What is Philosophy

A proper definition of philosophy is difficult. But in general terms, the word philosophy means, love of wisdom.

Philosophy is an activity where people (or seekers) seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which we live, and the relationships to the world and to each other. Students who take up philosophy are trained to read critically, analyze and assess arguments, detect hidden assumptions, construct logically tight arguments, and express themselves clearly and precisely in both speech and writing. They are continuously engaged in asking, answering, and arguing for their answers to life’s most basic questions like,

Typical Questions of Philosophy

Does God exist? Are there other worlds and dimensions? What is the relationship between the physical and the mental? Does God exist? Do we act freely? Where do moral obligations come from? What is justice and how do we construct a just political state? What is it to know something rather than merely believe it? Does our knowledge come from sensory experience? Are there any limits to our knowledge? What is a scientific explanation? What sort of knowledge of the world does science provide? What makes an object a work of art? And so on.

To make the pursuit more systematic academic philosophy is traditionally divided into major areas of study like,

Metaphysics

Metaphysics is the study of the nature of reality, of what exists in the world, what it is like, and how it is ordered. In metaphysics philosophers ask questions like,

Is there a God?

What is truth?

Is the world strictly composed of matter?

What is a person?