What Is Philosophy? How Does It Influence Our Lives?

According to Merriam-Webster (2016), philosophy is “an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs” (para. 1). Most people have a philosophy that is either a vague, general idea or a distinct guiding principle that is based on beliefs relevant to the individual, to their patients, families, communities, and colleagues. The beliefs that comprise a person’s philosophy influence the choices that person makes. Many base their choice of profession on their beliefs, thereby ensuring that the principles of their career are consistent with their personal expectations. For example, getting a job or taking actions that are inconsistent with someone’s beliefs is one of the causes of stress and burnout. Therefore, it is healthy for individuals to clarify their philosophy to help guide them to make choices and to live a life consistent with their

To begin, it is important to understand and analyze what philosophy is and ultimately what a philosophical question is. Philosophy is a quest after knowledge. Philosophy is the action of thought and analysis, in fact, it is a pretty unique type of

Introduction: As long as there have been civilizations, there have been stories, myths that are told to children. These stories are usually the basis of the cartoons characters except some which are from creator’s imagination. This story telling is a means of not only comforting and amusing a child, but of teaching the child the societal norms of their nation. These are memorized by children and remembered forever. Children idolize their favourite character, the character they have most in common with and are best able to identify with, and try to emulate that character’s

According to Simon Blackburn, philosophy can be different things depending on how it’s used, and it can be used many different ways. When used as a method, philosophy studies the same world as science, but uses rational arguments as proof rather than scientific observations. Although, when thought of as a subject matter rather than a method, philosophy becomes a specific area of study, trying to answer questions that have not yet been answered and concern humanity using the three foundational philosophical questions: what exists, what do we know, and what should we do. These are the basic questions philosophers use to prove their arguments. The third way to use philosophy, according to Blackburn, is

Parents often say, “Listen to your elders.” This cliché can make some people apathetic, but when looking back, most appreciate the wisdom of their elders. The knowledge imparted to children is crucial for their ability to understand and improve the world. In XIV by Derek Walcott, the speaker uses imagery, metaphor, and other literary devices to convey the storyteller’s significance to his life.

Philosophy is defined by Webster as "Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline" or "Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods." This essay is a general look at those who pursued that intellectual means, those who investigated, even those who reasoned Reason. Because volumes could be written and this is a rather quick, unworthy paper: apologizes.

The meaning of philosophy is the love of wisdom, questioning everything including ourselves. Philosophizing is about questioning the meaning of life.

The American political society can be divided into two main political theories of thought, liberalism and conservatism, or democrat and republican. Although, both of the political theories goal is to make America the best country that it can be, both have a different way in achieving this goal. With the presence of different beliefs comes negative opinions of the opposing group. ThePeoplesCube satirical editorial Republicanism Caused By Brain Disorder, Mutation embodies how some liberal progressive democrats see the conservative republicans. With the rhetorical strategies of logos, pathos, and ethos ThePeoplesCube is able to portray the conservative republicans as unnaturally self-centered, narrow-minded, oblivious,

Philosophy is one of the most important subjects taught today. Philosophy can teach us things as broad as secrets of the universe and as personal as knowing right from wrong. In the following paragraphs, I will explain each concept, as well as its importance to myself.

The term “philosophy” means the love of wisdom, and those that study philosophy attempt to gain knowledge through rationality and reason. 1 Socrates, the father of ancient philosophy, once stated “the unexamined life is not worth living”. This is the most important part of life and it is need to find purpose and value in life. If a person chooses to live their life without examination, their life would lack value and they would be unhappy. They would also be ignorant to the effects of their choices on themselves and the people around them.

The essay "The Value of Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell suggests that many “practical” people view philosophy as rather useless, because these people are – according to Bertrand Russell – operating both with wrong conceptions about the ends of life and wrong conceptions about what goods philosophy strives to achieve. According to Russell the value of philosophy is in what it does for the person who studies it. He makes the point that goods of the mind are as important in life as goods of the body. He says that the main value of philosophy is that it enlarges one’s thoughts, brings one into union with the “not-Self”, and helps us avoid being caught in narrowness as human beings. His main ideas are that philosophy is to be studied to enrich our intellects, diminish our dogmatism, and make us citizens of the universe.

The main goal in philosophy is to shows us the right way on how to live a great life and to understand its meaning and purpose. Every philosopher has their own blueprint, which includes different methods and rules on how to reach that goal; these include backing up your opinions with reason, seeking secure foundations in ‘objective truth’, thinking outside of your own perspective, and seeking intellectual and moral excellence, wisdom and prudence. Philosophy will help you analyze and learn about your own knowledge, freedom, morality, religion, and the meaning of life.

Philosophy can be described as a chance for person to undertake an opportunity to understand themselves, our world and society, and relations between ourselves and one another. Those who are able to study philosophy, can find out what is to be human, what kind of person is it good to be, and especially how are we to live a good life. I, myself, have had an opportunity to take a philosophy class and as my time in philosophy is starting to come to a close, I am suddenly realizing how Philosophy has changed the aspects and my outlook upon my life.

Without philosophy the world would be incomplete. It is common knowledge that there is gray in every argument, even the most miniscule, it is never black or white. Philosophy is what the gray area consists of, different beliefs and ideas that cannot fit in either of the two groups. That is what makes philosophy significant; there are no limits to it. There are no boundaries to what the

Doing philosophy as many philosophers demonstrate over time and in the present is to simply question the understanding of what is known and not known or accepted and unaccepted. This is to say, that philosophers must question all aspects of life and all the surrounding dimensions of the world. In doing so, the philosopher is trying to grasp a firmer or different understanding of the truth that is either presently or not presently known; whether comforting or not comforting. One of the world’s most famous and original philosophers Socrates, had a student named Plato who explains this very concept of philosophy in the “Allegory of the Cave” when describing what it would be like for the newly free prisoner to realize the actual true reality in which the prisoner lives in. “[The prisoner would] be pained and dazzled and unable to see whose shadows [the prisoner had] seen before”, but the prisoner would now see reality more clearly than previously seen before. (Plato) Though the prisoner’s revelation seems to be uncomforting, Plato follows this newly sorrowful seen reality by asserting that the prisoner’s next steps in continuing would be to “see the sun, not images of it in water or some alien place, but the sun itself, in its own place, and be able to study it.” (Plato) The prisoner could now expand on this new realization of reality and allow this new view to further carry the prisoner to future and further understandings of reality and its