Definition and All About Philosophy

Philosophy - Love of wisdom

Philos - Love

Sophia - Wisdom

WISDOM vs. KNOWLEDGE

Wisdom and Knowledge - can be used interchangeably

Wisdom - refers to the understanding of the meaning, reason, or causes of things
Knowledge - refers to the acquisition of ideas, information, theories
Wisdom - attained through one’s daily experiences and from the experiences of other people
Mind - the main instrument that philosophers use in conducting their investigations
Pythagoras - the first man to call himself a philosopher
Philosopher - attempting to find out

Men and women of the world could be classified into three groups:

Philosophy does not ask questions that are as objective as those of other branches of science.

The basic question of philosophy is WHY.

Even though philosophy is not an exact and certain science, it is able to suggest many possibilities which could:

deepen thoughts, broaden his/her perspective and widen a person’s views about his/her surroundings
open people’s minds to the many paths that lead to the truth
guide people in distinguishing what is true from what is false and also guide them in their search for truth
encourage people to ask questions and enables them to free their mind from accepting anything without questioning it
keep alive people’s sense of wonder by showing them familiar things in the unfamiliar aspect
provide them the ability to see things not only as they are but also the ability to see the underlying causes and meaning of the things around them and more importantly the cause and meaning of their existence

plato - sense of wonder

rene descartes - doubt

karl jaspers - limit situations

socrates - love for wisdom