Philosophy
the process of trying to find the answers to fundamental questions using reasoning, rather than accepting, without question, conventional
... [Show More] views or traditional authority; the process of also examining religion itself
Socrates
the archetypal philosopher; he prided himself on being the wisest of men because he knew he didn't know anything; his legacy lay in the tradition he established of debate and discussion, of questioning the assumptions of other people to gain deeper understanding and elicit fundamental truths
Plato
Socrates' pupil
Dialogues
a device philosophers used to present their ideas, giving arguments and counterarguments rather than a simple statement of their reasoning and conclusions
Aristotle
Plato's pupil
Ancient Greece
where the first true philosophers appeared some 2,500 years ago
Metaphysics
the branch of philosophy that considers the nature of human existence and what it means to be a conscious being (How do we perceive the world around us, and do things exist independently of our perception? What is the relationship between our mind and body, and is there such a thing as an immortal soul?)
Ontology
the area of metaphysics concerned with questions of existence
Epistemology
the branch of philosophy that considers the nature and limits of knowledge (How do we acquire knowledge, how we come to know what we know; is some--or even all--knowledge innate, or do we learn everything from experience? Can we know something from reasoning alone?)
Rational Argument
What distinguished philosophy from the superstitious and religious explanations that had existed before the first philosophers?
Logic
the branch of philosophy that considers the technique of reasoning; the most exact and "scientific" branch of philosophy, a field where things are either right or wrong
Logical Argument
The basic structure of a _______ _________, starting from a premise and working through a series of steps to a conclusion
Mathematicians
What were Pythagoras, René Descartes, and Gottfried Leibniz, aside from being great philosophers?
Philosophy of Language
the branch of philosophy which examines terms and their meanings
Ethics (Moral Philosophy)
the branch of philosophy that considers the examination of what it means to lead a "good" life, what concepts such as justice and happiness actually mean and how we can achieve them, and how we should behave
Aesthetics
the branch of philosophy stemming from the question of what constitutes beauty and art
Political Philosophy
the branch of philosophy that considers the sort of society we would like to live in--how it should be governed, the rights and responsibilities of its citizens, etc
Eastern Philosophy
China and India (Daoism and Buddhism); concern themselves with moral and political philosophy
Western Philosophy
Ancient Greece; concern themselves with metaphysics
Scientific Method
relies on systematic observation to explain the world
Science of Psychology
ideas about the nature of the self and consciousness
Individual Reasoning
What we use to gain the satisfaction of arriving at beliefs and ideas that are not handed down or forced upon us by society, teachers, religion, or even philosophers [Show Less]