A more self-referential interpretation of the idea that a philosopher enables other people to do things is that a philosopher is one whose work lends itself to the production of more philosophy. If they are good, then their work begets more work, as other philosophers develop or criticize or respond to their ideas.
Philosophy is not merely derivative, but nor is it isolated: it spreads itself around. In this manner, philosophy becomes a kind of necessary virus, which causes a constructive fever in others, compelling them to be and to do more than just survive. It is not there to appease or to make people feel better; it is there to provoke a constant restlessness of being. Therefore, the philosopher must produce ideas and concepts that lend themselves to producing other ideas and concepts.
Linking philosophy and truth is a common approach; but I believe that philosophy is less a search for truth and more of an engagement with possibilities; those that exist and those that are yet to exist. Philosophy deals with things as they are and things as they might and perhaps ought to be.
A philosopher is therefore one who does not profess to know everything. Philosophy is not dependent on an excess of knowledge, but on a respect for knowledge, and, therefore, an awareness of its limits. Socrates famously said that he was wiser than others in one respect only: that at least he knew that he knew nothing. This is why philosophy is dependent on philosophers, plural, and why it resembles a necessary virus.
The philosopher must therefore be one who utilises the work of other philosophers, and allows their work to be used by others. Which social and political arrangements are just or legitimate? The study of Logic teaches us what distinguishes good from bad reasoning and thereby enables us to think critically. In History of Philosophy we learn how the greatest thinkers in the history of humankind answered these and similar questions.
All of these areas of interest are grounded in facts and responsive to the theories put forth by experts in a myriad of disciplines, such as physics and psychology. But philosophy has further uses in deepening an education, both in college and in the many activities, professional and personal, that follow graduation.
Two of these further uses are described below. Philosophy is indispensable for our ability to understand other disciplines. Many important questions about a discipline, such as the nature of its concepts and its relation to other disciplines, are philosophical in nature.
Philosophy of science, for example, is needed to supplement the understanding of the natural and social sciences that derives from scientific work itself. Philosophy of literature and philosophy of history are of similar value in understanding the humanities, and philosophy of art aesthetics is important in understanding both the visual and the performing arts. Philosophy is, moreover, essential in assessing the various standards of evidence used by other disciplines.
Since all fields of knowledge employ reasoning and must set standards of evidence, logic and epistemology have a general bearing on all these fields. Development of Sound Methods of Research and Analysis:. Still another value of philosophy in education is its contribution to our capacity to frame hypotheses, to do research, and to put problems in manageable form.
Philosophical thinking strongly emphasizes clear formulation of ideas and problems, selection of relevant data, and objective methods for assessing ideas and proposals. It also emphasizes development of a sense of the new directions suggested by new hypotheses and questions one encounters while doing research.
Philosophers regularly build on both the successes and failures of their predecessors. A person with philosophical training can readily learn to do the same in any field. Among the things that people educated in philosophy can do are the following.
They can do research on a variety of subjects. They can get information and organize it. They can write clearly and effectively. They can communicate well, usually both orally and in writing.
In studying the history of philosophy one explores the ideas of such historical figures as:. What often motivates the study of philosophy is not merely the answers or arguments themselves but whether or not the arguments are good and the answers are true. Moreover, many of the questions and issues in the various areas of philosophy overlap and in some cases even converge.
Thus, philosophical questions arise in almost every discipline. This is why philosophy also encompasses such areas as:. Home Undergraduate Study Why Philosophy? What is Philosophy? Metaphysics At its core the study of metaphysics is the study of the nature of reality, of what exists in the world, what it is like, and how it is ordered.
In metaphysics philosophers wrestle with such questions as: Is there a God? What is truth? What is a person? What makes a person the same through time?
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