Joana Amor G.

Cabañero BSCE 2 PHILO 101 – 15164

“WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?”

Philosophy is an activity people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths
about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and to each other. It
is also the systematic study of ideas and issues, a quest for a comprehensive understanding of the world,
a study of principles of conduct and much more. The great master piece sculpture of Auguste Rodin
which is “The Thinker” since that in the philosophy we are not here only to philosophies but we are also
here to think.

There are 3 ways to define what philosophy is, the first one of it is through Etymological
definition which is attributed by philosopher Plato. According to Plato, philosophy stands for the word
Philia and Sophia which means Love of Wisdom. That is why for Plato, philosophy is focused more in the
pursuit of wisdom or the lover of wisdom. The second way of defining philosophy is through Scientific
definition which is also attributed by Aristotle. It says philosophy is the science of all things and their
causes under the aid of reason alone. Since it is the science, it is the knowledge to get to know about the
things and also their causes. In order to get to know the cause we have to ask first the question “why?”.
The last way of defining philosophy is through Existential definition. The main purpose in Philosophy is
to search the meaning of life. For Karl Jaspers, in philosophy questions are more important than
answers.