Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of nature, knowledge, and reality through deep thought. The word philosophy derives from the Greek word meaning "love of wisdom." Philosophers from ancient times to the present have helped to shape politics, society, and religion in civilizations around the world.

Branches

Branches organize different sets of philosophical writings by subject matter. The three commonly cited branches of philosophy are axiology, epistemology, and metaphysics.

Axiology is the study of value. It involves comparisons of "goodness" and "usefulness." It examines what constitutes something as "good." For example, someone studying a hammer from an axiological perspective might ask the questions, what makes this hammer a good hammer and what are the inherent qualities of a good hammer versus a bad hammer.

Axiology is subdivided into two schools: ethics and aesthetics. Ethics is the study of human values and behavior. It deals with morality, the rightness and wrongness of human actions, and whether certain acts should be praiseworthy or reprehensible. Ethics is relevant to the daily lives of many people and is often studied in religious philosophy.

Aesthetics is the study of artistic value. It deals with standards of beauty and the feelings associated with beauty. Aesthetics also is concerned with studying physical sensation, such as taste and touch, and the emotions these sensations evoke.

Epistemology, the second branch of philosophy, is the study of knowledge. It encompasses the study of nature and examines the limits of human knowledge and understanding. Epistemology is concerned with how humans acquire knowledge, how they utilize this knowledge, the reliability of memory and experience, and the ways humans verify knowledge.

The last branch of philosophy, metaphysics, deals with the nature of existence. People who study metaphysics might ask questions such as how is existence possible, what kinds of things exist, are abstract concepts such as geometric shapes real, and how do ideas exist if they have no shape, size, or color. Metaphysics also is concerned with cataloging the natural world to examine which specific things exist, how they exist, and how people know they exist.

Western Philosophy

Western philosophy begins during the ancient era known as the Socratic period. This era was dominated by famed Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. While Socrates never wrote down any of his work, his student Plato meticulously documented his teacher’s opinions. Socrates initially studied metaphysics, although later he dedicated most of his time to studying ethics. He developed the Socratic Method, a system of repeatedly questioning students until they find a problem with their own beliefs and are forced to confront that problem. Socrates was eventually sentenced to death for corrupting the youth of his city by teaching them to question everything they were told.

Socrates’s student, Plato, became a famous philosopher. Plato is best known for his Allegory of the Cave. In this work, Plato describes a group of people who have been chained in a cave, facing a wall, for their entire lives. A fire is lit behind them, objects are paraded in front of the fire in such a way that the objects' shadows are projected onto the wall. Because the people in the cave have never seen anything else, they assume the shadows are the fundamental objects and not just outlines cast by the fire. When one of the people eventually breaks free from the chains, it hurts that person to move. His or her muscles are weak and sore, and his or her eyes are unable to see the fire until the eyes adjust. Eventually, the person wanders outside and sees the true, three-dimensional world. Upon returning, the person is ridiculed and shunned by his or her former peers, who are not only unable to understand the tales of the reality but also fail to try. The conclusion is that it is easier to remain in the cave. Plato meant this as an allegory for his theory of a world of objects (our world) and a mirror world of ideas, but it has been adapted to many other subjects.

Aristotle was Plato’s most famous student. His work covered most branches of philosophy. While Aristotle’s writings on science were mostly inaccurate, his works on metaphysics remain popular. They deal with the nature of existence, as well as methods of classifying and differentiating between various beings and forms of life.

The Socratic period was followed by the Roman period, in which writers such as Cicero and Plotinus discussed and debated the ideas of their Greek predecessors. This was followed by the medieval period, during which a variety of philosophers merged the ideas of the Greeks and Romans with Christian thought.

Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas emerged as two of the most famous philosophers of the medieval period. Boethius translated the works of classical Greeks into Latin for the first time, making them accessible to readers throughout most of Europe. Augustine worked hard to reconcile Plato’s works with medieval Christianity. However, Augustine was not able to read Plato. The original works were in Greek, and Augustine was not proficient in the language. Instead, Augustine read a Latin translation and other writers’ commentaries on Plato’s work. Augustine’s works reconciled the two schools of thought. The Catholic Church declared Augustine a saint, and his work remained widely read and debated.

