So what is philosophy?

  Literally the term philosophy is derived from the Greek words philos ("loving")

andsophia ("wisdom"), and means "the love of wisdom."  But philosophers do not always agree on the nature
and function of philosophy.  Here are four definitions that attempt to explain what is generally meant by the
term philosophy.  These definitions do not necessarily reflect a consensus of philosophical opinion.
1. Philosophy analyzes the foundations and presuppositions underlying other disciplines.  Philosophy
investigates and studies the underpinnings of science, art, and theology.  Philosophers do not ask "Are Pablo
Picasso's paintings 'good' works of art?" (as art critics do) but "Is aesthetic judgment a matter of personal taste,
or are there objective standards that we can apply to evaluate a work of art?"  Philosophers do not ask "Is the
theory of evolution true?" (as biologists and physical anthropologists do) but "How do we distinguish truth from
error?"
2. Philosophy attempts to develop a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the
world.  Philosophy seeks to integrate the knowledge of the sciences with that of other fields of study to
achieve some kind of consistent and coherent world view.  Philosophers do not want to confine their attention
to a fragment of human experience or knowledge, but rather, want to reflect upon life as a totality.  In speaking
of this particular function, Charlie Dunbar Broad, an English twentieth century philosopher, says: "Its object is
to take over the results of the various sciences, to add to them the results of the religious and ethical
experiences of mankind, and then to reflect upon the whole.  The hope is that, by this means, we may be able
to reach some general conclusions as to the nature of the universe, and as to our position and prospects in it." 
(Scientific Thought, New York: Harcourt, 1923, p. 20)
3. Philosophy studies and critically evaluates our most deeply held beliefs and attitudes; in particular,
those which are often held uncritically.  Philosophers have an attitude of critical and logical thoughtfulness. 
They force us to see the significance and consequences of our beliefs, and sometimes their inconsistencies. 
They analyze the evidence (or lack of it) for our most treasured beliefs, and seek to remove from our
perspectives every taint and trace of ignorance, prejudice, superstition, blind acceptance of ideas, and any
other form of irrationality.
4.  Philosophy investigates the principles and rules of language, and attempts to clarify the meaning of
vague words and concepts.  Philosophy examines the role of language in communication and thought, and
the problem of how to identify or ensure the presence of meaning in our use of language.  It is a method--a
practice--which seeks to expose the problems and confusions which have results from the misuse of language,
and to clarify the meaning and use of vague terms in scientific and/or everyday discourse.

2. HOW DOES PHILOSOPHY WORK?

The Characteristics of Philosophical Inquiry

(with thanks to Norman L. Geisler and Paul D. Feinberg)

1. Philosophical disputes are not caused by a lack of factual information. They are disputes about meaning,
value, or interpretation. 

2. Philosophical problems are seldom solved by an appeal to facts. Philosophical disputes arise due to
considerations that are not purely factual, and so are rarely solved by learning "the facts." Furthermore,
factual evidence itself is often ambiguous. (we learn from three sources: observation, reasoning, and
authority. Philosophical problems therefore are only solved by reasoning and authority (someone telling us
what to think. Philosophical knowledge, however, is only gained by reasoning.)

3. Philosophy is often more concerned with method than with theoretical content. If no factual appeal can
resolve the philosophical problem, then we can only know our answers to philosophical problems are
correct by making sure that we have the best reasoning we can get. Philosophy is more the development
then of a skill rather than the acquisition of a body of knowledge.

4. One of philosophy's chief goals is clarification. Philosophers push for rigorous thinking in the pursuit of
clarity-to "see" problems (in the sense of "understand") better, to root out poor assumptions or ways of
looking at the world, to make our wording clear and explicit.

5. Philosophy is concerned with the critical reflection on justification and evidence. The height of reasoning is
argument, and philosophical success depends crucially on good argument--there is no other way to
adjudicate different contentions.

6. Philosophical inquiry centers on the quest for truth about crucial issues that are perennially discussed by
thoughtful persons. "Crucial" means fundamental or foundational; and applicable to more than one field of
inquiry. 

