Philosophy, what is it really?

For thousands of years Philosophy has no consensus agreement of

what its meaning is, yet, philosophy still continues. The art of philosophy has brought awakening to
minds of the people and almost everything into development through studying things underlying its
visible surface. So, what is philosophy?

The question what is philosophy? Cannot be answered with a general answer that everyone will
agree with. Through all the people who does philosophy, they are just doing the same thing, but can’t
distinguish what its meaning is. So, the only way to know its meaning is through what philosophers do
since what they do is what philosophy is.

Now, natural philosophy started from the first known philosopher, Thales of Miletus, and go
boomed Socrates, the wisest known philosopher of his era, then came his descendants and so on. These
philosophers pretty much did the same when philosophizing. All of them answered their questions
through the passion of also questioning. Therefore, philosophizing is basically asking questions to
acquire the truth, but is it just that? Of course, it is not, Philosophy through all time passed is used to
understand an Idea, to pursue what is the truth about it. So philosophizing makes us understand an
idea, not just because you are thinking that means your are philosophizing, let us say it like this; an idea
is something that you thought of, but that thought stays as you think of it and digging up and developing
that idea makes it philosophical that is why it results to a philosophy of that idea ou have thought of.

Philosophy really cannot be understood for what it is, but for what it is for. Philosophy is not
just any perspective of someone, but a better understanding of an idea that makes sense. Philosophy is
the pursuance of an idea, and that pursuance of the Idea is what philosophizing is so, thoughts of
something just remains thoughts but, if you start to seek what that idea really is, find out what’s
underlying that idea, that makes the idea philosophical, and if an Idea only becomes philosophical if you
do something about it, then that makes philosophy something that you do. So, philosophy is the act of
thinking about something that branches down almost everything of the idea being philosophized.

Philosophy is done through questioning and philosophy makes us understand what something
really is but, what makes philosophy so unique? What is its difference from science? Isn’t just the same?
Since what they do is understand something. Philosophy is different from science because philosophy
acquires knowledge through only thinking and doesn’t arrive to certainty, as we know that philosophy
never stops moving or never arrives to a certain point. there is always another question when it comes

to philosophy. While science gives us a certain answer and that’s it. “Philosophic inquiry and knowledge
is not only the most classical form of theoretical knowledge, in the truest form of the word, it is also close
to life than all other scientific kinds of knowledge.”1

Philosophy at its finest, Philosophy has the most contributions among all other kinds of
knowledge. With just one branch of it, Epistemology, mostly all of them are covered since everything
has a beginning or origin which is being studied in epistemology. But, what is the difference of regular
knowledge and philosophical knowledge? This will make philosophy unique among them all because
philosophy requires much more effort of natural thinking. And thinking philosophically which requires
endless reasoning makes an argument much more reasonable and will bring further unknown
information since the questioning always ends up to new topics that are related to the previous claim or
idea. “Philosophical Inquiry and Knowledge, above all other kinds, is the deepest and most classical. In fine, it
is the highest fulfillment of natural knowledge in general.”2

So, basically philosophy is a way of thinking that comes up to a deeper knowledge of a certain
idea or claim, and keeps on moving forward to the direction leading to new things brought up by
philosophizing.

1
Hildebrand, V., What is Philosophy, Routledge, 279
2
Ibid.,278
References:

De Botton, Alain. 2001. The Consolations of Philosophy. New York: Vintage International.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=738089.

Gibson, Walker. 1983. In In Praise of the Sophists, 284–89.

Honderich, Ted, ed. 1995. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford ; New York: Oxford
University Press.

Kenny, Anthony. 2006. Ancient Philosophy. 1st pbk. ed. A New History of Western Philosophy, v.
1. Oxford : New York: Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press.

Kenny, Anthony, and Anthony Kenny. 2006. The Rise of Modern Philosophy. New History of
Western Philosophy, v. 3. Oxford ; Clarendon Press ; New York: Oxford University Press.

Von Hildebrand, Dietrich. 1991. What Is Philosophy? Studies in Phenomenological and Classical
Realism. London ; New York: Routledge.

Warburton, Nigel. 2008. Philosophy: The Basics. 4. ed., reprinted. London: Routledge.