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[[File:Bust of Socrates.JPG|thumb|Bust of [[Socrates]]. Roman copy of an ''[[wikt:original|original]]'' thought to be ''[[wikt:carve|carved]]'' by Lysippos.]]

'''Philosophy''' is the [[study (field)|study]] of [[wisdom]]. 
In fact, {{lang|grc|Philosophia}} is the [[Ancient Greek]] word for the "love of [[wisdom]]".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Philosophy|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=August 20, 2020|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/philosophy }}</ref> 

A person who works in the field of philosophy is called a '''philosopher'''. A philosopher is a kind of [[intellectual|thinker]] and [[researcher]]. A "philosophy" can also mean a group of ideas or way of living suggested by philosophers.<ref name=MerriamWebster>{{cite dictionary|title=Philosophy|dictionary=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=November 21, 2020|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philosophy }}</ref> 

Philosophy is a way of thinking about the [[world]], the [[universe]], and [[society]]. In the past, [[science|natural science]]s were a part of philosophy.

==Ideas==
The ideas in philosophy are often general and ''[[wikt:abstract|abstract]]''. However, this does not mean that philosophy is not about the real world. For example, [[ethics]] talks about how to be [[good]] in our day-to-day lives. [[Metaphysics]] questions how the world works and what it is made of. Sometimes, people talk about how they have a ‘personal philosophy’, which means the way a person thinks about the world. This article is ''not'' about people's ’personal philosophies’. This article is about the ideas that have been discussed by [[philosopher]]s.

==Questions==
Questions related to philosophy are called philosophical questions. Most philosophical questions can never be answered with certainty. They focus on important topics, such as the meaning of life, death, and morality. An example of a philosophical question is this: "Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man could doubt it?".<ref>[[Bertrand Russell|Russell, Bertrand]] 1912. ''The problems of philosophy''. Home University Library.</ref> Other questions asked by [[philosophers]] are:

* What should we do in our lives?
*Why are we born?
*Why are there so many difficulties in life?
*How do we overcome [[suffering]]?
*What is the importance of the [[Materialism|material]] life?
*Will the [[universe]] exist forever?
* What is [[beauty]]?
* Do we have [[free will]]?
* Does [[God]] exist?
* Does the [[world]] around us [[existence|exist]]?
* What is [[truth]]? 
* What is [[evil]]?
* What is the [[relationship]] between [[mind]] and [[body]]?
* What is the [[meaning of life]]?

== History ==
The word 'Philosophy' directly [[Translation|translates]] to 'love of wisdom'. It comes from the Greek word ''<nowiki/>'Philosophia'<nowiki/>'', with ''<nowiki/>'Philo'<nowiki/>'' meaning ''<nowiki/>'lover'<nowiki/>'' and ''<nowiki/>'Sophia''<nowiki/>' meaning ''<nowiki/>'wisdom'''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://english-ingles.com/etymology-of-philosophy/|title=Etymology of Philosophy|website=english-ingles.com|access-date=2020-02-01|archive-date=2020-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201104850/http://english-ingles.com/etymology-of-philosophy/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

There are different types of philosophy from different times and places. Some philosophers came from [[Ancient Greece]], such as [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]]. Others came from Asia, such as [[Confucius]], [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], Adi [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]], and [https://www.iep.utm.edu/laozi/ Laozi]. Some [[philosophers]] were from the [[Middle Ages]] in Europe, such as [[William of Ockham]] or [[Saint Thomas Aquinas]].

[[Influence|Influential]] philosophers from the 1600s and 1700s include [[Thomas Hobbes]], [[René Descartes]], [[John Locke]], [[Gottfried Leibniz]], [[David Hume]], and [[Immanuel Kant]]. Some [[wikt:major|major]] philosophers from the 1800s are [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel|Georg Hegel]], [[Søren Kierkegaard]], and [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], [[wikt:whereas|whereas]] the 1900s gave us [[Martin Heidegger]] and [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]].

== Areas of inquiry ==
'''Philosophy''' seeks to understand [[truth|truths]] about the world and how we view it. It tries to answer important questions by making [[wikt:conclusion|conclusions]] based on observations of [[human nature]] and the real world.

Sometimes, philosophy tries to answer the same questions as [[religion]] and [[science]]. Philosophers give different answers to the same question. Many types of philosophy criticize or even attack the beliefs of religion.

In his work ''Critique of Pure Reason'', [[Immanuel Kant]] asks the following questions:<ref>Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, II 2 2</ref>
#What can I say? 
#What shall I do?
#What dare I hope?
#What is man?
The answers to these questions give the different categories of philosophy.

