Philosophy term papers

What is Philosophy?

Philosophy, which comes from the Greek word ‘philosophia’ and literally means love of wisdom, is an academic discipline that applies reason and logic to understand fundamental questions and problems about life, existence, knowledge, human nature, reality, reason, and morality. Typical questions addressed by the study of philosophy are ‘What is the meaning and purpose of life?’, ‘Does God exist?’, and “What is meant by conscious thought?”.   Philosophers, those who study philosophy, rely on critical thought, reason, logic and a systematic and rational approach to address questions such as these.

History of Philosophy

Philosophy has a very long history and multicultural as well as multi-religious origins.  In fact, just about every era and every culture had its own form of philosophic thought, from pre-historic times to modern times and from Western philosophy to Eastern philosophy, to religious and secular philosophy. Each culture and each era produced its own philosophical concepts and teachings and each of these has contributed to the discipline of philosophy that we learn today.

 Philosophy Majors

The main reason that students who major in philosophy choose to do so is that they find they have an intrinsic interest in the discipline, are inspired by it, and just love learning about it.  With that said, there are plenty of valuable and employable skills to be gained from studying philosophy.  Philosophy majors learn advanced critical evaluation and thinking skills, learn how to develop and construct a logical chain of reasoning, learn how to assess different perspectives on a subject and how to consider and evaluate the strongest arguments against their own views, and develop highly effective communication skills that allow them to state their views clearly and precisely no matter the subject.

Careers for Philosophy Majors

One of the most popular career paths that philosophy majors choose is law because the study of philosophy develops skills aptly suited to this field.  However, a degree in philosophy provides a wide range of career paths to choose from such as the fields of medicine, business, religious studies or seminaries, education, and the arts.  Common jobs obtained by philosophy majors include business consultants, NGO consultants, technical writers, teachers, and more.

 

Recently published Philosophy essays