How do we really define Philosophy?
The Greek word φιλοσοφία – Philosophia. Or as the term has been coined by modern Western language – Philosophy. The literal meaning of this word is relatively static. Derived from its Greek origin it comprises two separate words combined. Philo (φιλο) means love/fondness, and Sophia (σοφία) means wisdom. While the ‘love of wisdom’ symbolizes the true nature of the subject, it does not represent the intent of how we use it today – or how it has been used historically.
At the core, philosophy is the reasoning: the sublime use of thought: an instinctive curiosity. It’s an abstract notion of how humans think – about why something is the way it seems, or how everyone might see it differently, if so then what brought us to see it the way we do, does everyone have a reason for why they see things the way they do? Philosophy, you see, is using reasoning to search for reasons. To be precise it’s not simply a ‘love of wisdom’ but a ‘search for more wisdom’. The essence of humankind’s quest to find the meaning behind existence lies in the word ‘Philosophy’. Perhaps it’s a noun, a verb, or an adjective. However, the philosophy we know is an action rather than a static inquisition. The questions raised by philosophy are similarly considered by other domains of human scrutinies, such as religion and science. Yet, religion is based upon faith and intuition, and science is based upon facts and evocation. In theory, philosophy is the balance between both. An approach that utilizes the subjectivity of human nature and the objectivity of the physical realm.
As we elaborate on that matter, philosophy itself is a subject of human scrutiny. We study the works of previous philosophers, great minds, and the forefathers of this school of thought and treat their thesis the same way as we would a religious scripture – thought-provoking, or a scientific paper – logical and self-evident. In this series of articles, we will be treating philosophy as a subject, and as you read this, you will be treating philosophy as an action. Wonder the same things philosophers did, and comprehend them using their ways of viewing reality.