=== Categories in philosophy ===
Philosophy can be divided into different groups based on the types of questions asked. Below is a list of the questions split into groups. One possible list of answers to these questions can be called a 'philosophy'. There are many different philosophies, because all of these questions have different answers according to different people. Not all philosophies ask the same questions. These are the questions that are usually asked by philosophers from the [[Western world]]:

'''[[Metaphysics]]''':

Metaphysics is sometimes split up into [[ontology]] (the philosophy of real life and living things), the [[philosophy of mind]] and the [[philosophy of religion]]; but these sub-branches are very close together.

''Ontology'':
* What is the world that we see around us? (What is [[reality]]?)
** Is there more to the world than what we see and hear?
** If nobody sees something happen, does that mean that it did not happen?
** What does it mean to say that something is possible? Do other worlds exist?
* Is there anything very special about being a [[human being]], or being [[life|alive]] at all?
** If not, why do some people think that there is?
* What is [[Space (physics)|space]]? What is [[time]]?

''The philosophy of mind'':
* What is a [[mind]]?
* What is a [[body]]?
* What is [[consciousness]]?
* Do people make choices, or can they only choose to do one thing? (Do people have [[free will]]?)
* What makes words or ideas meaningful? (What is the relation between meaningful words or ideas and the things that they mean?)

''The philosophy of religion'':
* Do people have [[soul]]s?
* Is there a [[God]] who created the Universe?

'''In [[epistemology]]''':

* What is [[knowledge]]? 
* How can we know anything?
* What is [[science]]?
* What is [[truth]]?

'''In [[ethics]]''':
* What are right and wrong, good and bad?
* Should people do some things and not others?
* What is [[:wikt:justice|justice]]?

'''In [[aesthetics]]''':
* What is [[beauty]]? What if one person thinks a painting is beautiful, but another person thinks the painting is ugly? Can the painting be beautiful and ugly at the same time?
* Are [[truth|true]] things beautiful?
* Are [[goodness|good]] things beautiful?
* What is [[art]]? We commonly think that a [[sculpture]] in a [[museum]] is art. If a sculptor sculpts a sculpture of a rock from clay, and puts it in a museum, many would call it art. But what if a person picks up a rock from the ground - is the rock a piece of art?

'''In [[logic]]''':
* What do the words we use mean?
* How can we say things (especially [[idea]]s) in a way that only has one meaning?
* Can all ideas be expressed using [[language]]?
* How does the [[truth]] of an [[argument]]'s [[premise]] affect the truth of its conclusion?
* How can we reason correctly?

'''In axiology'''
* What has value?
* Is time really money? or have we made it so?
* Does love, beauty, or justice hold any value?

Other divisions include [[eschatology]], [[teleology]] and [[theology]]. In past centuries, natural [[science]] were included in philosophy, and called "natural philosophy".

== Is philosophy good or bad? ==
It is easy to argue that philosophy is a good thing because it helps people understand the world better. Philosophy helps people learn how to act and think. Philosophers believe that asking philosophical questions is useful because it helps people learn about themselves, the world, and others. It can be argued that "Is philosophy good or bad?" is a philosophical question itself.

However, some people think philosophy is harmful because it encourages free-thinking and questions the beliefs that others hold. Some philosophies also clash with religion, and oppose religious beliefs. For example, philosophies such as some [[existentialist]] views say that there is no meaning to life or human existence, except the meaning that we make up or invent. Most religions disagree with this belief.

Many major sciences, including [[physics]], [[biology]], [[psychology]], and [[chemistry]], were once considered a part of philosophy. As facts about nature became more understood, these subjects separated into their own fields. In modern times, subjects such as consciousness, decision theory, and applied ethics have found independence from philosophy. It can be argued that philosophy helped promote the development of these sciences, and that it has historically been an important field of study.

== Purpose ==
Philosophers ask questions about ideas, and tries to find answers to those questions. A philosopher also analyzes concepts, arguments, and problems in philosophy.

Some are academics that work for universities or colleges. These philosophers may write books and articles about philosophy and teach classes about the subject to university or college students.

Some are also [[monk]]s, [[artist]]s, or [[scientist]]s. They also think about philosophical ideas and questions.

Philosophers often use both real and imaginary examples to make a point. For example, they may write about a real or fictional person in order to show what they think a good person or a bad person is like.

Some philosophers look for the simplest way to answer a question and say that is probably the right answer. This is a process called [[Occam's razor]]. Others believe that complicated answers to questions can also be right. For an example of a philosophical problem, see the [[God paradox]].

