Today's soundtrack is Arch Enemy: Will to Power.
I'm reading the first chapter of Coles Philosophy Questions and Answers today, titled "Nature and Scope of Philosophy."
Etymologically, philosophy is the love of wisdom. According to the book, philosophy is an "attempt to evaluate life's experiences on all levels and in all realms, such as religious experiences, aesthetic experiences, moral experiences, etc. " (2). The subcategories of philosophy are aesthetics, metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, social or political, religion, and science. Some philosophers believe that philosophy can't be taught; they say that it can only be learned through discussion with others. Other philosophers disagree - and of course they must, since courses of philosophy can be taught. (Perhaps both are correct to a point; maybe people should be taught what philosophy is, so that they can grow in their understanding through discourse).
Not all philosophers address or consider the same problems; most philosophers specialise their focus on a particular area. The questions asked by the fathers of philosophy are not the same questions being asked today. Not all philosophy problems can be solved; not all philosophers will reach a consensus on some points. Many philosophers feel that philosophy should instil a "healthy doubt which asks questions of all areas of human experience" (4). Some philosophers feel that philosophy questions can be more easily answered depending on their phrasing. Philosophy requires evaluating and interpreting everything around us; we must examine our lives, for as Socrates said, the "unexamined life is not worth living" (4).
