What is Philosophy?

Philosophy comes from the Greek words ‘philos’, which means love, and ‘sophia’, meaning wisdom, therefore the word literally means ‘love of wisdom’, implying that through philosophy a person can acquire wisdom. As a matter of fact, commonly the general public believe philosophers, those who study philosophy, study fundamental problem such as existence of the universe and life, and moral values which is correct to a certain extent however philosophy itself does not contain information unlike science and various other studies, it is not a body of knowledge therefore by studying philosophy you are not inevitably entitled to knowledge. In fact it is often described as an activity where one asks philosophical questions such as ‘how was the world created?’ and ‘how ought we to live?’ and answers them by critically analysing previous conclusions made by others to these questions to determine an answer.

 

If we were to think philosophy as an activity, we could say that philosophy is a way of thinking to guide a person to think critically and open-mindedly so that they can answer philosophical questions well, and to think critically and open-mindedly means that a person must examine all evidence, including their own experiences, without being prejudiced or ignorant to other people’s conclusions to reach an unbiased and logical conclusion. Therefore through philosophy a person thinks independently and outside what they have been brought up to believe in, which means philosophy involves examining world-views, eliminating ignorance, deepening understanding and seeking reasoning to build convincing arguments where the truth is separated from the false which then allows a person to obtain wisdom. Philosophy also involves eliminating confusion, as those who study philosophy try to make sense through critical reflection so that they can develop clear definitions that is consistent and non-contradictory with reasons to justify their conclusion.

 

Philosophy can be separated into several subtopics: metaphysics which is the theory of reality, epistemology which is the theory of knowledge, ethics which is the theory of moral values, politics which is the theory of legal rights and government and aesthetics which is the theory of the nature of art therefore in each branch of philosophy different issues are addressed for example if one was to study metaphysics they would examine everything about reality. In philosophy, philosophers have different, contradicting views but the common aim is to gain the truth and unlike science where an scientific experiment can be carried out to determine the correct answer, in philosophy even the method for discovering the truth is an argument therefore philosophy is a study where one explores values, broadens experiences and learns to control their emotions and beliefs they have been taught to reach a conclusion as close as to the truth as possible.

 

In the past, questions that are raised by philosophy were answered by religion in reference to a higher authority (e.g. God). Philosophy of religion is concerned with questions regarding religion, which includes the nature and existence of God therefore philosophy of religion is very different from theology because theology automatically assumes that God exists. Philosophy of religion is mostly concerned with western ideas of God, therefore this includes the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Therefore issues raised concerning God in philosophy of religion refers to a being that is:   

• Masculine
• The only God (The Abrahamic religions are monotheistic)
• Immaterial therefore the being is made of spirit not matter 
• Omnipresent
• Omniscient
• Omnipotent
• Omnibenevolent
• Self-creating

A God that exhibits these characteristics is described the God of classical theism.

 

Philosophy of religion answers questions using valid, logical arguments and critically examining evidence therefore one could conclude that philosophy answers religious questions with the method of philosophy.

S.J.M.