Philosophers use [[logic]] to solve problems and answer questions. Logical [[consistency]] is a cornerstone of any acceptable theory. Philosophers who disagree with a theory will often try to find a logical [[contradiction]] in a theory. If they find a contradiction, this gives them a reason to reject that theory. If they do not find an inconsistency, the philosopher might show that the theory leads to a conclusion which is either unacceptable or ridiculous. This second approach is called [[reductio ad absurdum]].

== Famous philosophers ==
People listed here should be genuine philosophers, rather than social or [[political]] campaigners. The lists are not meant to be complete.

{{Div col}}

=== The ancient Greek philosophers ===

* [[Heraclitus]]
*[[Socrates]]
*[[Plato]]

*[[Aristotle]]

*[[Epicurus]]
*[[Diogenes of Sinope|Diogenes]]

=== Later European/Western philosophers ===
* [[Saint Augustine]]
* [[Canonization|Saint]] [[Thomas Aquinas]]
* Duns Scotus
* [[Bonaventure]]
* [[William of Ockham]]
* [[George Berkeley]]
* [[Auguste Comte]]
* [[René Descartes]]
* [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]]
* [[Georg Wilhelm Frederich Hegel]]
* [[Thomas Hobbes]]
* [[David Hume]]
* [[Immanuel Kant]]
* [[Søren Kierkegaard]]
* [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz]]
* [[John Locke]]
* [[Niccolò Machiavelli]]
* [[John Stuart Mill]]
* [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]
* [[Arthur Schopenhauer]]
* [[Baruch Spinoza]]
* [[William Whewell]]
* [[Friedrich Nietzsche]]

=== Modern European and American philosophers ===
* [[Louis Althusser]]
* G. E. M. Anscombe
* [[Simone de Beauvoir]]
* [[David Chalmers]]
*[[John Dewey]]
*[[Christian DeQuincey]]
* [[Martin Heidegger]]
* [[Karl Popper]]
* [[John Rawls]]
* [[Bertrand Russell]]
* [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]
* [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]]
* [[Albert Camus]]

=== Latin American and Latina/o philosophers ===

* [[Gloria E. Anzaldúa]] 
* [[Giannina Braschi]] 
* [[Juana Inés de la Cruz|Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz]] 
* [[Maria Lugones]] 
* Ofelia Schutte
*Eugenio María de Hostos

=== Asian/Eastern philosophers ===
* [[Avicenna]]
* [[Osho]]
* [[Confucius]]
* [[Gautama Buddha|Siddhārta Gautama]] (the Gautama Buddha)
* [[Omar Khayyám]]
* [[Nanak]]
* [[Chuang Tzu]]
* [[Lao Tzu]]
* [[Sohrevardi]]
* [[Allama Iqbal]]
* [[Sun Tzu]]
* [[Adi Sankarachrya]]
{{Div col end}}

==Related pages==
*[[Fallacy]]
*[[Truth]]
*[[Philosophy of science]]

== General sources ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* Blumenau, Ralph. ''Philosophy and living''. {{ISBN|978-0-907845-33-1}}
* Craig, Edward. ''Philosophy: a very short introduction''. {{ISBN|978-0-19-285421-6}}
* Harrison-Barbet, Anthony. ''Mastering philosophy''. {{ISBN|978-0-333-69343-8}}
* [[Bertrand Russell|Russell, Bertrand]]. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20040807090338/http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/phil/russell/ The problems of philosophy]''. {{ISBN|978-0-19-511552-9}}
* Sinclair, Alistair J.  2008. ''What is philosophy? An introduction''. {{ISBN|978-1-903765-94-4}}
* Sober, Elliott 2001. ''Core questions in philosophy: a text with readings''. Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall. {{ISBN|978-0-13-189869-1}}
* Solomon, Robert C. ''Big questions: a short introduction to philosophy''. {{ISBN|978-0-534-16708-0}}
* Warburton, Nigel. ''Philosophy: the basics''. {{ISBN|978-0-415-14694-4}}
* Nagel, Thomas. ''What does it all mean? A very short introduction to philosophy''. {{ISBN|978-0-19-505292-3}}
*  Pojman, Louis P.  ''Classics of Philosophy (vols. 1, 2, & 3)'' 
* Arthur, Edwin  ''The English Philosophers from Bacon to Mill'' 
* Beardsley, Monroe  ''European Philosophers from Descartes to Nietzsche'' 
* Cottingham, John 2008. ''Western philosophy: an anthology''. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., . 
* Tarnas, Richard. ''The passion of the Western mind: understanding the ideas that have shaped our world view''. {{ISBN|978-0-345-36809-6}}
{{Refend}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Other websites==
*[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7IcJI8PUf5Z3zKxnZvTBog The School of Life] on YouTube
*[https://www.youtube.com/c/Einzelg%C3%A4nger Einzelgänger] (In search of) on YouTube

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