdom in the past could have connections to any field in which intelligence was demonstrated. This could be in human relations, commerce, politics, carpentry, or other fields.

5. What is the aim of Philosophy?

In general, philosophy seeks to challenge the presumptions we make about our lives and explore deeply into the reasons behind our thoughts and actions. Although it can occasionally become confusing, it can also make it easier for someone to understand that there are alternative perspectives on the world besides the one we typically adopt.