'Wonder is the feeling of the philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.' Plato
What is Philosophy? A dictionary would define it as 'the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence, especially when considered an academic discipline'
BORING!
What is this complicated definition, and why does it make things sound harder than they are?
Essentially, Philosophy is an examination of the world, and a critical one. This requires one to ask questions. It is from here that the common stereotype of a man stroking his beard comes into being. However, funny as it is, the questions asked by the philosopher are the same questions a person will ask themselves during there lifetime: 'Is there a God?','Why are we here?', or 'Why be morally and ethically good?' To that extent we all have the attributes of the philosopher, and whether you are 5,15 or an 85 year old man stroking his beard, when you ask and examine these questions, you are doing philosophy!
The true philosopher will not just ask questions; he or she will attempt to answer them, in addition to examining the answers of others, as well as evaluating the methods that may be used to reach answers.
Philosophy can be fun if you let it be,it is easy to forget that. I wish to make it as enjoyable as possible!
Study of things that are directly or indirectly subject of human sense organs come in the realm of science. In my opinion things that one may think exist but not a subject of sense organs constitute the realm of philosophy A lot of people have always believed in the existence of God and Soul. Their study is the subject of Philosophy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the feedback. It is true that the existence of God and the soul are major areas of discussion within Philosophy. However, I argue that the subject is much broader than this. In the subject, we deal with how we gain knowledge, whether we do so via observation ( a posteriori) or through reason (a priori). Doing so is critical as we examine issues such as the existence of God. It is important to understand how we use our senses, how science works and the contribution of other academic disciplines such as theology, metaphysics and so on.
DeleteWhether we speak about Eastern or Western Philosophy, epistemology is an important part of the discipline.
Observation and reasoning both are necessary to gain knowledge. True knowlwdgw is evidence based and a rational approach is essential. Religion is not based on evidence and rationalism so any theology is outside the realm of science and philosophy.
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