Portal:Philosophy

The Philosophy Portal a portal for Wikipedia's philosophy resources, 16,905 articles in English. Aesthetics Φ of Science All portals Article · Category · Glossary · Outline · WikiProject Categories · Featured content · A–Z index Introduction to Philosophy The Thinker, a statue by Auguste Rodin, is often used to represent philosophy. Philosophy (from Greek φιλοσοφία, philosophia, literally "love of wisdom") is the study of general and fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. The term was probably coined by Pythagoras (c. 570 – 495 BCE). Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation. Classic philosophical questions include: Is it possible to know anything and to prove it? What is most real? Philosophers also pose more practical and concrete questions such as: Is there a best way to live? Is it better to be just or unjust (if one can get away with it)? Do humans have free will? Historically, "philosophy" encompassed any body of knowledge. From the time of Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle to the 19th century, "natural philosophy" encompassed astronomy, medicine, and physics. For example, Newton's 1687 Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy later became classified as a book of physics. In the 19th century, the growth of modern research universities led academic philosophy and other disciplines to professionalize and specialize. In the modern era, some investigations that were traditionally part of philosophy became separate academic disciplines, including psychology, sociology, linguistics, and economics. Other investigations closely related to art, science, politics, or other pursuits remained part of philosophy. For example, is beauty objective or subjective? Are there many scientific methods or just one? Is political utopia a hopeful dream or hopeless fantasy? Major sub-fields of academic philosophy include metaphysics ("concerned with the fundamental nature of reality and being"), epistemology (about the "nature and grounds of knowledge [and]...its limits and validity"), ethics, aesthetics, political philosophy, logic and philosophy of science. Read More Good article - This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards. Title page of the original Danish edition from 1843 Either/Or (Danish: Enten – Eller) is the first published work of the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Appearing in two volumes in 1843 under the pseudonymous editorship of Victor Eremita (Latin for "victorious hermit"), it outlines a theory of human existence, marked by the distinction between an essentially hedonistic, aesthetic mode of life and the ethical life, which is predicated upon commitment. Either/Or portrays two life views. Each life view is written and represented by a fictional pseudonymous author, with the prose of the work reflecting and depending on the life view being discussed. For example, the aesthetic life view is written in short essay form, with poetic imagery and allusions, discussing aesthetic topics such as music, seduction, drama, and beauty. The ethical life view is written as two long letters, with a more argumentative and restrained prose, discussing moral responsibility, critical reflection, and marriage. The views of the book are not neatly summarized, but are expressed as lived experiences embodied by the pseudonymous authors. The book's central concern is the primal question asked by Aristotle, "How should we live?" His book was certainly informed by Epictetus; "Consider first, man, what the matter is, and what your own nature is able to bear. If you would be a wrestler, consider your shoulders, your back, your thighs; for different persons are made for different things. Do you think that you can act as you do and be a philosopher, that you can eat, drink, be angry, be discontented, as you are now? You must watch, you must labor, you must get the better of certain appetites, must quit your acquaintances, be despised by your servant, be laughed at by those you meet; come off worse than others in everything—in offices, in honors, before tribunals. When you have fully considered all these things, approach, if you please—that is, if, by parting with them, you have a mind to purchase serenity, freedom, and tranquillity. If not, do not come hither; do not, like children, be now a philosopher, then a publican, then an orator, and then one of Caesar’s officers. These things are not consistent. You must be one man, either good or bad. You must cultivate either your own reason or else externals; apply yourself either to things within or without you—that is, be either a philosopher or one of the mob." His motto comes from Plutarch, "The deceived is wiser than one not deceived." Read more... Selected article of the week Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams (21 September 1929–10 June 2003) was an English moral philosopher, described by The Times as the "most brilliant and most important British moral philosopher of his time". His publications include Problems of the Self (1973), Moral Luck (1981), Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy (1985), and Truth And Truthfulness: An Essay In Genealogy (2002). As Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and Deutsch Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, Williams became known