Philosophy | What Is Philosophy And How Old Is It?
What is philosophy and how old is it?
Philosophy is the search for an understanding of human existence. It emerged as a distinct system of thought around 600 B.C. in the West (non-Asian countries) and about 500 B.C. in the East (Asia). Derived from the Greek words phila, ("love of") and sophia, ("wisdom"), philosophy literally means the love of wisdom. Philosophers attempt to determine truth, or what it means "to be," by using the methods of observation (noting facts) and inquiry (asking questions). That is, they want to know how and why humans exist, and they try to reveal general truths about known and unknown aspects of life.
Philosophy has long been intertwined with religion, including Hinduism, which developed in India around 1500 B.C. In 600 B.C. Western thinkers in Greece began questioning the nature of existence. About one hundred years later the Chinese teacher Confucius (551–479 B.C.) founded a...
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