Thomas Aquinas was a Catholic priest regarded as one of the most important medieval philosophers. While Augustine concentrated on reconciling Catholicism with Plato’s work, Aquinas worked on reconciling Catholicism with Aristotle’s work. Augustine developed concepts such as the original unmoved mover, who started the existence of the universe and argued that God exists primarily through thinking and willing. He argued that Aristotle’s ethics were acceptable and that virtue ethics were very real, but a man could only be truly virtuous through interaction with God. Aquinas laid out a rational argument for the existence of God. He argued that something had to set the universe in motion, and this being could not have been set in motion because it had to have always existed. He also argued that such a being would be a perfect being and rationally understand the consequence of creating the universe, making itself the perfect designer of this reality.

The medieval period was followed by the Renaissance. This time was characterized by the works of political writer Niccolò Machiavelli and social philosopher Sir Thomas More. Machiavelli was cynical and firmly believed that the ends justified the means in any situation. More believed in working toward utopia, or a perfect civilization.

The age of reason followed the Renaissance. It was marked by a belief in the rational mind over the supernatural and featured famous writers such as Sir Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, René Descartes, and John Locke. Bacon was the first person to advocate for the use of inductive reasoning, a systematic method of providing evidence in favor of a proposal. He was also one of the earliest adopters of the scientific method and empiricism, the idea that all knowledge is gained from sensory experience. Descartes considered sensory experience unreliable. However, he acknowledged that nearly all of a person’s information about the world comes from the senses. When he discounted the evidence of his senses, the only thing Descartes truly believed in was thinking. He believed that because he was actively thinking, some part of him must exist somewhere. He could not be sure of the existence of the world around him or even of his own body, but he could be certain of the existence of his consciousness. Thus, he penned the famous quote: "I think, therefore I am."

Locke and Hobbes were famous political writers whose work heavily influenced the founders of the United States of America. The pair wrote about natural law and natural rights, arguing an inherent moral code in the world existed independently of all things, even religion; and that all people had an inherent right to certain things as well as an inherent duty to others, and no laws could change that.

The age of reason was followed by the Age of Enlightenment, which featured writers such as Adam Smith, David Hume, Voltaire, and Immanuel Kant. Smith was a political and ethical philosopher, who proposed making a moral theory out of everyday moral judgements. He believed that a moral theory should not be encompassed of broad, overarching goals that lord over a person’s life but should include choices that a person has to make every day. His contemporary, Kant, took the opposite approach. He argued that all philosophy was simply trying to answer the questions what can one know; what should one do; and what may one hope for. He organized ethics around the extremely influential categorical imperative, which states that a moral person always respects the humanity in others and always obeys rules that may be held true for everyone.

Following the Enlightenment, Western philosophy moved into the modern era. This included authors such as politician Karl Marx, who pushed for a socialist form of government, and Friedrich Nietzsche, who believed humanity should be working to develop itself to the fullest potential by any means possible.

Eastern Philosophy

Eastern philosophy is normally divided into three schools: Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism. These are not only religions but also considered ways of life. In Buddhism, people follow a specific set of steps called the eightfold path. This path leads the follower to full self-actualization, recognizing his or her place in the universe and responsibilities or lack thereof. Buddhists shun material attachments, stating they tie a person to the physical world, making it harder for the person to advance to the next life. Buddhists believe that if they achieve all of these steps, they will find a blissful and perfect state of being called nirvana.

Taoism is similar to Buddhism in many ways, but the two philosophies are not mutually exclusive. Taoists believe that any attachments—material or emotional—will hold back a person. They advocate moving with life, keeping the intrinsic self-undefined, and avoiding resisting changes in life.

Hinduism is the oldest practiced religion in the world. It is based on a series of ancient books called the Vedas. While Hinduism is often considered polytheistic, this belief comes from a misunderstanding of the religion. Hindus believe in one god with many personal aspects, or personalities. Thus, Hindus appeal to whichever personality seems most appropriate at the time.

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