When asked to define philosophy, I realized I would be facing the same challenge as last semester when I was asked to define "art" in my Art and Philosophy course. In the time I spent struggling to create a concrete explanation of art, I discovered that seemingly simple words often prove the most challenging to define; Ludwig Wittengenstein's example about an extended family shows this to be true. Often, many members of a family may look similar to each other, but there is not one single feature that every member holds. In other words, while it may seem simple to define "art" or "philosophy", people usually leave out some important elements quite often. This problem of majorities or entireties arises in many philosophical discussions as well. For instance, in regards to the human nature we will be studying in this course, it should be identified whether it is every single human who has the same natural instincts and tendencies, or whether it is only the majority of such people who do. Nevertheless, it is evident that while individuals' concepts of such ideas might be slightly different, most people can understand what philosophy truly entails - thinking. While attempting to figure out my own definition for such a word, I decided it would be best to consult outside sources to view their thoughts in regards to the matter. Here is what I compiled...
"Isn't philosophy thinking? Like 'I think, therefore I am'?" - my friend Devon
"A wisdom that results from a pursuit of knowledge of the most important parts of reality...analysis and thought about conflicts and paradoxes experienced in human society" - a friend's First Course in Philosophy textbook, "Philosophy: Quest for Truth" by Pojman
"Philosophy is the study of general...problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language" - the Wikipedia article on "Philosophy"... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy
"Philosophy is the process of attaining wisdom" -my friend Katherine
"'Philosophy' derives from the Greek for 'love of wisdom'" -Dartmouth College Philosophy Department website... http://www.dartmouth.edu/~phil/whatis/wsa.html
"[Philosophy] is a reasoned pursuit of fundamental truths, a quest for understanding, a study of principles of conduct" - the American Philosophical Association website... http://www.apaonline.org/publications/texts/briefgd.aspx#INTRODUCTION
"Pursuit of wisdom" - Marriam Webster dictionary online... http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philosophy
So, my own definition is as follows; philosophy is the process of acquiring wisdom through examining the conflicts, paradoxes, and problems that occur naturally in regards to such things as existence, knowledge, values, and morals in human society. However, do we as a society even need to think up an exact definition for our nature or philosophy?
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