Definition
Philosophy refers to a quest for a general understanding regarding human exercise. The major objective of this study is the rational justification of human values, knowledge, and certainty, logical inferences, and interpretation of the nature of reality. The insight developed by significant early philosophers as well as the present is therefore a source of stimulation of philosophical thinking in such areas. Philosophy helps students to undertake careers Such as law and theology that require high ability of problem analysis as well as clear thinking and writing (William, 2004).
Field of philosophy
Philosophy is unique in its methods and nature compared to other fields because of its subject matter being wide in breadth. Questions in all dimensions regarding human life are pursued in philosophy through techniques that apply to any problem regardless of its field of study. Through philosophy, standards of evidence are established that promote rational methods of conflict resolution and techniques to evaluate ideas as well as arguments. A student who has studied philosophy has the required capacity to perceive the world from other peoples’ perspective, regardless of the difference in their culture. He/she is also able to relate different fields of study with a deep sense of meaning, providing a variety of experiences. Concepts and views examined by philosophy are drawn from politics, science, religion as well as arts, and the study of these concepts dwells more on the meaning of ideas and their basis as well as coherence regarding their relationship with other ideas (William, 2004).
Examples of question that arise in philosophy are:
- What is human democracy and how can it be justified as a government’s system. Would it allow people to vote against their rights? What is the relationship between democracy and political liberty?
- What is the nature of human knowledge and to what extent? Is it a must that one has evidence in order for him/her to know? Is it possible to know the thought and feelings of other people, and if yes, how?
There are five traditional subfields of philosophy, the first being logic that deals with sound methods for one to differentiate between good and bad reasoning. Logic assess how well one’s premises support his/her conclusions and avoid the adoption of beliefs that do not have adequate reasons. The second subfield is ethics which is responsible for taking up meaning for people’s moral concepts including right action, justice as well as obligations. Through principles, a person is able to formulate principles for right moral decisions regardless of whether he/she is in private or in public. The third field is metaphysics which provides criteria to determine what is real by looking at the existence of mental and physical as well as things that are abstract, for instance numbers. Metaphysic analyzes the complex physical system of human beings and its property that can enable it to be reduced to something physical. Epistemology is the fourth field, and it deals with the nature as well as scope of knowledge and what it means for a person to know the truth. It concerns sort of things that a person can know and how he/she can be justified in his/her beliefs beyond evidence of his/her senses. It focuses on the limits surrounding human knowledge. Lastly is the history of philosophy, which provides a study on major philosophers and general development of philosophy through ancient periods to nineteenth century. It helps to understand great philosophers as well as their contribution in influencing other philosophers (Kohlberg, 2003).
Other branches of philosophy have been developed that include philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, subfields of ethics, philosophy of arts, all of which are regarded as the modern branches of philosophy. Some of the benefits of studying philosophy are: solving general problems, improving communication skills, construction of formulations to improve one’s persuasive powers as well as writing skills (Kohlberg, 2003).
References
- William P. (2004): Realms of Meaning: A philosophy of the curriculum for general education: Harvard University pp. 34-39.
- Kohlberg L. (2003): The Philosophy of Moral Development: Moral Stages and the Idea of Justice: HarperCollins pp. 12-19.