Philosophy is a field of study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics, in which people ask questions such as whether God exists, what is the nature of reality, whether knowledge is possible, and what makes actions right or wrong. The fundamental method of philosophy is the use of reasoning to evaluate arguments concerning these questions. However, the exact scope and methodology of philosophy is not rigid. What counts as philosophy is itself debated, and it varies across philosophical traditions.

The term philosophy comes from the Greek word "Φιλοσοφία" (philo-sophia), which means "love of wisdom" or less commonly "friend of wisdom". Many ancient Greek philosophers made the distinction between the desire for wisdom, as opposed to the desire for material things, vices, and the satisfaction of bodily desires. The definition of wisdom for many ancient Greeks would have been about virtue and the desire for knowledge and not false opinions. However, the term is notoriously difficult to define today (see definition of philosophy) because of the diverse range of ideas that have been labeled as philosophy. The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy defines it as the study of "the most fundamental and general concepts and principles involved in thought, action, and reality". The Penguin Encyclopedia says that philosophy differs from science in that philosophy's questions cannot be answered empirically, and from religion in that philosophy allows no place for faith or revelation. However, these points are called into question by the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, which states: "the late 20th-century... prefers to see philosophical reflection as continuous with the best practice of any field of intellectual enquiry." Indeed, many of the speculations of early philosophers in the field of natural philosophy eventually formed the basis for modern scientific explanations on a variety of subjects.

Informally, a "philosophy" may refer to a general world view or to a specific ethic or belief.

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@cronicaloser deberías leer el comic Action philosophers!
Jujyfruits (Dario) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:21:38 -0000
@cronicaloser deberías leer el comic Action philosophers!
Philosophers often get this nagging feeling that Kant may have talked about the very concept that they just invented
unityofbeing (Suresh Emre) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:15:29 -0000
Philosophers often get this nagging feeling that Kant may have talked about the very concept that they just invented
@sarahneergaard Haha my history of science prof hit philosophers, english profs, and historians within the span of maybe 2 minutes today! :D
ohlauren (lauren) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:07:27 -0000
@sarahneergaard Haha my history of science prof hit philosophers, english profs, and historians within the span of maybe 2 minutes today! :D
want to try a good beer? ommegang three philosophers
aem019 (aem019) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:55:17 -0000
want to try a good beer? ommegang three philosophers
This could be out of ignorance of the literature, but philosophers of science and philosophers of mind should be talking to each other more
MattZeitlin (Matt Zeitlin) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:16:37 -0000
This could be out of ignorance of the literature, but philosophers of science and philosophers of mind should be talking to each other more
@Takebanee7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato We are going to tell about Philosophy and the most famous philosophers like Socrates too
theycallmepauli (Ana Paula Cobresi) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:08:44 -0000
@Takebanee7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato We are going to tell about Philosophy and the most famous philosophers like Socrates too

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