WHAT IS PHILOSOHPY？
Philosophy is for everyone.In fact,we all engage in philosophy every day.Even when a person does not know how to define philosophy,he will make such statements as “My philosophy about eating is…” or,“Let me tell you my philosophy about taxes.”
Philosophy begins with our ordinary everyday experiences.We not only do things,we think about them.Such a simple experience as eating is capable of leading to some major philosophical questions.How much should we eat? Animals do not ask this question.We ask it because it makes a difference in our daily life.The amount we eat can affect the pleasure we get out of life,especially if we eat too much.But eating is in itself a pleasure.We begin to philosophize when we try to decide which pleasures are most important to us,for example,looking slim and trim on the one hand,or enjoying bountiful meals on the other.We even ask whether pleasure is the proper standard for making our decisions in life.Before long,we no longer talk about eating but about the more general question that the experience of eating makes us think about,namely,What values are most important to us?How,in short,do we achieve the good life?
Similarly,the person who says,“Let me tell you my philosophy about taxes,” starts to think about this matter because of his experience of paying taxes.Paying taxes is not always pleasant.We want to know more about this part of our experience.Who should pay and how much? Once again,the discussion soon becomes philosophical.From being only about the inconvenience of paying taxes the discussion moves to such questions as “What is the purpose of the tax?” or “What is a fair tax?” Before long,this line of thought leads to the philosophical question “What is justice?”
From these examples of eating and paying taxes we learn at least one thing about philosophy—that it is a quest for knowledge.That,after all ,is what the Greek roots of the word philosophy mean,namely,philo（love）and sophia（knowledge or wisdom）,hence,the love of knowledge.To say that philosophy is the love of knowledge still leaves the question “What kind of knowledge does philosophy involve?” To that question,there are several helpful answers.The best clues to what philosophy is all about are found in the writings of the philosophers themselves.