What is Philosophy

EXPLAINING PHILOSOPHY TO A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT


There is no brief definition that can express the richness and variety of philosophy. It originated in Athens around the fifth century BC, by people, whose activities and discussions prompted other people to coin the term ‘Philosophy ‘. This comes from two Greek words: 'philos' which means 'loving', and 'sophia' which means 'wisdom'. Philosophy therefore means 'the love of wisdom'. This love of wisdom prompts the Philosopher to dig deeply into all aspects of nature and the universe. The dictionary defines ‘wisdom’ as knowledge and good judgment based on experience, a definition that has been criticized because of its lack of clarity since everyone who possesses these personality traits cannot be called wise. What constitutes wisdom therefore is as illusive, as ‘What Philosophy is’. A summary of the origins, branches and great philosophers of the past will have to suffice. In addition, Philosophy as a tool to develop skills of deep reasoning, and reflective, critical thinking will also be explored as well as how it benefits a person at school or work.

Philosophy has many branches; Epistemology, which is derived from the Greek word ‘episteme’ means knowledge; and is the nature of knowledge, Ethics is the nature of morals, particularly moral values, Metaphysics which is the nature of existence and Logic; the nature of formalization of the rational process. Aesthetics, deals with the nature of beauty, creation and art and Politics which is the nature of values in a social context and moral relationships. Ethics may be the most familiar to you, as you and your classmates may often talk about it being right or wrong to perform an action. In addition, questions such as ‘why you should not take you teacher’s chalk’ or ‘why you should not go into your classmate’s bag’ and ‘why it is wrong to tell a lie’ are examined in detail. We also learn the difference between what is ‘fact’ and what is ‘value’. The following statement should illustrate my point, you know that sixty seconds make one minute and if you were asked to prove it you can find scientific evidence in a book. On the other hand, if you were ask ‘if it is right to get in a stranger’s car, you would not be able to find scientific proof anywhere. That would be considered a ‘value’ statement. Value statements are the basis for which morality and ethics built.

Through epistemology, we learn to appreciate the different senses and sources of knowledge. It explains about knowing in the popular sense, which is for example, you may say that you know that Christine, your classmate, will medal at NIFCA, and that is only based on the fact, that, her poetry is usually of a high standard and she has medalled before. However, it cannot be justified since you have no evidence to support this knowledge. This type of knowledge is referred to as knowledge in the ‘popular sense’. There is however, another sense of knowledge, which is the stronger of the two senses and this is called the ‘philosophical sense’. This distinguishes knowing from opinion, mere belief, hope, hunch, and the like and is referred to as ‘justified true belief’. This is the sense of knowledge that is of concern to students of philosophy and Philosophers alike.

Logic is perhaps the most fundamental branch of philosophy since all branches of philosophy requires one to think; whether this thinking is correct or not will depend on whether it is in accord with the laws of logic which can be defined as the science of ‘good reasons’. For instance, in Mathematics you see questions like Tom had 133 apples and he sold 120 of them, five rolled away and the boy next door stole 7. How many apples are left for him to take home? In order to solve the problem ‘deductive logic’ will be applied, which is concerned with the rules for determining the validity of an argument. Another branch of logic is ‘inductive logic’ which deals with the soundness of those inferences for which the evidence is not conclusive” . This is particularly useful in court cases by judges to determine if the conclusion has been reliably inferred from the evidence on hand. Logic is the subject which attempts to distinguish bad reasoning from good reasoning, good inferences from bad ones .

The problem of free will and determinism is dealt with through metaphysics. ‘Meta’ meaning ‘beyond’ and Physics derived from ‘Phuses’ meaning physical. Metaphysics is ‘beyond the physical’ world. There are some, who believe that everything in life is determined by God. He has created us and all our actions and thoughts are controlled by him. That school of thought invites arguments regarding if everything is pre-determined, would man be morally responsible for his actions. On the other hand, that man has the freedom to make whatever decisions he wants and do whatever actions pleases him is known as ‘free will’. It is because of this ‘free will’ according to the scriptures, that God will come like a thief in the night, and he will take with him those persons who are ready spiritually (accepted him as the one and only) into his Kingdom. The argument is that with free will comes freedom of choice and if you choose to do morally wrong or evil actions then you will pay the price of your life in damnation. All of these questions and more lead to a kind of confusion and complexity with philosophy.