internationally for his attempt to reorient the study of moral philosophy to history and culture, politics and psychology, and, in particular, to the Greeks. Described as an "analytic philosopher with the soul of a humanist", he saw himself as a synthesist, drawing together ideas from fields that seemed increasingly unable to communicate with one another. He rejected scientific and evolutionary reductionism, calling "morally unimaginative" reductionists, "the people I really do dislike". For Williams, complexity was irreducible, beautiful, and meaningful. Archive Read more... Academic Branches of Philosophy Philosophy ponders the most fundamental questions humankind has been able to ask. These are increasingly numerous and over time they have been arranged into the overlapping branches of the philosophy tree: Aesthetics: What is art? What is beauty? Is there a standard of taste? Is art meaningful? If so, what does it mean? What is good art? Is art for the purpose of an end, or is "art for art's sake?" What connects us to art? How does art affect us? Is some art unethical? Can art corrupt or elevate societies? Epistemology: What are the nature and limits of knowledge? What is more fundamental to human existence, knowing (epistemology) or being (ontology)? How do we come to know what we know? What are the limits and scope of knowledge? How can we know that there are other minds (if we can)? How can we know that there is an external world (if we can)? How can we prove our answers? What is a true statement? Ethics: Is there a difference between ethically right and wrong actions (or values, or institutions)? If so, what is that difference? Which actions are right, and which wrong? Do divine commands make right acts right, or is their rightness based on something else? Are there standards of rightness that are absolute, or are all such standards relative to particular cultures? How should I live? What is happiness? Logic: What makes a good argument? How can I think critically about complicated arguments? What makes for good thinking? When can I say that something just does not make sense? Where is the origin of logic? Metaphysics: What sorts of things exist? 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 relationship of the mind to the body? What is it to be a person? What is it to be conscious? Do gods exist? Political philosophy: Are political institutions and their exercise of power justified? What is justice? Is there a 'proper' role and scope of government? Is democracy the best form of governance? Is governance ethically justifiable? Should a state be allowed? Should a state be able to promote the norms and values of a certain moral or religious doctrine? Are states allowed to go to war? Do states have duties against inhabitants of other states? List articles Index of philosophy List of philosophers List of philosophical concepts List of philosophical theories List of philosophy journals List of philosophy anniversaries Index of aesthetics articles Index of epistemology articles Index of ethics articles Index of logic articles Index of metaphysics articles Index of social and political philosophy articles Index of philosophy of law articles Index of philosophy of language articles Index of philosophy of mind articles Index of philosophy of religion articles Index of philosophy of science articles Index of ancient philosophy articles Index of medieval philosophy articles Index of modern philosophy articles Index of contemporary philosophy articles Lists of anarchism topics Index of analytic philosophy articles Index of continental philosophy articles Index of Eastern philosophy articles List of aestheticians List of analytic philosophers List of anarchist theorists List of ancient Platonists List of contributors to Marxist theory List of critical theorists List of Eastern philosophers List of ethicists List of epistemologists List of female philosophers List of logicians List of metaphysicians List of political philosophers List of scholastic philosophers List of social and political philosophers List of thinkers influenced by deconstruction Categories Major categories: Philosophy Philosophers Philosophical concepts Philosophical theories Philosophical literature Types of pages: Philosophy-related lists Philosophy portals Philosophy images Philosophy stubs Philosophy and thinking templates Sorted content: Philosophy by period Philosophy by field Philosophy by region Branches of philosophy Aesthetics Epistemology Ethics Logic Metaphysics Social philosophy History of philosophy Ancient philosophy Medieval philosophy Modern philosophy Contemporary philosophy Philosophy and culture Philosophy awards Philosophy events Philosophy organizations Selected philosopher of the week Jacques Derrida (July 15, 1930 – October 8, 2004) was an Algerian-born French literary critic and philosopher of Jewish descent, most often referred to as the founder of "deconstruction" or, by less sympathetic theorists, "deconstructionism." His voluminous work had a great effect on continental philosophy and on literary theory. His work is often associated with post-structuralism and postmodernism although Derrida never used the latter term and repeatedly dissociated himself from it. (Other scholars within deconstruction, such as Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, have characterized themselves