What is Philosophy

Philosophy is an ancient discipline, which probably began as early as human civilization, that sought knowledge of all things on earth and in heaven. Knowledge of natural things and their causes the creation of physics and metaphysics. Knowledge of human affairs and their constitutive relations cause the creation of ethics, politics, and therefore the philosophy of history. Knowledge of heavenly things results in cosmology and speculative theology. Philosophy within the ancient world was the parent of most scientific disciplines.

In order to know philosophy, you want to not only grasp its material, like metaphysics and ethics but also its method. In western philosophy, the tactic to get the knowledge is rooted within the philosopher’s ability to make and evaluate arguments. In Asian philosophy, there’s a greater emphasis on knowledge of the Way (Dao) to measure a life harmonizing the individual together with her natural and social world. But altogether culture philosophy requires that we expect critically: to be clear, precise, well-organized, truthful, complete, and ready to handle objections. The study of critical thinking is named logic.

To be philosophical is to be a logical thinker who seeks knowledge of the entire. In this way, philosophers avoid unsupported beliefs but base their views on good reason and evidence. Philosophers demand of themselves et al. that they need reasoned logical belief.

The study of philosophy is varied. Since philosophy seeks knowledge of the entire, that is, of all things that are subject to disciplined inquiry, there are virtually endless sorts of philosophy. Traditionally most students of philosophy study (a) the history of philosophy, and (b) systematic areas of philosophy. These two ways complement one another, since the articulation of philosophical problems and proposed solutions have developed over many centuries, and philosophical history often defines how the issues and proposed solutions are understood today.

Examples of the history of philosophy would be

• (1) Ancient Philosophy, or from Socrates to Augustine
• (2) Medieval Philosophy, or from Augustine to Machiavelli
• (3) Modern Philosophy, or from Descartes to Kant.

Samples of systematic philosophy would be

• (1) metaphysics, or the study of reality
• (2) ethics, or the study of what’s morally right and good
• (3) Epistemology, or the study of how we all know the reality
• (4) logic, or the study of excellent arguments
• (5) Aesthetics or the Philosophy of Art, or the study of appreciating the gorgeous and theory of art
• (6) Social-Political Philosophy, or the study of political and legal theories.

Beyond these traditions lie a number of specialized inquiries, such as, Philosophy of Language, which studies how we communicate linguistically using signs; Philosophy of Law which studies how legal theories apply to specific cases; Business Ethics which deals with the appliance of ethical theories to moral issues in both the work and market places; Philosophy of Sex and Gender which deals with how ethical and social theories relate to understanding and evaluating the status of girls, homosexuality, and pornography.

Students of philosophy often seek extensive knowledge in one or more of those areas also as within the traditional areas. Philosophers are, then, pursuers of data who seek both the knowledge of the entire also as specialized branches of study.

Philosophers are intellectuals who typically speak and write well. They favor debate and therefore the testing of conventions and beliefs. they’re “gadflies” who ask questions that disturb those whose beliefs are uncritically accepted. Philosophers seek to know themselves through comprehension and evaluation of positions, arguments, ideas, and belief systems. they’re usually committed to discovering truth and acting for the great.
Although the role of Eastern philosophy within the history of the planet and in education has been significant, this chapter focuses on the role of Western philosophy in shaping the tutorial philosophies prevalent within us. it’s important to know how philosophy and education are interrelated. To become the foremost effective teacher you’ll be, you want to understand your own beliefs, while at an equivalent time empathizing with others. Developing your own educational philosophy may be a key part of your journey to becoming an educator.

To understand the foundations of educational philosophies, it’s necessary to first examine philosophy’s four main branches. Understanding educational philosophy will contribute to the understanding of how these foundations have given rise to what’s commonly practiced and believed within the classroom today. The four main branches of philosophy are metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, and logic.