Concepts
Defining Philosophy
What is Philosophy?
Philosophy is the pursuit of knowledge. Philos means “to love” in greek, and Sophia means knowledge. Philosophy literally means, to love knowledge.
The Big Questions
- What is a person? (Metaphysics)
- What is a meaningful life? (Social & Political Philosophy)
- What is beauty? (Aesthetics)
- What are good and evil? (Ethics)
- What is a just society? (Social & Political Philosophy)
- What can be known? (Epistemology)
Branches of Philosophy
Logic and Reasoning
Logic and Reasoning is concerned with the pursuit of truth and knowledge. The ability to reason is fundamental to human nature.
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is concerned with the study of reality. Many argue that it is the foundation of philosophy.
Epistemology
Epistemology is the study of ideas and knowledge. How do we know what we know? What can be known?
Ethics
The nature of good and evil is at the heart of ethics. Ethical philosophers consider the purpose of the “right” action and whether right and wrong are natural and fixed, or synthetic and changing.
Social and Political Philosophy
Social and Political Philosophy explores questions about human society and how to make the best and most prosperous society for everyone, as well as problems with our current society.
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is the philosophy of art. Why are things beautiful? Aesthetics attempts to identify the importance of art and the concept of beauty.
Schools of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic
Pre-Socratic philosophers were ancient Greek philosophers from before or around the time of Socrates. They mainly focused on studying cosmology and the beginning of the universe, metaphysical ideas, but some focused on other things such as Ethics.
Atomist
Atomist thought is a natural philosophy which proposes that the universe is composed of atoms. It was founded by Leucippus and Democritus in 5th century BCE.
Sophist
Sophists were Ancient Greek teachers who were highly concerned with intellectualism and that ”man is the measure of all things”. They were skeptical of the thought of higher beings such as Gods and taught many different subject areas.
Cynic
Cynics believed that the reason and purpose of living and gaining happiness was to achieve virtue. They rejected all conventional desires for wealth, fame, power, and worldly possessions. They flaunted about that in public.
Stoic
Stoicism is a Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in Ancient Greece and Rome. They believed that practicing virtue was enough to achieve a flourishing and well lived life.
Philosophers
Thales of Miletus
“The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself”
Thales of Miletus was a Pre-Socratic philosopher who lived from around 626-548 BCE.
His main theory was that water is the first principle of life.