What Role Does Philosophy Have in my Life?
In many circumstances individuals consider Philosophy to be a very abstract field, but what exactly is Philosophy? Philosophy studies the basic nature of existence, of man, and of man's relationship to existence. What we must question is, would one be better off with or with out Philosophy? I consider that one should live a life with Philosophy. Philosophy consists of questioning man’s relationship to existence; if man does not question existence, are we just living through the notions of life? As humans we feel the need to believe in something and search for understanding. The consideration of Philosophy opened a new realm of questions. The fields of Metaphysics and Epistemology were derived
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Imagine a life without questions, the search for the truth. We could all go about life, oblivious to the world around us, being lied to, deceived, and wronged, without even knowing. Although sometimes it is better to let a situation play out how it was suppose to, instead of trying to change what was already going to happen, it is complicated to just sit back, and ignore the fact that you could have altered the outcome.
Now what I must consider is what kind of philosophical theory would I use to determine my actions? Virtue ethics clearly describes what I believe is the right way of living. What kind of person I ought to be? We should not only consider our desires, but try and seek the happiness of others through their needs as well. Although we want to show our virtues, at times it is difficult to completely stop ourselves from acting upon our urges. Hence, there are two different kinds of virtues. The reasoning abilities, when we study nature or think about something, it is to be intellectually virtuous. We also use our rational ability by reducing our impulses, which would be considered morally virtuous. Another theory I live by is the universal law. If something that is done can be considered wrong to one person, then it would be wrong for anyone else, at any time. One should not be bias to a situation only because it is relevant to the outcome they are looking for. Although it is difficult to keep an unbiased decision, it could
My ethics have been formed over a lifetime of experiences. Because of these experiences and my personal beliefs, I use my rationality to decide what my duties are. I believe that each individual is independently responsible for their own morals. This corresponds with my personal preferred lens which is rights and responsibility. When faced with adversity, I use my practical nature to determine the best course of action. I want to ensure I have examined all angles and outcomes prior to making a
As discussed in class, philosophy is about engaging yourself in conversation to the extent of thinking what other people are saying with virtues in mind. It is interesting to figure out how one comes to an opinion or thought and where the evidence comes
My moral code and the belief of human nature evil leads me to cultivate the knowledge and the competences of myself. I believe it is my own responsibilities to be sensitive about the interaction between people and learn how to protect myself from being hurt by others, regardless intentionally or unintentionally. Therefore, I will make observations of people and the environments, to always best understand what situation I am and try to set up some prevention measurements to set myself from falling into a bad situation. Also, I will try to grow myself to be more intelligent and stronger. And the most important thing is, I will never try to do harms to people because I can simultaneously be more sensitive to know whether if there is any harm to others by the measurements I am about to take.
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
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.
Having discussed what philosophy is, we now consider why it is important to study philosophy. We will divide our discussion into 2 parts: (1) Why is it important for all persons in general and (2) Why is it specifically important for Christians to study philosophy? We begin, in true philosophic fashion, by examining the question itself: what we do mean by philosophy being important and we introduce the idea of the philosophic mindset. We then examine 5 reasons why it is important for all persons to adopt the philosophic mindset. We will end by providing an overview of the different branches of philosophy.
Virtue Theory relies heavily on the character of the person rather than the circumstances in which the individual acts. The virtue theory deemphasizes rules and regulations and instead focuses on the internal character of the act in question. The virtue theory is not concerned with the intentions of the act. Nor is it concerned primarily with the consequences of the act. Instead the virtue theory relies on moral virtues. If the individual is of good character or not is the primary concern with virtue theory. What is difficult to ascertain however, is the question of what constitutes character? How can one appropriate establish the contents of one's character? A person's character traits are the compesition of his character traits. These traits can either be good (virtuous) or bad (vices). In both instances, the virtue theory establishes and emphasized these two
What is Philosophy? Well, by conventional definition, Philosophy is the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct. This, while providing a contextual definition of the word philosophy, just scratches the surface of its actual meaning. In this essay we will attempt to answer “What is Philosophy?” by discussing the works of Plato and Rene Descartes. First, we begin by summarizing and comparing the theme of their works for similarities so as to better form a definition. In order to begin answering the question, “What is Philosophy?” we must comprehend each author’s method, themes, and goals throughout their works.
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.
Virtue Ethics is neither deontological nor teleological, since it is concerned with neither duty nor consequences, but rather the state of the person acting. Aristotle believed that once you are good, good actions will necessarily follow, and this belief is at the centre of Virtue Ethics. Rather than defining good actions, Virtue Ethics looks at good people and the qualities that make them good. The non-normative theory, although very effective in determining the morality of individuals, is particularly flawed when applied to whole societies. This weakness is largely due to its imprecision and abstraction; however, before these weaknesses can be considered, it is necessary to give an account of the theory itself.
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.
Ethics are moral principles that can be used to help guide peoples decisions. We are all different and therefore our beliefs and opinions differ. There are many ethical theories, and according to Panza and Potthast (n.d.) the following are some that are widely used. Virtue ethics is one theory which states that personality is the most important thing. Living an ethical life, acting right, requires that one develops and demonstrates the quality of courage, compassion, wisdom, and temperance. It also requires that greed, jealousy, and selfishness is avoided. Utilitarianism states that the amount of happiness and suffering created by a person’s actions is what matters the most. As a result, acting rightly includes maximizing the amount of
Philosophy, like all other studies, aims primarily at knowledge. The knowledge it aims at is the kind of knowledge which gives unity and system to the body of the science,
In “The Value of Philosophy”, Bertrand Russell— “an important social critic and one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century”—refutes the idea of philosophy being pointless and a waste of time (The Value of Philosophy). Although philosophers have not agreed on one exact definition for this branch of knowledge, philosophy is generally understood as an “academic discipline” which aims to cover a variety of topics through arguing, inquiring, assuming, and “testing arguments for weakness” in order to gain knowledge and grasp a better sense of life (Lectures 1-2, Package). Russell makes strong arguments for philosophy being beneficial, especially when one is open to seeking a deeper understanding of life and why the universe operates the way that it does. Despite philosophy’s inability to definitively answer the questions that it seeks to understand, in Russell’s opinion, it holds a great amount of value—one of those values being uncertainty.
Philosophy seemed to be the center of the majority of peoples lives Before the Common Era, yet today it also upholds just as much, if not more, importance to the normal person than of the ‘scientist’ or renowned ‘theorist.’ Philosophy makes people who they are, their own