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One might also give the name »Philosophy« to what is possible before all new discoveries and inventions4
In the last chapter, I tried to destabilise science, even though its goals and methods should not be dismissed. In this section, philosophy is probably in need of a stabilisation. It seems as if many still have an idea of philosophy as dry, fuzzy, or obscure. In this chapter, I would like to give you an opportunity to change that perception. For those who already appreciate philosophy, I hope to contribute to a chapter, and a whole book, that you should be able to recommend as a good introduction to philosophy. Those are some of the main ideas behind this whole book, and it is particularly evident in this section 9.1 and the whole ninth chapter.
In the previous chapters, I have had the intention to make an initial exposition so you can enter into the field of philosophy, and at the same time, I wanted to establish initial relations for the art of learning. It is of course so that the initial relations may not last forever. They can change as our thinking changes. They can change as the art of learning changes. In a beginning, you follow a direction, and I want to clarify it. This is also an example of how philosophy can be used. You can see how I try to use it to create an art of learning, and you can try to use it to create your own project.
It is not easy to know where to start when you should introduce philosophy. How should you describe it to someone who does not know much - who even may be hostile to it and see it it as fuzzy or obscure, i.e. as something you cannot use? How do you show the importance and the possibilities of philosophy? I have used this question to try to write this book, this chapter, and particularly this section 9.1. In addition, I am trying to take it one step further. How should we establish a relationship to philosophy? I will patiently try to address this and some related issues.
All answers you could think of, whatever the question will be, will necessarily contain concepts and propositions. The potential eternal task of philosophy may be to investigate concepts, propositions, and system of propositions. The belief in definitions and unambiguous concepts was probably strong in the first half of the 1900s, but it proved difficult to implement. If language, society, and the world would have been stable, like a frozen world, philosophers would possibly have had a chance to succeed in reaching such unambiguous terms. This might never be the case. It may be important to abandon such a rigid attitude without abandoning the hope of achieving greater clarity. A significant part of the philosophers work, perhaps the most important part, is to develop ideas and methods, so we will be able to deal with concepts, propositions, systems of propositions, and how different systems of propositions relate to each other in a sensible way.
Etymology
Etymologically5 philosophy means the love of wisdom. Philia and Sophia are in Greek, and they translate to love and wisdom.
There are different types of love. There were different concepts of love already in antiquity. Agape, eros, and philia are such examples, and I will soon return to them. There are also different kinds of wisdom or knowledge. Etymologically, we may not reach much longer.
We can turn to history and ask what kinds of concepts of love and wisdom have been used, when they were introduced, and what they meant at a certain time. It was probably Pythagoras who started to use the term philosophy 2500 years ago. He used it to mark a contrast to sophists. Sophists were wise men who taught rhetoric for payment. They got a bad reputation. Philosophers would never stoop to such a level that they would charge for what they did. It is of course easy when you are rich. The philosophers considered themselves conducting another love of wisdom than the sophists.
Analysis
To ask about what the word philosophy means can be an analytical exercise in compliance with chapter 8. In an analysis, you split a word into its components. The word philosophy, philosophia, can be split into philia and sophia - love and wisdom. In an analysis, the goal is to split a concept as far as possible. You can investigate the concepts individually and then put them together again.
Love may include the nature of friendship (agape), respectfully love, love of thy neighbour, love of a loved one, love for objects, or erotic love (eros). But it is probably not about any of these forms of love when we concern ourselves with philosophy. Philia is a more quiet love. It is about a disinterested interest of wisdom for its own sake and not for its benefits or pleasure. This influence is seen in scientists who is working in science for the sake of science (and not for their own sake). This is also the case for the truth seeker who seeks the truth for its own sake.
Wisdom, sophia, can also be interpreted differently. Knowledge is a kind of wisdom. One possibility is to interpret wisdom as a kind of knowledge of how to live. This happens with perceptions about the world and humanity. Then knowledge and wisdom is about what the world is like and how we should live in it. It is probably in this direction we initially should think about philosophy.
If we relate the concepts, we have a special kind of love of wisdom. It is an interest in the love of wisdom for its own sake. This is one possible analysis - among others.
What is philosophy?
Both the etymology and the analysis led to the conception of philosophy as a love of wisdom. We can expand this view. We can assume that philosophy ceases to be philosophy when the love of wisdom turns into another category. When the love of wisdom turns into a love that is dependent on the benefits of what you do to achieve success in a society, it may no longer be philosophy. When you are no longer interested in the wisdom of the world and man for their own sake, but rather want to make money, it might not be philosophy. But perhaps it should also be seen as a philosophy. It is a certain kind of philosophy of life. However, the proper love is lacking for it to be regarded as »true« philosophy.
For some, philosophy could be seen as when a person or a group of people live with a particular faith, i.e. a system of beliefs. In that sense, philosophy is a philosophy of life. For others, philosophy is a rational examination of our existence. Then it can also be about personal decisions concerning existential questions. To understand the existential questions can also mean that you try to understand reality. It can therefore...
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