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what is philosophy to me
what is philosophy to me
what is philosophy to me
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The Definition of Philosophy
A personal or moral philosophy is an idea about how one should live, or how one should act. Often we will hear a person state that their philosophy about life is to “live it to the fullest” or to “take the bull by the horns” or any number of clichés. The usage of the word philosophy by these people, while correct by definition, differs from the word so closely associated with the great thinkers of our past, present and future. Philosophy, as it means to those in the quest for knowledge, the meaning of life, and the truth of all things, has a much greater, but much less concise meaning. I would say that the grand definition of philosophy is the relentless pursuit of truth and the intentional ignorance of preconceived notions and common sense in order to validate the search for that truth.
On the subject of the intentional ignorance of preconceived notions, it is generally difficult for humans to ignore their own beliefs and accepted truths for the purpose of argument. If we are to ask questions about the meaning of life to someone who is deeply spiritual and religious, we are likely to get answers which indicate this lifestyle choice. We may be referred by Christians to the Bible which states, “Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” (Isaiah 43:17) That is to say that most Christians believe our purpose on earth is to honor God and worship him and to accomplish what he wishes of them. Atheists may argue that there is no purpose to life and that we are simply “the product of millions of years of an unpurposed evolution.” (Lewis, 1954)
These explanations of the meaning of life could be true, or not, but the fact is that e...
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... but as a challenge. A philosopher may look at a question like a puzzle: each question is another piece of the final answer, and each brings about another potential problem to solve. I offer that there would be nothing more detrimental to the study of philosophy than a book with the answers to all of life’s questions. While we may colloquially define our moral philosophy as the way we choose to live our life, a philosopher lives his life to ask, to listen, and to offer answers until he finds one that cannot be clearly rejected and to reject the answers of others until his argument against theirs is the weaker of the two.
Works Cited
Lewis, J. (1954). An atheist manifesto. New York: Freethought Press Association.
Plato, & In Woohead, W. D. (1953). Socratic dialogues: Containing the Euthyphro, the Apology. the Crito, the Phaedo and the Gorgias. Edinburg: Nelson.
Plato, Phaedo, In: The Collected Dialogues Of Plato Including The Letters, Editors: E. Hamilton and H. Cairns, Bollingen Series LXXI, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1961.
With philosophy, we study the fundamental questions that arise both in everyday life and through the practice of other disciplines. (Gray, 2013)
Philosophy – a subject that had driven people insane for as long as humans know their history. All the time people try to find a meaning, and later controvert it. For example, critics view a novel by Lewis Carroll Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as a quest for maturity story, Carroll’s view on Victorian Society and even existential meaning on life. All of those interpretations come from philosophical “drive” of the critics. The truth is that anyone can point a finger at the book and come up with their own “deep” meaning of the story, but if one looks at facts, well known, and obvious things – it is clear that the story is simply a children tale intended for entertainment and nothing more.
... consider the question of the meaning of life is itself meaningless, at least in so far as it seems to be incapable of coherent expression.
Plato, and G. M. A. Grube. "Phaedo." Five Dialogues. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub., 2002. 93-
Cairns, Huntington, and Hamilton, Edith. The Collected Dialogues of Plato. Socrates Defense (Apology).Library of Congress Catalogue, Nineteenth printing, May 2010
Our purpose in this life is a question that has been asked countless times and answered in various ways. One of the central rational arguments for the existence of God is the teleological argument. This argument focuses in on how intricately designed aspects of life that could not have just fallen into place on their own, they must have had a creator. One of the central practical arguments for the possible existence of God is Pascal’s Wager. This argument is based on weighing the consequences that result from the gamble of believing in God or not believing in God. These arguments can be viewed as comparable and also as diverse.
We go through life drifting from one superficial disagreement to another without truly ever taking the time to ponder about the meaning of life. Such a question will not be easily resolved but by trying to answer it we stop daydreaming and extend our conception of ourselves while gaining knowledge of the external world (Solomon 10). Unfortunately anyone who attempts to answer that question quickly realizes that it isn’t just one broad question but rather it’s the slogan to an overwhelming amount of enquiries. Out of all possible question the one that has had the most influence on humanity is the notion of whether or not God exists. Philosophers and non-philosophers alike from ancient civilizations to our modern era have contributed their own two cents to the argument. Through the course of the following pages the idea of God will be defined, explained, and defended by the Ontological Argument to ultimately prove that God exists.
"Plato." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Volume I. 6th ed. NY: W.W. Norton and Co., 1992. 726-746.
Plato, Phaedrus, trans. R. Hackforth, in Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns, eds. The Collected Dialogues of Plato (New York: Pantheon, 1966).
Philosophy is the study of examining and thinking about questionable ethical problems and/or generally accepted certainties. Philosophy aims at knowledge that combines a variety of academic fields as well as convictions, prejudices and beliefs.
The term “philosophy” means the love of wisdom, and those that study philosophy attempt to gain knowledge through rationality and reason. 1 Socrates, the father of ancient philosophy, once stated “the unexamined life is not worth living”. This is the most important part of life and it is need to find purpose and value in life. If a person chooses to live their life without examination, their life would lack value and they would be unhappy. They would also be ignorant to the effects of their choices on themselves and the people around them.
Philosophy can be described as a chance for a person to undertake an opportunity to understand themselves, our world and society, and relations between ourselves and one another. Those who are able to study philosophy can find out what is to be human, what kind of person is it good to be, and especially how are we to live a good life. I, myself, have had an opportunity to take a philosophy class and as my time in philosophy is starting to come to a close, I am suddenly realizing how philosophy has changed the aspects and my outlook upon my life.
Philosophy has a strong influence on everyone’s day-to-day life. We all enrich our lives by thinking about things with a substantial value. We use philosophy as a sort of roadmap to direct us through our lives. We, of course, take other things into consideration while we are going through our day, but philosophy is one of the more ample ones.
Philosophy as an activity is not simply a way of living like many people have come to believe. It’s a journey, a journey where the philosopher finds them selves constantly thinking. Constantly thinking and questioning authority until you get what you are looking for in a statement. Philosophy in so many ways is similar to trying to look at the inside and outside of a door at once. At first you may think it can’t be done, but then you ask question, which reveal answers and outlets that lead to more question and you realize that there are so many more ways to look at the door, so many more ways to look at the world. So many more ways to look at philosophy. Philosophy as an activity is looking at a door.