What is philosophy A simple question with a

What is philosophy? A simple question with a much more complicated ‘answer’!

Philosophy and Humanity… Consider the following: -humans are philosophical beings -people naturally question and wonder (just think of any 4 year old you know!) -it is inherently connected to the human ability to think critically and to problem solve (beyond instinct)

But what does it MEAN? It is thinking about thinking It is “critical thinking about the general nature of the world…the justification of belief…and the conduct of life” (according to Anthony Quinton)

But the dictionary says… The word is derived from two Greek words -philein: to love -sofia: wisdom But often…loving wisdom leads one to realize how very little we ‘know’!

Key Eras in Philosophy The Pre-socratic Thinkers (those who came before Socrates c 620 -450 BCE) The Academics (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and beyond, c 470 - c 500 CE) The Scholastics/Age of Science (St. Anselm - Newton, 1033 - 1642)

Continued… The Rationalists (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, 1600 - 1720) The Empiricists (Locke, Hume, Voltaire, Diderot, 1630 - 1785) The Idealists (Berkeley, Kant, Hegel, 1680 - 1850)

Continued… The Liberals (Smith, Wollstonecraft, Bentham, Mill, Comte, 1725 - 1850) Evolutionists/Pragmatists/Materialists (Darwin, Dewey, Marx, etc. 1850 -1940) The Existentialists/Linguistic Turn (Kierkegaard - Chomsky, 1845 - 2000) The Postmodernists (Foucault, Derrida, etc. 20 th Century)

So… Many aspects of philosophical thought from traditional to cutting edge There is philosophy in everything we do, see, think and ponder!

Helpful Resources…check them out! http: //www. philosophypages. com/ http: //www. iep. utm. edu/

TED Talk by Jim Holt http: //www. ted. com/talks/jim_holt_ why_does_the_universe_exist#t-60846