Philosophy, whose term comes from the Greek "love of wisdom," is defined as an academic discipline that focuses on reflecting on the essence, properties, causes and effects of natural aspects, particularly in relation to human beings and the universe.
The term "philosophy" was possibly coined by Pythagoras. Philosophy is distinguished from practices such as mysticism, esotericism, mythology, and religion in that it focuses on rational arguments rather than arguments based on authority. Furthermore, it differs from science in that it is generally not based on empirical research, but rather employs methods such as conceptual analysis, thought experiments, speculation, and a priori approaches, although it also recognizes the importance of empirical data.
Sometimes, philosophy collaborates interdisciplinary with areas such as cognitive sciences, language and social sciences, especially in fields such as philosophy of mind, epistemology and philosophy of language. Furthermore, the experimental philosophy approach seeks to support its theoretical developments through empirical studies, although this may be controversial for some. UNESCO has proclaimed World Philosophy Day, which is celebrated on the third Thursday of November each year.
Origins and Evolution of Philosophy
Western Philosophy
The history of Western philosophy dates back more than 2,500 years in Greece and is divided into five major periods: ancient, medieval, Renaissance, modern and contemporary philosophy, which correspond to the periodization of European history. Western philosophy has influenced various areas of knowledge, such as science, religion and politics, since many important philosophers were also scientists, theologians or politicians. This interaction between disciplines is due to the breadth of philosophy.
In the 19th century, the growth of modern universities led to the professionalization and specialization of philosophy and other disciplines. As a result, some areas of study that used to be part of philosophy became separate academic disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, biology, linguistics, and economics.
Old age
Ancient philosophy, spanning from around 600 BC with figures such as Thales of Miletus to the 6th century AD with the late Neoplatonists, developed in the context of ancient times in the history of Western philosophy. Its geographical influence was focused on the Mediterranean, mainly in ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
At this stage, several groups of philosophers can be distinguished. First, the "presocratics", who preceded Socrates and are known for marking the shift from myth to reason. Then, the classical Greek period, which begins with Socrates and encompasses figures such as Plato and Aristotle, considered the "greater Socratics." In addition, there were sophists and the "minor Socratics" such as the Megarics, Cynics and Cyrenaics. Later, Hellenistic philosophy developed, followed by the philosophy of late antiquity, including Epicureans, Stoics, Skeptics, and Neoplatonists.
Medieval Philosophy
Medieval philosophy comprises the currents of thought and philosophical treatises that developed from the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD to the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries. During this period, medieval philosophy focused on reconciling the beliefs inherited from classical philosophy with the dogmas of Christianity. In addition to Christian influence, there were significant contributions from Jewish and Islamic philosophical traditions in this historical context.
Renaissance Philosophy
Renaissance philosophy, which developed primarily between the 15th and 16th centuries, beginning in Italy and spreading across Europe, encompassed several broad fields including political philosophy, humanism, and natural philosophy.
In political philosophy, the Renaissance was marked by rivalries between nation states, internal crises, and the beginning of European colonization of the Americas. This renewed interest in issues related to political power, morality, national unity, international justice, and internal security. Prominent figures in this field include Niccolò Machiavelli, Jean Bodin, and Francisco de Vitoria.
Humanism was a movement that emphasized the value and importance of human beings in contrast to medieval philosophy, which placed God and Christianity at the center. This movement was moral and literary, and notable figures in this movement include Erasmus of Rotterdam, Saint Thomas More, Bartholomew de las Casas, and Michel de Montaigne.
In natural philosophy, the Renaissance broke with the medieval conception of nature in terms of divine purpose and order, and began to think in terms of forces, physical causes, and mechanisms. There was a partial return to Plato's authority over Aristotle, both in moral philosophy and in the importance given to mathematics for the study of nature. Figures such as Nicholas Copernicus, Giordano Bruno, Johannes Kepler, Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei were precursors and protagonists in this scientific revolution. Francis Bacon provided a theoretical foundation to justify the empirical method that characterized this revolution.
