What is philosophy?

What is philosophy?Philosophy is a set of proposals and reflections with transcendental purposes that are carried out to respond to the beginning and end of multiple phenomena present in the universe, be it life, spirit, love, art, etc. This knowledge can be based on observation, research, text analysis, among others.

The term comes from the Latin “philosophia” and the Greek “φιλοσοφία”, which is said to have been coined in Ancient Greece by Pythagoras, whose meaning is “love of wisdom”, referring to the constant search for transcendental knowledge.

There is an infinity of ideas and objects of study on which philosophy has devoted much of its research. In this sense, we can find a variety of ramifications on which philosophy presents multiple approaches and concepts. Next, we will make a brief approach to certain areas of philosophy respectively.

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What is philosophy

Etymology

Previously, we explained a little about the etymology of the term “philosophy.” To this we can add that its meaning is associated with creating new schemes of thought, in order to transcend knowledge, and thus, give an answer to multiple premises about a specific phenomenon.

The mention of Pythagoras, who is claimed to be the one who is attributed the term “philosophy”, would have coined it for the 6th century BC. In fact, it is known that Pythagoras claimed to be a lover of wisdom, rather than being a proper sage, a paradigm from which his etymological explanation of the term (“love of wisdom”) is considered to come.

Philosophy has been one of the most important bases for the consolidation of the humanities, disciplines that are dedicated to answering the deepest questions and premises about what makes us human.

Although the investigations that are carried out in the different areas of the humanities, such as psychology, do not form the main resource to give these answers, they were, at the time, the bases of many of these investigations.

In this sense, we can refer to philosophy as the predecessor of many of the knowledge that today converge, among so many areas, in the humanities. At present, philosophy continues to be a reference in research in hundreds of areas, together with other branches of knowledge, giving rise to multiple investigations and specializations from different disciplines.

Christian

Christian philosophy is a current of thought that was born in the time of Leo XIII, as a way to continue with the opinions of the church, in order to attribute a set of attributions based on Christian doctrine, to the explanation of multiple phenomena present in human life.

In this way, Christian philosophy has posed a wide range of problems throughout history. However, its veracity has been questioned on many occasions, in the first place, by its nature, as well as by those who categorically reject its perspective in the face of creating problems in thought.

There are no notions that, at the same time, corroborate the Christian faith with the doctrines of philosophy, which generates, from its bases, problems in its most important criteria. Therefore, a large number of people reject the idea that Christian philosophy can be considered a valid branch of philosophy.

Christian philosophy warns of a series of notions regarding its conception of the human being, which is presented as follows:

  1. Being: Based on God’s creation, coming from his image and likeness.
  2. God: As the supreme being, responsible for creation, who establishes it as the cause of everything.
  3. The truth: This is based on the perennial relationship that must exist with the orientation of knowledge and divine truth.

The scholar Origen and the Alexandrian church member Clemente are known as the creators and founders of Christian philosophy. They are credited with the first approaches that tried to unify philosophy with the doctrine of Christianity.

When we speak of Christian philosophy, we are referring to the practice of a Christian philosophizing, and not to a philosophy based on faith, or much less, on a philosophy that comes from the church itself. It is based on a reflective process that involves a way of philosophizing under Christian principles, developing speculations based on faith.

Of the right

The philosophy of law is the area from philosophy, which deals with analyzing and explaining all the philosophical arguments found in law, in both cases, both at the institutional and normative level, both based on fair behavior. of a company respectively.

All the currents of thought that allow us to offer a foundation to the law are grouped here. To do this, it addresses multiple studies of the philosophical type that allow us to understand society from a legal perspective, assessing both positive and negative aspects of a group of people, or in simpler words, a society.

The philosophy of law seeks, in this line, to address its studies on the following activities specifically:

  1. Study of the positive legal norm: Based on the understanding of law as a science and a discipline. The objective, to develop a philosophy or critical current that allows understanding the legal experience, for which discussions are constantly being developed about the main objectives of the law.
  2. Understand epistemology: Focusing on the understanding of each of the terms present in the area of law, offering an increasingly exhaustive explanation of all those constructs that, thanks to ontology, it has been possible to consolidate over time as concepts each more conventional.
  3. Create reflective and historical systems: Trying to understand how some historical events have raised multiple scenarios, and on this, create a system of reflection on which it is possible to develop new ways of thinking. The objective is to transcend these scenarios in the future, in order to correct the mistakes made, and in this sense, act correctly.

Through these applications, the philosophy of law allows a correct interpretation of all the concepts that are part of a legal framework. Likewise, it allows a clear definition of the processes that take place in the application of a legal institution, ensuring the correct use of available resources.

Of Education

The philosophy of education is a branch of philosophy that is responsible for studying educational processes, understanding it as a transformation in the forms of thought of an individual, and, therefore, as a complex process, starting from a rational perspective. Its purpose is to understand how human education and all its components work.

In general, the philosophy of education can be described as a critical and reflective analysis of the purposes of education. In this way, it is defined as a discipline in charge of understanding the role of the educational process in a society, I understand that this is responsible for changing a person’s thinking.

As in many branches of philosophy, the philosophy of education does not escape some controversy between its definitions. Some authors conceptualize it as a discipline in charge of understanding educational processes, while others indicate that it is a set of thoughts aimed at giving a transcendental meaning to education about the human being.

Some authors even define it as a science that has brought together a body of knowledge aimed at facilitating the understanding of multiple phenomena, making it possible to understand the various areas of study to which a person can dedicate themselves respectively.

Of the science

We can say that the philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy that deals with studying and understanding scientific knowledge, together with all the practices that take place in scientific research. Its objective is to provide information on scientific thought through the study of all its methods and applications.

For this, different aspects are valued such as the evaluation and creation of scientific theories, the design of research methods to contrast the information, etc. It is presumed, in this philosophy, that science is capable of bringing humanity closer to the absolute truth in the understanding of different phenomena.

The empirical nature of the information has made science become one of the main access portals to solid knowledge of useful value. In this way, the philosophy of science acquires great relevance, since it must constantly study the way in which science generates this type of knowledge, in order to understand the natural processes of the human environment.

The philosophy of science can be considered a relatively new area, since, unlike the rest of the aforementioned philosophies, the philosophy of science was born only in the 20th century, so its application has not managed to expand so much until today . This, given the complexity of its main objective of study, warns of a really long path for its expansion.

Conclusion What is philosophy?

Philosophy is, without a doubt, one of the most important areas to bring a certain area closer to its constant evolution, allowing to recognize and identify those factors necessary to transform thought, and thus, continuously improve the way in which we approach knowledge. .

Read more:What is ontology?; Ancient ontology

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