1.After our first class and your reading of three handouts about Philosophy, please write a fully developed paragraph, of at least eight well-formed sentences, that completes the following:"The role and purpose of philosophy is ......."

-- Anonymous, August 29, 1998

Answers

The role and purpose of philosophy is to draw conclusions and form opinions about the human condition by way of reasoning. Philosophy, literally "the love of wisdom", allows us to both analyze and synthesize ideas in order to gain understanding. This understanding can lead to a better life in a multitude of ways. The pursuit of Ethics concern the morality of one's life. Metaphysics deals with the rationalizing and understanding of the "God Question". Other types of Philsosphy explore topics ranging from the nature of truth, society and government, to human nature and the aesthetics of art. Philosophers as a general rule do not "create" so much as "reflect". This reflection by way of reasoning can lead to a better understanding of the human condition.

-- Anonymous, January 18, 2000

assignment one

The role and purpose of philosophy is to utilize reason to examine, argue, and develop evidence-based answers to questions (Bovel, What is Philosphy?). Philosophy is integrated in both our natural world, as well as our unnatural world(s), posing questions in both i.e. art, music, government, etc. Due to this, it would seem that philosophical practices would be influenced by external forces; perhaps the individual or group of individuals analyzing and arguing the question or influence of a culture. Indeed, these are mentionable factors. Yet, as was made evident in the article "What is Philosophy?", philosophy is a form of "Reflection, logic, and observation..." that is uniform throughout. Then, from what I understand, the purpose of philosophy is not to create anything, but to examine and "reflect" on a pre-existing theme i.e. religion, life, death, etc. In conclusion, it is apparent that philosophy conjures several defintions. In our first class, we each acknowledged a varied interpretation of philosophy, but for each the process of philosophy works the same.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2000

The role and purpose of philosophy is to attempt to fully comprehend the environment that exists around oneself. Philosophy examines human nature and tries to rationalize actions or emotions. Exploration of the world and oneself is promoted through Philosophy. Philosophy involves raising questions, which through argumentation, develop into differing outlooks on a subject. These questions can foster multiple contradicting questions which can be examined. Comparing Philosophies from separate cultures allows for indepth analysis of how different cultures think. I believe human history can also be studied through the development of Philosophy. Studying Philosophy results in developing a personal way of viewing and responding the world.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2000

Assignment one

The role and purpose of philosophy is to find out the meaning of life to make it as worthwhile as possible. It involves thinking critically with logic, common sense, and reason in pursuit of the truth. It is an ongoing process with no clear answers because different people have different perspectives, often depending on their background and lifetime experiences. Humans have the gift of intellectual thought but it is often on our nature to make assumptions. Philosophers question these assumptions and don't accept anything until it has been rationalized and justified. Philosophy includes parts from every area of study, from scientific experimentation to abstract art, and can be found everywhere. Throughout life we have to make choices and we philosophize to make, what we believe at that time is the best choice.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2000

...to use wisdom and knowladge to discover the truths behind human questions and answers. These truths can be made through discovering what is fact and what is not. Facts can be formed through challenging human ideas and opinions. Philosophy challenges the human concepts that are based on ideas, opinions, and authorities. These truths and concepts must become fact by presenting evidence in an almost scientific manner to support the fact that will withstand other challenges. In philosophy, the thought is put into these challenges and the process for fact by useing reason through analyzing and synthesizing. The final fact is not always found to be correct. Humans are still involved and create room for errors and human influences in the reasoning that determines the fact. These influences can be created from culture, society, status of the person(s) involved and what knowledge and technology are available at that time. In many cases, new challenges will continue to be created for things that were thought to be fact.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2000