What Exactly Is Philosophy?
An overarching way to describe the field of philosophy is that it seeks to find a the
answer to life’s biggest questions, such as the reason for existing. This field of study is also put
in place to satisfy humanity’s desire for knowledge, whether it be personal or comprehensive
knowledge (What is Philosophy, n.d.).
Three Main Classes of Philosophy
What philosophy is can also be broken down into three main classes, with the first of
these classes being called ethics. According to our textbook, ethics is “the branch of philosophy
that analyzes and defends concepts of value, and thereby determines right and wrong” (What is
Philosophy, n.d.). It attempts to seek to answer the question of “what is the good life and how
ought I to live it.” Aristotle’s thoughts on this topic are quite simple. He believed that we should
live our lives in a virtuous manner, which can also be translated to as personal excellence
(Aristotle’s Highest Good, n.d.). His personal thoughts on ethics are concerned with what type of
person we ought to be rather than solely how we are to conduct ourselves (Aristotle’s Highest
Good, n.d.).
The second of the three main classes of philosophy is epistemology. Epistemology is “the
branch of philosophy that analyzes and fins concepts of knowledge and the methodologies by
which it is attained” (What is Philosophy, n.d.). It tries to answer the question of “what is
knowledge.” Socrates sought knowledge by using a method called dialectic. Dialectic is a more
noble pursuit than debate, as the goal of it is not to win, but simply to learn what the truth is.
(The Socratic Approach, n.d.). Socrates believed that knowledge was gained through reasoning,
not through argument (The Socratic Approach, n.d.).
