1) Philosophy – (Greek, love of knowledge or wisdom) The study of the most general and abstract features of the world and categories with which we think: mind, matter, reason, proof, truth, etc. In philosophy, the concepts with which we approach the world themselves become the topic of enquiry. A philosophy of a discipline such as history, physics, or law seeks not so much to solve historical, physical, or legal questions, as to study the concepts that structure such thinking, and to lay bare their foundations and presuppositions. In this sense philosophy is what happens when a practice becomes self-conscious.
"philosophy" The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Simon Blackburn. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Los Angeles Public Library. 13 January 2010
2) Philosophy – the attempt to think rationally and critically about the most important questions. The theme is that philosophy is a rational and critical activity. Philosophizing in all forms seeks to think and to think hard about something. But about what? Here we have the variation. There are quite differing ideas about what philosophy should be rational and critical about. Still, even here philosophers have in common that they see themselves as addressing the really important questions, questions that are fundamental to everything.
- What do you think about these definitions?
- Do you prefer one over the other?
- Do the definitions say anything about what we know and how we know it?
- Think about the things we esteem as knowledge; how might these definitions relate to what we currently call knowledge?
- Is it possible to have reliable knowledge of everything (including other beings) around us that is not based on empirical testing?
- Can philosophy teach us reliable knowledge that is not empirical?
- What do you think of philosophy OF a discipline such as history, science, or math? Would such a pursuit be more or less interesting than the discipline itself? Why or why not? Would such a pursuit answer different questions than the discipline itself? Do you think the discipline and the philosophy of the discipline overlap? How?
- Do you think philosophers answer important questions? Do you think they answer the most important questions in life? What questions do you consider the most important questions in life?