as modernist rather than postmodernist in their outlook.) Even critics of Derrida acknowledge that his philosophical project, whether adequately represented by the term deconstruction or not, involved extremely close reading of texts and tremendous erudition. He was also noted for his efforts to encourage the study of philosophy amongst French lycée students. ...Schedule Read more... Related Academic Fields Agricultural philosophy Axiology Ecosophy Environmental philosophy Hermeneutics History of philosophy Jurisprudence Meta-ethics Metalogic Metaphilosophy Neurophilosophy Phenomenology Philosophical anthropology Philosophy and literature Philosophy of artificial intelligence Philosophy of biology Philosophy of business Philosophy of chemistry Philosophy of copyright Philosophy of design Philosophy of economics Philosophy of education Philosophy of engineering Philosophy of environment Philosophy of film Philosophy of geography Philosophy of healthcare Philosophy of history Philosophy of information Philosophy of language Philosophy of life Philosophy of logic Philosophy of love Philosophy of mathematics Philosophy of mathematics education Philosophy of mind Philosophy of music Philosophy of perception Philosophy of physics Philosophy of probability Philosophy of psychology Philosophy of religion Philosophy of science Philosophy of sex Philosophy of social science Philosophy of space and time Philosophy of statistics Philosophy of technology Philosophy of thermal and statistical physics Philosophy of war Praxeology Miscellaneous Wikipedia Philosophy Resources Central Φ Discussion Recent Changes to Φ Articles Philosophy Categories Project_Structure Philosophy Style Guide New Φ Articles Most Popular Articles Philosophy Reference Resources Requested Φ Articles Requests For Comment Humanities Reference Desk Featured Φ Articles Φ Hall of Fame Φ Pages Needing Attention Φ Articles Proposed For Deletion Φ Cleanup Listing Article Assessment Log of Assessment Changes Assessment Statistics Wikiversity School of Philosophy Internet Philosophy Resources PhilPapers: Online Research in Philosophy Introducing Philosophy Series Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Collection of debate guides The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy The reference library for Jain Philosophy Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy Early Modern Texts Philosophy Now The Philosophers' Magazine Online Indiana Philosophy Ontology Project Taxonomy search tool Noesis - Philosophical research online Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Related portals Philosophy of science Aesthetics Did you know …that Francisco de Vitoria (pictured), a Spanish Renaissance Roman Catholic theologian, was the founder of the tradition in philosophy known as the School of Salamanca? ...that Collective Intentionality is a topic in the Philosophy of Mind that has been explored by John Searle, Margaret Gilbert, and J. David Velleman, among others? …that a 2001 discovery of lost manuscripts by Majorcan philosopher and writer Ramon Llull showed that he had indeed discovered the Borda count and Condorcet criterion, and as a result he has been called the father of computation theory? …that although the paradox, Buridan's ass, is named after French priest Jean Buridan, it had already been previously stated in De Caelo by Aristotle? …that besides being a philosopher, Gottfried Leibniz was an engineer, lawyer, philologist, sinophile, and a famed mathematician who co-invented calculus? …that while most Enlightenment scholars criticized the Byzantine system of the Eastern Roman Empire, Konstantin Leontiev, a scholar from the Russian Empire praised it for the very same reasons? …that Marc Sautet started the philosophical cafe known as Café Philosophique? …that criteria of truth are standards and rules used to judge the accuracy of statements and claims? …that a deductive fallacy is an argument that has true premises, but may still have a false conclusion? …that Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers is the first dated book printed in England? …that Wikipedia has information on everything? …that a successful experimental system must be stable and reproducible enough for scientists to make sense of the system's behavior, but unpredictable enough that it can produce useful results? …that the ancient Chinese text Huangdi Yinfujing, attributed to the mythical emperor Huangdi in the 3rd century BCE, may have been a forgery from the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE)? …that Time magazine editor Otto Fuerbringer was responsible for the controversial 1966 Is God Dead? cover? …that alternative theories of speciation besides natural selection include Lamarckism and orthogenesis? …that before the 17th century it was believed that all organisms grew from miniature versions of themselves that had existed since the beginning of creation, a theory called preformationism? …that children have trouble attributing implicit meaning to aspect verbs implicating non-completion such as start, but find implicit meaning in degree modifiers such as half, as in half-finished? …that the philosopher Sebastian Petrycy (pictured) (1554–1626), in Poland, created a vernacular philosophical terminology not much later than did philosophers in France and Germany? …that Richard Hanley's book