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What is Philosophy? Essay

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The subject of Philosophy and its subcategories have been widely discussed in both the Western and non-Western world albeit with different focuses. Philosophy includes many different subfields involving investigation into our existence. These subfields include epistemology, ethics, logic, metaphysics, philosophy of science, social and political philosophy, and Metaphilosophy. Epistemology focuses on the study of Knowledge, also known as “Theory of Knowledge”. Ethics involves the study of moral values and rules, Logic; the study of reasoning. Metaphysics is the study of being and knowing also known as the principles of reality. The Philosophy of Science analyzes the nature and results of scientific inquiry. Social and Political Philosophy …show more content…

These methods of thinking include Critical, Rational, Systematic, Reflective, and normative thinking. Each of which helps find a conclusion or truth.

The method of critical thinking explores what it means to be critical and how we think critically. Critical thinking can be defined as an approach to ideas from the standpoint of deliberate consideration. Philosophy differs from Religion in that this critical thinking is a primary characteristic used in Western Philosophy. Religion is a belief and way of life while philosophy is the knowledge or understanding of life. In Greek Philo means love of and Sophy, wisdom. Hence philosophy is most directly the love of wisdom. Non-western Philosophy incorporates both science and religon to answer questions. Furthermore, all Sciences are subsets of philosophy. Philosophy represents the mind, a process of thinking and religion, a process of faith. Philosophy is Dogma while Religion is a code of conduct revealed upon mankind through revelation. Furthermore religion depends upon a superior being or unknown force (think god). Because of this, when a philosophy is codified into rituals and faith, it becomes a religion. Religion tends to back away from rational discourse, as opposed to Philosophy, which is all about rational discourse and critical thinking.

Similar to critical thinking, the method of rational thinking interprets how we think rationally. Logic plays a specialized role in rational thinking. Rational thinking

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