Philosophy

Philosophy is a field of study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics, in which people ask questions such as whether God exists, whether knowledge is possible, and what makes actions right or wrong. The fundamental method of philosophy is the use of reasoning to evaluate arguments concerning these questions. However, the exact scope and methodology of philosophy is not rigid. What counts as philosophy is itself debated, and it varies across philosophical traditions.

The term philosophy comes from the Greek word "Φιλοσοφία" (philo-sophia), which means "love of wisdom". The term is notoriously difficult to define (see definition of philosophy) because of the diverse range of ideas that have been labeled as a philosophy. The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy defines it as the study of "the most fundamental and general concepts and principles involved in thought, action, and reality". The Penguin Encyclopedia says that philosophy differs from science in that philosophy's questions cannot be answered empirically, and from religion in that philosophy allows no place for faith or revelation. However, these points are called into question by the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, which states: "the late 20th-century... prefers to see philosophical reflection as continuous with the best practice of any field of intellectual enquiry." Indeed, many of the speculations of early philosophers in the field of natural philosophy eventually formed the basis for modern scientific explanations on a variety of subjects.

Informally, a "philosophy" may refer to a general world view or to a specific ethic or belief.

Contents [hide]

1 Branches of philosophy

2 History of philosophy

2.1 Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy

2.2 Medieval philosophy

2.3 Modern Western philosophy

2.3.1 Analytic and Continental

2.4 Other philosophical traditions

3 Philosophical topics

3.1 Metaphysics and epistemology

3.1.1 Rationalism and empiricism

3.1.2 Kantian philosophy and the rise of idealism

3.1.3 American Pragmatism

3.1.4 The prominence of logic

3.1.5 Phenomenology and hermeneutics

3.1.6 Existentialism

3.1.7 The Analytic tradition

3.2 Ethics and political philosophy

3.2.1 Human nature and political legitimacy

3.2.2 Consequentialism, deontology, and the aretaic turn

4 Applied philosophy

5 References

6 Further reading

6.1 Introductions

6.2 Topical introductions

6.3 Anthologies

6.4 Reference works

6.5 Bibliographies

7 See also

7.1 Areas of philosophy Ð'-- Philosophy of:

7.2 Eras of Philosophy

8 External links

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Branches of philosophy

There is no universal agreement about which subjects are the main branches of philosophy. In The Story of Philosophy, Will Durant lists logic, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and metaphysics, but there are many places where these subjects overlap, and many philosophical ideas that cannot be neatly put into one of these categories.

Each branch has its own particular questions. Logic asks: How do we distinguish arguments from premises to conclusions as valid or invalid? Epistemology asks: Is knowledge possible? How do we know what we know? Ethics asks: Is there a difference between morally right and wrong actions, values, or institutions? Which actions are right and which are wrong? Are values absolute or relative? How is it best to live? Is there a normative value on which all other values depend? Are values 'in' the world (like tables and chairs) and if not, how should we understand their ontological status? Aesthetics asks: What is beauty? And metaphysics asks: What is reality? What exists? Do things exist independently of perception?

Outside these five broad categories are other areas of philosophical inquiry. Politics (seen by Aristotle as an extension of ethics), physics (in the sense of the nature of matter and energy), and religion are all fields considered by philosophers.

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History of philosophy

Main articles: History of philosophy, History of Western philosophy, and Eastern philosophy

The history of Western philosophy is traditionally divided into three eras: Ancient philosophy, Medieval philosophy, and Modern philosophy. Some philosophers have argued that human civilization has passed into a new, "post-modern" period. Eastern philosophy was, for most of its history, independent of Western philosophy.

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Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy

Ancient Greek philosophy is typically divided into the pre-Socratic Period, the Socratic period, and the post-Aristotelian period. The pre-Socratic period was characterized by metaphysical speculation, often preserved in the form of grand, sweeping statements, such as "All is fire", or "All changes". Important pre-Socratic philosophers include Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Democritus, Parmenides, and Heraclitus. The Socratic period is named in honor of the most recognizable figure in Western philosophy, Socrates, who, along with his pupil Plato, revolutionized philosophy through the use of the Socratic method, which developed the very general philosophical methods of definition, analysis, and synthesis. While Socrates wrote nothing himself, his influence