South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating analyzes issues of applied ethics as presented in South Park? …that subjective logic can help you deal with uncertainty? …that the philosophical question of temporal finitism has never been fully settled? …that The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer, a book that analyzes The Simpsons using philosophical concepts, is the main textbook in some university philosophy courses? …that an appeals court overturned one formulation of the toothpaste tube theory in administrative law?" …that William Frankena "played an especially critical role in defense of fundamental academic freedoms during the McCarthy era" while chair of the philosophy department at the University of Michigan? …that Bron Taylor coined the term "dark green religion" as a set of beliefs characterized by a conviction that "nature is sacred, has intrinsic value, and is therefore due reverent care"? …that Jagadguru Rāmabhadrācārya (pictured), a blind Hindu religious leader, has observed nine Payovrata, a six-month diet of only milk and fruits, per the fifth verse of the Dohāvalī composed by Tulasidāsa, which says that chanting the name of Rāma subsisting on a diet of milk and fruits for six months will result in all the auspiciousness and accomplishments in one's hand? …Archive Add more facts… Topics General images The following are images from various Philosophy-related articles on Wikipedia. Statue of Aristotle in the Aristotlepark of Stagira The Beijing imperial college was an intellectual center for Confucian ethics and classics during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. American philosopher of mind and philosopher of art Susanne Langer (1895–1985). Avicenna Portrait on Silver Vase, Iran Kitarō Nishida, professor of philosophy at Kyoto University and founder of the Kyoto School. Adi Shankara is one of the much studied Hindu philosophers. The School of Athens (1509–1511) by Raphael, depicting famous classical Greek philosophers in an idealized setting inspired by ancient Greek architecture Thomas Hobbes The Analects of Confucius (fl. 551–479 BCE) Akalanka Bertrand Russell Dignaga founded a school of Buddhist epistemology and logic. The Aztec Sun Stone, also known as the Aztec Calendar Stone, at National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. Bust of Socrates in the Vatican Museum Martin Luther King Jr Selected weekly picture Selected image Adam Smith (baptised 16 June 1723 – died 17 July 1790 [OS: 5 June 1723 – 17 July 1790]) was a Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneer of political economics. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. Smith is widely cited as the father of modern economics. Task forces WikiProject Philosophy Philosophers Φ Literature Aesthetics Epistemology Ethics Logic Metaphysics Social Φ Ancient Φ Medieval Φ Modern Φ Contemporary Φ Analytic Φ Continental Φ Anarchism Marxism Eastern Φ Φ of Language Φ of Mind Φ of Religion Φ of Science Related WikiProjects Alternative views Arts Atheism Biblical criticism Biography Christianity theology Hindu Philosophy History of Science History Islam Judaism Linguistics Literature Mathematics Middle ages Mythology Physics Rational skepticism Religion Science Spirituality Tasks WikiProject Philosophy task list Optimism should have a separate page that focuses on the philosophical idea of optimism and distinguishes the philosophical view from "positive thinking" and other everyday uses of the word. Philosophy of social science, has some okay points but requires elaboration on Wittgenstein and Winch, perhaps other linguistic critiques, whether logical positivist or postmodernist. Exchange value needs to be redone, it shouldn't be under 'Marxist theory'- although it's an important component of Marxist theory it's also vital for all economics. That said the article's weight on Marx is also absurd. German Idealism and the articles related to it may need to be rewritten or expanded to avoid undue weight on Arthur Schopenhauer. Protected values first section confuses right action and values and needs a copy edit, moving and wikifying Quality (philosophy) needs a more clear explanation. Socratic dialogues could do with some tidying and clarification. See the talk page for one suggested change. Problem of universals: The introductory definition is (perhaps) fixed. But, the article is poor. Check out the German version. Teleology: the article is shallow and inconsistent. Existentialism: the quality of this article varies wildly and is in desperate need of expert attention. Analytic philosophy This is a very major topic, but still has several sections which are stubs, and several topics which are not covered. Lifeworld A philosophical concept that seems to have fallen exclusively into the hands of the sociologists. Could use some attention; it's a major and complex issue in phenomenology. Amorality This page needs great attention as it is currently totally uninformative and, in my opinion, risks more to confuse readers than inform them, as most people will come here with no knowledge of amoralism and worse, often with huge bias against it. Perception Needs the attention of philosophically minded Wikipedians. This is only the start of an overhaul of perception and related articles. 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