Philosophy usually refers to at least one of two things: 1) a broad collection of works by major thinkers in history, and more narrowly, academic fields which study, discuss and teach those works; 2) a certain way of thinking about or approaching questions and situations. Asking what philosophy is is itself a philosophical activity, though philosophers will more often use such specific questions as a starting point:
What is really real? What is the nature of those things? Do some things exist independently of our perception? What is the nature of space and time? What is the nature of thought and thinking? What is it to be a person? What is it to be conscious? Is there a god? Questions of this type are traditionally labelled metaphysical in the West.
Is knowledge possible? How do we come to know what we know? How can we know that there are other minds? Questions of this type are traditionally labelled epistemological in the West.
Is there a difference between morally right and wrong actions (or values, or institutions)? If so, what is that difference? Which actions are right, and which wrong? Are values absolute, or relative? In general or particular terms, how should I live? Questions of this type are traditionally labelled ethical in the West.
The labels mentioned are a legacy of Ancient Greek philosophy. Eastern philosophy and recent continental philosophy usually approach philosophy differently, and rarely use such labels, though they may address the same questions.
Philosophy is paradigmatically concerned with concepts such as existence or being, morality or goodness, knowledge, truth, and beauty; historically most philosophy has also centred on religious beliefs. Philosophers are often particularly concerned with asking critical questions about the nature of these concepts, questions typically outside the scope of science, and several major works of post-medieval philosophy begin by asking what philosophy itself should or does mean.
Philosophers then attempt to answer these doubts. Many philosophers frame problems in a logical manner, using syllogisms, and then work towards a solution based on critical reading and reasoning. Others, like Socrates, search for answers through discussions, or by responding to the arguments of others. Still other philosophers put more emphasis on the practice of careful personal contemplation. Philosophers also debate these methods, asking whether "solving" a philosophical problem is like answering a question in the natural sciences: whether or not, for example, philosophical "solutions" are objective, definitive, and say something informative about reality; or rather whether these solutions just give more clarity or insight on the logic of our language, or even act as personal therapy.
Most philosophers prefer that philosophical answers follow from justifications. Philosophers rarely accept a philosophical belief without asking for justification.
In the recent Analytic tradition, debates about philosophical method have been closely connected to debates about the relationship between philosophy and natural science, and arguments over whether philosophy makes (or can make) progress in the same ways as the natural sciences. There is an entire field of philosophy—called meta-philosophy, the "philosophy of philosophy"—the subject of which is the nature of philosophical problems, philosophical solutions, and the proper method for getting from one to another (cf. Pataphysics). These debates may also be connected to debates over language and interpretation, as in Continental philosophy.
These debates are not less relevant to philosophy as a whole, since the nature and role of philosophy itself has always been an essential part of philosophical deliberations. On the contrary, the existence of fields like Pataphysics, indicates a lengthy debate beyond the scope of this article. Such questions are discussed at more length elsewhere.
To take another example, reacting to a tragedy "philosophically" might mean abstaining from passionate reactions in favor of intellectualized detachment. That particular definition arose from the example of Socrates, who calmly discussed the nature of the soul with his followers while the hemlock (used to execute him in accord with the decision of an Athenian jury) took effect. But the use of philosophically in this adverbial sense is only a distant relation of the contemporary academic usage.
This article focuses specifically on philosophy as an academic function rather than these usages, though there is some overlap with the former definition.
The term "philosophy" alone in a Euro-American academic context can misleadingly refer solely to the philosophic traditions of Western civilization, sometimes also called Western philosophy. Additionally, Western applications of the term over the past century also frequently reveal a bias towards either Continental Philosophy or Analytic philosophy. In the West, the term "Eastern philosophy" broadly subsumes the philosophic traditions of Asia or other areas considered "Eastern"; such a classification, however, makes the inclusion of Russian, African, Jewish or Islamic philosophies -- the latter two of which contributed significantly to Western philosophy -- problematic.
For numerous political and other reasons, non-Western traditions of philosophy sooner or later fell into decline, and emphasis on Western philosophy, consistent with the strong international presence of Anglo-American popular culture, is a dominant trend around the globe. The study, preservation and dissemination of valuable non-Western philosophical works faces many more obstacles in the future than Western philosophy.
Philosophy of education deserves special mention, as well; progressive education as championed by John Dewey has had a profound impact on educational practices in the United States in the twentieth century. It could be argued that some New Age philosophies, such as the "Celestine Prophecy", inadvertantly educate people about human psychology and power relationships through the use of spiritual metaphor.
Other important applications can be found in epistemology, which might help one to regulate one's notions of what knowledge, evidence, and justified belief are. Two useful ways that epistemology and logic can inform the real world are through the fields of journalism and police investigation. Informal logic has fantastic applications, helping citizens to be critical in reading rhetoric and in everyday discussion. Philosophy of science discusses the underpinnings of the scientific method. Aesthetics can help to interpret discussions of art. Even ontology, surely the most abstract and least practical-seeming branch of philosophy, has had important consequences for logic and computer science.
In general, the various "philosophies of," such as philosophy of law, can provide workers in their respective fields with a deeper understanding of the theoretical or conceptual underpinnings of their fields.
Moreover, a burgeoning profession devoted to applying philosophy to the problems of ordinary life has recently developed, called philosophical counseling. Moreover, many Eastern philosophies can and do inadvertantly help millions of people with anxiety problems through their emphasis on meditation, calm, and the connection between the health of the body and the health of the soul.
Of course, physics and other sciences also study universal aspects of things; but they do so through consistent, systematic experimentation. Philosophy studies those aspects that can be studied without such an apparatus, aspects that may initially seem too general or abstract to merit attention. For instance, philosophers may ask what makes the "objectness" of an object, as distinguished from the constitution of objects, their properties and relations to other objects, and perhaps also as distinguished from minds or souls, and attempt to answer their own questions without making use of any prior scientific knowledge; physicists, on the other hand, would proceed with or dismiss such a question by resorting to an agreed, consistent and verifiable approach and notion of objects.
Those who are new to the study of philosophy are advised to look at the articles on logic, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, epistemology, philosophy of science, ethics, and political philosophy as the individual treatment of these subjects are commonly used as an introduction in Western academia. Alternately one may simply study the works of major philosophers from various periods and places with the help of several guides and discussion.
People who are inclined to study philosophy with others may wish to seek out organizations such as the non-profit Society for Philosophical Inquiry.
