The English word philosophy is derived from the Greek φιλοσοφία (filosofia) which means love of wisdom. Webster’s dictionary gives a definition of philosophy which is too broad to apply to the academic study of philosophy, “all learning exclusive of technical precepts and practical arts.”
The Platonic dialogue, the Euthydemus says “philosophy is the possession of knowledge; and knowledge must be of a kind which is profitable and may be used.” In the early days of the scientific era, the now separate fields of chemistry, biology, and physics were together labeled as “natural philosophy” because they sought to gain wisdom about the natural world. Nowadays, we make a distinction between “science” and “philosophy.” Bertrand Russell considered philosophy to be the study of the uncertain, an attempt to gain clarity on those facts which are outside the reach of science. On one occasion, Russell said “science is what we know and philosophy is what we don't know.”
Nowadays, modern philosophers generally like to think that their work leads to knowledge of something and is practically useful. Academic philosophers often wish their work to be practical rather than abstract, and their theories to be natural rather than spiritual. Since Karl Popper, it is especially fashionable for philosophers to desire their work to be beneficial to science. Modern philosophy refers to an academic study of the nature of reality, existence, the mind and knowledge—it is a quest to understand the truth about the most general features of the world. It considers questions like “What is existence?” “Is there a God?” “What is consciousness?” “What is the nature of moral values?”
Introductory Philosophical Resources:
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