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The 8 Most Important Features of Philosophy

Some Characteristics of the philosophy Most outstanding are his critical attitude, his universality in the
object of study and its depth.

Philosophy is the study of the foundation of things; Addresses issues such as existence, morality, beauty,
knowledge, language and truth. This current is In Greece, with great thinkers such as Socrates and
Aristotle , In the 6th century BC. The word philosophy is a conjunction of"philos", meaning love,
and"sofia", meaning wisdom.

Painting by Rafael Sanzio, symbol of philosophy.

School of Athens. Rafael Sanzio.

The study of philosophy began when the great Greek thinkers began to wonder where the world came
from, trying to separate from their thoughts the mysticism that prevailed at the time.

The Philosophers They sought to find rational and demonstrable arguments for the questions they
posed, and through it they criticized ignorance and superstition.

At the beginning of the studies of philosophy, all the Branches Which nowadays are already
differentiated, such as alchemy, astrology, ethics, physics, etc.

Today philosophy is within all of them but promoting a critical point of view of all of them.
You may also like to know The 14 most important philosophical currents and their representatives .

Main features of philosophy

1- Universality

As we said above, philosophy does not focus on the study of a Branch of science , But embraces them all.
It seeks the deeper ends of science and promotes a critique of them.

The universality of philosophy also refers to the global and general character of the management of it as
a way of life and way of thinking.

Although there are different variants depending on geographical location, such as Chinese philosophy,
Arabic, Western philosophy... All have in common that seek to discern universal truth by separating
mysticism and superstitions.

2- Depth

Philosophy seeks the truth of all things. The depth of thought consists in having definitions of concepts.
These definitions have to be complete and truthful.

Philosophy questions all approaches until they are demonstrable in all its aspects. He wants to get to the
point where no more questions can be asked because they have all been answered.

They reach as far back as possible through rationality. This is the most important point of philosophy, the
origin of the times and the explanation of all things.

3- Criticism

Philosophy has a critical attitude toward things because it does not accept presumptions without
demonstration. It is opposed to the dogmatic attitude, that is to say, that it does not admit absolute
truths as immovable principles that can not be subject to discussion.
He rejects submission and fanaticism, especially the religious, since it has no scientific and demonstrable
basis. It raises radical questions that are at the root of reality and existence.

Through criticism invites to use reason to leave behind ignorance and be free. It is opposed to the
natural attitude of survival, we must not only exist to survive but to know and understand our
surroundings.

The critique of philosophy is based on living in a constant disagreement in which we must seek the
meaning of existence.

4- Certainty

Philosophy is responsible for seeking the most logical answers to the existence of life and the universe.
Even in metaphysical subjects, it looks for foundations on which to base its theories to consider them
valid. It does not serve any kind of response.

5- Fundamental

Guided by logic, philosophy seeks to seek the true answers of the universe. The study of logic analyzes
the correct reasoning of the wrong ones. Logic helps the correct interpretation of language and prompts
reasoning and consistency of its contents.

A clear example of a logical approach is:

If it is sunny, then it is daylight.

It is sunny.

Therefore, it is daytime

It is not sunny, so it is not daytime

6- Totalizing

It has a tendency to universality, is not satisfied with partial explanations or fragments of reality. You
want to get the complete picture for the various problems you encounter on your way.
7- Wisdom

Philosophy and wisdom are not synonyms, but wisdom is encompassed within philosophy. Sophia It is
wisdom, and philosophy is the love of wisdom

The intellectual growth of people accumulates experiences. The whole of these experiences is a form of
personal knowledge and development. This is the definition of wisdom.

A well-known anecdote to explain the difference between wisdom and philosophy, came when Lion king
of the Fliacos asked Pythagoras his profession and he responded that he was not wise (sofos) but simply
a philosopher (lover to wisdom, aspiring to it)

He who is wise does not philosophize, for he is supposed to have discovered the mysteries of the world
and knows them. However, a philosopher recognizes his own ignorance, and his constant aspiration is to
attain wisdom

Socrates perfectly reflected the pursuit of his wisdom with the phrase known by everyone:"I only know
that I do not know anything".

8- Praxis

Praxis means action or realization. This is the opposite of theoretical activity, and in the origins of
philosophy practice was relegated to the background. It was considered that the theory prevailed over
the actions of the human being.

This perception changed with the postulates of Marx that considered it like"human activity like objective
activity". Marx maintained that practical activity is above theoretical activity, conditioning it.

According to him, the way in which the material production of human beings, in this case praxis, is
organized, determines the way in which people interpret reality.
References

PAULSEN, Friedrich. Introduction to philosophy . Holt, 1907.

STUMPF, Samuel Enoch. Philosophy: History and problems.

HADOT, Pierre. Philosophy as a way of life: Spiritual exercises from Socrates to Foucault.

Page 5 The teaching of philosophy as a philosophical problem . Books of the Zorzal, 2008.

GAARDER, Jostein. Sofia's world . Anaya Multimedia, 1997.

POJMAN, Louis P. Introduction to Philosophy. Classical and Contemporary Readings. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth / Thomson Learning , 2000.

EARLE, William James. Introduction to philosophy . McGraw-Hill, 1992.

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