Modern Philosophy
Modern philosophy covers the period from the 17th century to approximately the 20th century and is associated with the modern era. Although not a specific doctrine or school, several philosophers of this period shared certain common assumptions that distinguished it from earlier and later philosophy.
The 17th century marks the beginning of modern philosophy, with notable figures such as René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Leibniz and Nicolas Malebranche, who represented rationalism, a dominant current in France and Germany. Rationalists maintained that all knowledge must begin with innate ideas in the mind.
Empiricism, on the other hand, argued that knowledge originates in sensory experience. Key figures in this movement include John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume. Ethics and political philosophy developed in parallel, with philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Montesquieu and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
At the end of the 18th century, Immanuel Kant presented an innovative philosophical system that sought to reconcile rationalism and empiricism. Kant strongly influenced German philosophical works in the early 19th century, giving rise to the tradition of German idealism. This tradition argued that the world and the mind should be understood in terms of the same categories. German idealism reached its climax with the work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who proclaimed that "the real is rational; the rational is real."
The 19th century was marked by a reaction to Kant's philosophy and saw a number of philosophical movements, such as neo-Kantianism, the pessimism of Arthur Schopenhauer, the existentialism of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, the positivism of Auguste Comte, the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, the dialectical materialism of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the pragmatism of Peirce, James and Dewey, the transcendental phenomenology of Edmund Husserl and the development of mathematical logic of Gottlob Frege. In the Anglo-Saxon world, Bertrand Russell and George Edward Moore created analytic philosophy, an update of traditional empiricism adapted to modern logic.
Contemporary Philosophy
Contemporary philosophy is the current period in the history of philosophy that follows modern philosophy and spans the 20th century and so far into the 21st century. During this period, several significant philosophical traditions developed and a wide range of philosophical currents were produced.
The two most prominent and broad philosophical traditions of the 20th century were analytical philosophy in the Anglo-Saxon world and continental philosophy in continental Europe. Analytic philosophy is characterized by its emphasis on the logical analysis of language and mind, and notable philosophers in this tradition include Ludwig Wittgenstein, Bertrand Russell, and Willard Van Orman Quine. On the other hand, continental philosophy focused on a wide range of topics, from the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl to the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre and Martin Heidegger, and later, the poststructuralism of philosophers such as Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida.
In addition to these traditions, the 20th century saw the rise of new philosophical currents such as logical positivism, which promoted the idea that only verifiable statements have meaning; philosophical materialism, which explored questions about the nature of material reality; actualism, which focused on the theory of the act; and neo-Thomism, a movement that revived the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas.
During this period, many prominent philosophers worked in academic settings, and some of the most discussed topics included the relationship between language and philosophy, often called "the linguistic turn." Martin Heidegger and Ludwig Wittgenstein are two of the most influential philosophers associated with this "turn."
Contemporary philosophy has continued to be diverse and constantly evolving, and has influenced a wide range of areas of contemporary thought and culture. Contemporary philosophers continue to address fundamental questions about existence, the mind, society, morality, and many other aspects of the human experience.
Eastern Philosophy
Eastern philosophy, also known as Asian philosophy, encompasses a variety of philosophical traditions from both South and East Asia. This includes Chinese philosophy, Indian philosophy, Buddhist philosophy (which is predominant in Tibet, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia), Korean philosophy, and Japanese philosophy.
Importantly, the category of "Eastern philosophy" or "Asian philosophy" is a term coined in 19th-century Western academia and did not originate in East Asia or India. This is because in Asia there is not a single unified philosophical tradition with a single root, but rather several indigenous traditions that have sometimes been in contact.
Some notable Western philosophers, such as Arthur Schopenhauer, were among the first to adopt and promote important principles of Eastern philosophy, such as asceticism and the perception of the illusion of the world. Eastern philosophy has influenced Western thought and culture, and continues to be studied and admired throughout the world.