People mistake many beliefs and customs that are told to them as children for ‘strong’ or ‘strict’ philosophy but it is actually what is called ‘first order’ philosophy or philosophy in the ‘weak sense’. An example of this would be that your eyes are connected with luck and if a particular eye ‘jumps’ then you will have ‘good luck’ or if the other ‘jumps’ you will have ‘bad luck’. This belief has no foundation, neither can it said to be rational yet it has been passed on from generation to generation. However, the ‘strong’ or ’strict sense’ of philosophy is a more rational look at the subject matter which incorporates knowledge, and logic to analyze and clarify language, and solve problems in everyday life. It also involves reflective thinking.


This reflective thinking is called ‘philosophizing’ which is simply, ‘soul searching’ and deep thinking about varying incidents in one’s life. There are many triggers for philosophizing, such as failure in examinations or a disagreement with a classmate. This philosophizing was first brought to the fore by Socrates, one of the greatest philosophers, at his trial in 399 B.C. He was accused of travelling around his homeland talking to young people and corrupting them and not believing in the same Gods as the other people in the city but some new divinities. As a result, Socrates was jailed and in defense of his actions, he asked the question ‘is the unexamined life worth living?’ He explained that he had colleagues who had never did an inner reflection and analysis of themselves and went from day to day not knowing what their goals or aspirations were. He believed that only through self-inquiry that one could plot a path to success or fame. He also believed that the unexamined life was a mundane existence and one that he was not prepared to live. He was so adamant about this, that he accepted the death penalty instead of being exiled into living a peaceful life without ‘philosophizing’.

Socrates was just one of the many philosophers and his student was Plato who carried on his teaching after his death. His doctrine is known as Platonism. This theory is based on the premise that if a person had an education of the good he would not do evil. Aristotle, another great Philosopher and the student of Plato criticized this theory. Other great philosophers include but are not limited to: Spinoza who is referred to by some critics as the greatest of all ethicist, Aquinas, a Christian philosopher, Descartes, Locke and Berkeley.

Since Philosophy is about any and everything, it allows one to be very flexible in choosing what area they want to work in. For instance if you study Religious Knowledge, you will deal with the scriptures and the principles of Christianity, if you study Spanish you will only study the Spanish Language, not English Language not German, but on the other hand if you study Philosophy you study a bit of everything. It is noteworthy that all disciplines were at one time part of Philosophy but Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English, Scripture, the Languages and others broke away and formed disciplines of Science, Humanities, Religion and Psychology. However, the highest academic one can acquire in any discipline is the Doctor of Philosophy which is the philosophical nature of that particular discipline.

Then you can do a variety of different jobs. One such is teaching like the Philosopher John Dewey in the twentieth century, who lectured at the Columbia University. St Augustine, was a Bishop of Hippo and a leader of religious movements. Other jobs include mathematicians, scientists and even editors in newspapers. People who study philosophy have gone on to careers as lawyers and college professors, and as computer entrepreneurs, legal administrators, public school teachers, and managers of Internet firms.

Formal training in philosophy helps to develop skills to understand and tolerate other people’s views and encourages a deeper understanding of a wide range of issues. It allows one to use the imagination to the maximum benefit. Studying philosophy increases the general mental techniques of an individual and allows them to solve problems and puzzles more easily and quickly. It enables clearer thinking, and persons are able to deal with problems better. It sharpens the ability to explain difficult material knowledgeably without repetition, when talking or writing to other people. Students involved in debating benefit since it makes the process of making up a good argument with clear points and relevant examples easier. A study in philosophy enriches one’s life at all levels and develops morally responsible adults who have a deeper sense of human worth.

In conclusion, philosophy is an exciting ancient, holistic discipline. It teaches the difference about what we know and what we believe and prepare students generally for careers in areas, which require the ability to analyze problems and to think and write clearly. It is an appropriate major for students planning to continue their education for professional careers such as law, medicine and theology. In addition, it prepares one for life and all its endeavours. Philosophy therefore can be seen as the one discipline that can make an individual truly ‘well-rounded’ in all aspects of life.