7. Philosophical analysis and explanation involves appeals to systems of principles. Philosophers accept
some basic set of principles in terms of which they attempt to resolve philosophical problems. Often much
of the resolutions involves articulating and clarifying those principles. 
3. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY?

1. Understanding our society: philosophy has profound influence on our social institutions and values.

2. An antidote to prejudice and provincialism: developing our critical and evaluative abilities gives us a
distance from our own beliefs and helps develop a healthy skepticism about them. This helps us to avoid
prejudice, narrow-minded acceptance of our own ways of life, and poor reasoning. It also helps us avoid
becoming the prey of contemporary thought patterns.

3. Wisdom and happiness: clarity about our fundamental concepts helps our lives and contributes to the
attainment of wisdom.

4. Strengthens and supports religious (esp. Christian) values: the wisdom gained by philosophical study
can strengthen and mature our personal faith in God, as well as help contribute to Christianity's attempts to
stand up to intellectual challenges against it. It can also help us learn what beliefs we gain from society fit with
Christianity, and which are inimical to it. Philosophy has traditionally played a role in contributing to our
understanding of God and his world, as well as the development of Christian theology.

Objects

An object is a technical term in modern philosophy often used in contrast to the term subject. A subject is an

observer and an object is a thing observed. For modern philosophers like Descartes, consciousness is a state
of cognition that includes the subject—which can never be doubted as only it can be the one who doubts–—
and some object(s) that may be considered as not having real or full existence or value independent of the
subject who observes it. Metaphysical frameworks also differ in whether they consider objects exist
independently of their properties and, if so, in what way.[citation needed]

The pragmatist Charles S. Peirce defines the broad notion of an object as anything that we can think or talk
about.[1] In a general sense it is any entity: the pyramids, Alpha Centauri, the number seven, a disbelief
in predestination or the fear of cats. In a strict sense it refers to any definite being.

A related notion is objecthood. Objecthood is the state of being an object. One approach to defining it is in
terms of objects' properties and relations. Descriptions of all bodies, minds, and persons must be in terms of
their properties and relations. The philosophical question of the nature of objecthood concerns how objects are
related to their properties and relations. For example, it seems that the only way to describe an apple is by
describing its properties and how it is related to other things. Its properties may include its redness, its size and
its composition, while its relations may include "on the table", "in the room" and "being bigger than other
apples".

The notion of an object must address two problems: the change problem and the problem of substance. Two
leading theories about objecthood are substance theory, wherein substances (objects) are distinct from their
properties, and bundle theory, wherein objects are no more than bundles of their properties.

Philosophy is inescapable.
Your philosophy is your worldview, which is a backdrop for all thought and a context for allknowledge. The
decision about examining philosophy is between: 1) to make your philosophy explicit, or 2) to be a slave to the
subconscious notions, principles, and other people's philosophies picked up throughout life. To ignore the topic
of philosophy is to be doomed to the second choice. Examining your philosophy will allow you to discover and
root out all errors and contradictions and allow you to more easily acquire knowledge and to think
in concepts rather than concretes.

A philosophic system is an integrated view of existence. As a human being, you have no choice about the fact
that you need a philosophy. Your only choice is whether you define your philosophy by a conscious, rational,
disciplined process of thought and scrupulously logical deliberation -- or let your subconscious accumulate a
junk heap of unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, undefined contradictions, undigested slogans,
unidentified wishes, doubts and fears, thrown together by chance, but integrated by your subconscious into a
kind of mongrel philosophy and fused into a single, solid weight: self-doubt, like a ball and chain in the place
where your mind's wings should have grown. Ayn Rand, Philosophy: Who Needs It

This site explores the importance of philosophy and presents many of the important concepts and questions
that must be considered. It will tell you how to base your philosophy on reasonrather than randomness, which
will lead to clarity, certainty, success, and happiness. The alternative to an explicit rational philosophy is an
indifference that leads to confusion and often failure.

Philosophy is not some arcane field important only to old men in ivory towers. It explicitly asks and answers
fundamental, inescapable questions such as "How can I know something?" and "What should I do?" Without
some answer to these questions, no knowledge or action is possible. Again, the only choice is to explicitly
examine the underlying assumptions involved or to be at the mercy of the random flotsam picked up

throughout life.