ON THE NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY

Journal of Humanities and Social Studies, 2016

The aim of this paper is to examine the nature, scope and importance of philosophy in the light of its relation to other disciplines. This work pays its focus on the various fundamental problems of philosophy, relating to Ethics, Metaphysics, Epistemology Logic, and its association with scientific realism. It will also highlight the various facets of these problems and the role of philosophers to point out the various issues relating to human issues. It is widely agreed that philosophy as a multi-dimensional subject that shows affinity to others branches of philosophy like, Philosophy of Science, Humanities, Physics and Mathematics, but this paper also seeks, a philosophical nature towards the universal problems of nature. It evaluates the contribution and sacrifices of the great sages of philosophers to promote the clarity and progress in the field of philosophy.

Syzetesis, 2023

International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus, 2021

This paper which anchors on the meaning and implications of philosophy argues that philosophy has meant several things to several people owing to the influences from background, world views, cultural conceptions and era in which the definer existed. Consequently, these differences and the perceptions of some concepts have made some scholars to undermine the philosophic essence in the conceptions held by some others. Hitherto, some people leverage on the fact that 'ideas rule the world' to demean and dehumanize others whose thought patterns they consider, do not operate at equal levels with theirs. At this, the paper wonders why some philosophic concepts held by some people should be termed ethnophilosophy, if truly background, world view and era influence conceptions and definitions of concepts; and equally enquires what the essential implications of Hermeneutics as a branch of philosophy really means. Nonetheless, the paper finally reinstates that in as much as philosophy does not have a single universal method; and hermeneutics is still valid as an instrumental working of philosophy, in the 'ethno-ness' of a philosophy is a whole philosophy hence the term 'philosophy'. However, in dialoguing this, the paper will employ expository, comparative and hermeneutical approaches to undertake the discourse.

The aim of this paper is to make clear the problems of philosophy.

Disputatio, 2008

2005

International Journal of Current Advanced Research, 2017

Philosophy is considered the mother of all the other disciplines because of the generality and vastness of its subject matter in contrast to other forms of human inquiry. People talk of philosophy without understanding its role in educational research, particularly its significant contribution to all the other disciplines. It is worth noting that there is nothing in the universe that does not concern or interest philosophy hence philosophical enterprise is essentially the application of reasoning to a wide variety of topics. It is therefore of paramount importance to highlight the important role that philosophy plays in other fields of study in that every discipline raises questions which philosophical investigation can help clarify. Because of the complexity of the world we live in, our efforts to comprehend it are just as diverse. Besides, our different aspirations, interests and activities factor in our endeavor to understand the world and these aspirations and interests find expressions in various fields of study such as history, law, theology, education, economics, political science etc. Although these fields of study play an important role in our lives generally and in our endeavours to comprehend the world specifically, one cannot divorce them from philosophy. How can this be demonstrated? Given the unrestricted nature of the subject matter of philosophy, one can say that philosophy is an attempt to understand the world, its meaning and values. It examines rationally the fundamental problems affecting man and the world in which he lives. Its field is broad and inclusive. While using the facts and descriptive material presented by other specialized fields of study, philosophy goes beyond description to inquire into the nature, the values and the possibilities of things. Its goal is inclusive, comprehension and wisdom. That notwithstanding, philosophy cannot do without the results of other disciplines. It constantly interrogates and assesses the subject matters of the various fields of inquiry with a view of coming up with a conception of the universe that is coherent and systematic. This paper therefore aims at highlighting the contribution of philosophy to other fields of study such that questions and issues raised in every disciplineare addressed in a fundamental and comprehensive manner.Every domain of human existence confronts us with problems on which philosophical reflection can shed light.

In >Philosophy< I gave an outline of the subject on about sixty pages. It may seem preposterous to give the present version of philosophy in so limited a space in view of the 2500 years of its history and the many volumes Plato and Aristotle, Thomas of Aquino, Descartes, Kant and Wittgenstein have filled. In my proposal I invested a narrow conception by beginning with the clarification of the concept of philosophy. First, I hold that methodically philosophy was >reflective conceptual clarification< from the start, even if in its beginnings and for significant periods of its development it has materially been framed metaphysically. Secondly, I replaced this metaphysical framing by borrowing from Wittgenstein: The material object of philosophy I take to be an overview over the basic concepts of our understanding. Thirdly, I restricted the responsibility of philosophy centrally to the fundamental concepts of every-dayunderstanding, part of which has traditionally been called analysis of categories. Even if the narrow conception is clear, it certainly is in need of a defense by reasons.

Philosophical Studies, 2009

2022

In spite of the unprecedented nowadays communication involving the philosophers worldwide, it appears that there is still no consensus about the definition of the philosophy. While quite practical extracts addressing that issue can be found in sources such as Wikipedia and the Free Dictionary, these are somewhat blurred by the differences in the tendencies of different authors to focus on some of themes, while neglecting the others. For example, some authors concentrate on the psychological aspects such as aesthetics and ethics while the others put more emphasis on the nature and the ultimate significance of the universe. Although one can at the intersects of these trends recognise that the philosophers converge to studying of most general and fundamental questions about our relation with the world, a formal widely adopted definition seems to be still missing.