What is philosophy?

the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially
when considered as an academic discipline.
Give the importance of philosophy?
PHILOSOPHY is a study that seeks to understand the mysteries of existence and
reality. It tries to discover the nature of truth and knowledge and to find what is of basic
value and importance in life. It also examines the relationships between humanity and
nature and between the individual and society. A philosophy is a system of beliefs about
reality. It is one's integrated view of the world. It includes an understanding of the nature
of existence, man, and his role in the world. Philosophy is the foundation of knowledge.
It is the standard by which ideas are integrated and understood. Philosophy is a
necessary product of man's rational mind. To live, man must gain knowledge of the
world. To understand the world, man must form conclusions about its very nature. For
instance, to gain knowledge of particular objects, man must recognize that objects have
identity. He must recognize that conclusions are possible because the world does exist,
and exists in a particular way. Philosophy provides the framework for which man can
understand the world. It provides the premises by which man can discover truth, and
use his mind to support his life. Every man has an understanding of the world. Every
man must have a philosophy, even if it is never made explicit. Philosophy can help
improve critical thinking skills.Most fields of study, such as physics, history, and
economics, are mainly about providing us with knowledge of some sort. However, some
fields of study are more practical, such as computer engineering, and they are mainly
about providing us with skills. Practical fields are supposed to help improve our abilities,
so that we can do something using them. Philosophy is not necessarily a primarily skill-
oriented field of study, but it is the specialized field of study for critical thinking, and it
can help us improve our critical thinking skills. Some people have thought that
philosophy automatically helps improve critical thinking skills as a byproduct, and no
special attention is required for it to do so. There might be some truth to this, but non-
critical-thinking-oriented philosophy classes don‟t seem to be so much better than
various other classes in the humanities. Perhaps writing argumentative essays in any
field of study can help improve critical thinking skills. According to a meta-analysis by
Claudia María Álvarez Ortiz, Does Philosophy Improve Critical Thinking Skills? (PDF),
the most effective classes at improving critical thinking skills are those devoted to critical
thinking, and the analytic philosophy tradition in particular is effective at teaching these
classes.2 Critical thinking skills are highly related to logic (a philosophical domain),
which is the study of proper reasoning. That shouldn‟t be surprising because the main
idea of critical thinking is to reason well. The critical thinking classes taught by
philosophers teach students about logic in addition to providing practice problems that
can improve their critical thinking skills. Although philosophy can be used to improve
critical thinking and most people want to reason properly, it‟s a hard sell because
people who know the least about logic think they know just as much as those who know
quite a bit about it thanks to a cognitive bias known as the Dunning-Kruger effect (PDF).
How many people think they reason properly and understand logic? Very few seem to
realize that they need to improve their understanding of these things and one relevant
study showed that people who were tested in their competence in logic “overestimated
their logical reasoning ability relative to their peers. On average, participants placed
themselves in the 66th percentile among students from their class, which was
significantly higher than the actual [average score] …it was participants in the bottom
quartile… who overestimated their logical reasoning ability and test performance to the
greatest extent.”3 You might think, “Okay, some people know less about logic than they
think, but maybe people know all they need to know about logic anyway.” If you are
optimistic, you might think people are automatically logical for the most part and don‟t
need to learn more about it. However, Tim Van Gelder has discussed some startling
facts about critical thinking, such as the fact that “[a] majority of people cannot, even
when prompted, reliably exhibit basic skills of general reasoning and argumentation.”
Give the different branches of philosophy?
1. Metaphysics - This philosophy study deals with the question concerning ultimate
reality and strives to explain it in its most general terms through its first and most
universal principle.
2. Cosmology - This philosophy study strives to formulate a theory explaining the origin,
nature and end of the universe.
3. Ethics - This philosophy study look into the rightness or wrongness of human act.
4. Theodicy - This philosophy study concerns God: His existence and His nature. It also
attempts to reconcile the seeming conflict between the goodness of God and the
existence of evil in the world.
5. Epistemology - This philosophy study concerns human knowledge: what knowledge
is, what the conditions are which make human knowledge possible and the extent to
which human knowledge can grasp or reach.
6.Political Philosophy - This philosophy study is concerned with good governance of the
State, which includes the theory of its origin, the structure of the government and its
different forms, and the qualities of a good leader.
7. Philosophy of the Human Person - This philosophy study focuses on the human
person, his or her natures with the hope maximizing his or her good attributes in order
to live life fully human. The goal of this study is to humanize the person and enable him
or her to lead a good life.
8. Aesthetics - This philosophy study sets forth several theories concerning beauty and
good taste.
9 - logic - This philosophy study is concerned with the structure and principles of correct
thinking and right reasoning.
Give the comparison and contrast of philosophy,science,mythology, religion.
In order to more clearly conceptualize Western philosophy’s territory, let’s consider it in
relationship to two other powerful cultural forces with which it’s intertwined: religion and
science. We may (roughly) characterize the contrast between philosophy and religion as
follows: philosophy relies on reason, evidence and experience for its truths; religion
depends on faith, authority, grace and revelation for truth. Of course, any philosophical
position probably contains some element of faith, inasmuch as reasoning rarely gives
conclusive proof; and religious beliefs often contain some rational support, since few
religious persons rely completely on faith.

The problem of the demarcation between the two is made more difficult by the fact that
different philosophies and religions—and philosophers and religious persons within
similar traditions—place dissimilar emphasis on the role of rational argument. For
example, Eastern religions traditionally place less emphasis on the role of rational
arguments than do Western religions, and in the east philosophy and religion are
virtually indistinguishable. In addition, individuals in a given tradition differ in the
emphasis they place on the relative importance of reason and faith. So the difference
between philosophy and religion is one of emphasis and degree. Still, we reiterate what
we said above: religion is that part of the human experience whose beliefs and practices
rely significantly on faith, grace, authority, or revelation. Philosophy gives little, if any,
place to these parts of human experience. While religion generally stresses faith and
trust, philosophy honors reason and doubt.

COMPARISON

The believes of every people base on the perception, and beliefs that no proof and
there’s many question in mind and knowing the truth.
CONTRAST
Philosophy, science, mythology, religion is all about human beliefs in the life and
believes either there’s no proof.