More, and a link to follow when it's appropriate for new members to post links.Just what is Philosophy, anyway?
Here as a set of concluding remarks , I offer a view of what Philosophy itself is and what it isn't. We'll start with what it isn't and attempt to dispel some common misunderstandings and misuses of the word.
Philosophy is not a "Way of Life" . Every person does not have his or her own "Philosophy". Philosophy is not simply a theory about something. Nor is Philosophy a belief or a wish. Philosophy is an activity: a quest after wisdom. Philosophy is an activity of thought. Philosophy is a particular unique type of thought or style of thinking. Philosophy is not to be confused with its product. What a philosopher provides is a body of philosophic thought NOT a Philosophy. A philosopher enacts a Philosophy, a quest after wisdom.
Philosophy is not a picking and choosing what body of thought one would like to call one's own or would like to believe in; a choice based upon personal preferences or feelings. Philosophy is a pursuit. One can choose to be philosophical. One can choose to be a philosopher. One can NOT choose a Philosophy. Philosophy, insofar as it may be correlated at all to a "way of Life", is a form of thinking meant to guide action or to prescribe a way of life. The philosophic way of life , if there is one, is displayed in a life in which action is held to be best directed when philosophical reflection has provided that direction; e.g., SOCRATES the paradigm of a philosopher.
Philosophy is an activity of thought, a type of thinking. Philosophy is critical and comprehensive thought, the most critical and comprehensive manner of thinking which the human species has yet devised. This intellectual process includes both an analytic and synthetic mode of operation. Philosophy as a critical and comprehensive process of thought involves resolving confusion, unmasking assumptions, revealing presuppositions, distinguishing importance, testing positions, correcting distortions, looking for reasons, examining world-views and questioning conceptual frameworks. It also includes dispelling ignorance, enriching understanding, broadening experience, expanding horizons, developing imagination , controlling emotion, exploring values, fixing beliefs by rational inquiry, establishing habits of acting, widening considerations, synthesizing knowledge and questing for wisdom.
Philosophy as a process functions as an activity which responds to society's demand for wisdom, which is bringing together all that we know in order to obtain what we value. Viewed in this way Philosophy is part of the activity of human growth and thus an integral, essential part of the process of education. Philosophy and education have as a common goal the development of the total intellect of a person, the realization of the human potential.
What type of thought is Philosophy?
Philosophy is thought which is critical and comprehensive
analytic and synthetic
practical and theoretical
logical and empirical
Philosophy is thought which is CRITICAL, i.e.
i)it attempts to criticize assumptions, meanings, word usages, beliefs, and theories.
ii) it attempts to develop clear definitions and formulations of propositions and to retain maximum precision in expression.
iii) it holds the LOGICAL criteria of consistency and coherency to be valuable
consistency
1 without contradiction
2 each term has univocal meaning
3 meanings of terms don't vary between passages
coherency - that the terms and phrases have meaning in
relation to one another within a single framework of
thought. Terms are not totally reducible to others and
not meaningful without reference to others.
iv) it holds the EMPIRICAL criteria of adequacy and applicability
adequacy- that all that is given in experience is
accounted for within an analysis or explanation.
applicability- that there does not exist anything in the
explanation that has no referent to some element in
experience.
v) it is COMPREHENSIVE in attempting to address social and human problems reflective inquiry must come to bear on a wide range of affairs with a critical eye that is unwavering.
As on issue leads into another, as reality as experienced is One, so too is thought about such actual human affairs revelatory of the interconnection of issues and the underlying unity. Such thought attempts to show how the principles of explanation and basic categories of any conceptual schema are applicable throughout the breadth and depth of human experience. Such Philosophic thought at its most abstract levels reveals the basic insights into every area of life.
vi) Philosophic thought is SYNTHETIC insofar as it attempts to relate and coordinate all the knowledge the sciences provide with the values revealed in the production of the humanities. Such philosophic thought attempts to develop a concordance of ideas, values and distinctions in order to answer fundamental questions and to present the most critically formulated conceptual framework and world-view with which all subsequent thought would work and help to evaluate and reformulate.
vii) Philosophy is PRACTICAL, insofar as the method of inquiry can be put to use solving practical questions but even more so it is practical when the practice one seeks to activate is solution of problems that have resulted from the inadequacies of the practical-common sense approach to life. It is at such times that the most truly practical thing to have is a theory. Theories help to analyze, explain, and assist in planning. At such times it becomes practical to question assumptions, beliefs, current presuppositions, common sense, ideas and the efficacy of current practices and it is only from the perspective of philosophic thought that such an inquiry can take place.
viii) Philosophic thought is SPECULATIVE in pursuing questions that do not bear directly on practical matters AT FIRST SIGHT. It is speculative in considering problems which only highly abstract thought presents. It is speculative in developing truly presbyopic perspectives and concerns. It is speculative in considering ultimate metaphysical issues, pursuing the most critical formulation of principles held to govern thought and action, and furthering mathematical and logical inquiry in its attempt to further the progress of human thought and the improvement of the human condition.
Enjoy!
jj