The Concept of Philosophy

The word "philosophy" has a very early origin and long history in China. Such as "Confucius ten philosophers", "ancient sage" and other words, "philosophy" or "philosopher", specifically refers to those who are good at thinking, learning and deep, that is, the Western approximation of "philosopher", "thinker", "thinker". The "philosopher" or "philosopher" refers to those who are good at thinking and discerning, and those who have profound knowledge, i.e., the western approximation of "philosopher" and "thinker". It is generally believed that Chinese philosophy originated in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, represented by Confucius' Confucianism, Laozi's Taoism, Mozi's Mohism and the late Legalism. And in fact, in the previous I Ching, has begun to discuss the philosophical issues.

The definition of philosophy has always been controversial, and the field has expanded throughout history, changing according to the interests of different times in different issues. It is generally agreed that philosophy is a method rather than a set of claims, propositions, or theories. The study of philosophy is based on rational thought, seeking to make scrutinized assumptions without jumping from belief to pure analogy. Different philosophers have different ideas about the nature of reasoning.

Definition of Philosophy by British philosopher Russell:

Philosophy, as I understand the word, is something between theology and science. It consists, like theology, in man's contemplation of those things which have hitherto eluded the certainty of scientific knowledge; and it appeals, like science, to human reason rather than to authority, whether traditional or revealed. All exact knowledge (according to Russell) belongs to science; all dogmas involving more than exact knowledge belong to theology. Between theology and science there is a no-man's land that is attacked by both sides, and this no-man's land is philosophy.

Plato states that "thauma" (wonder) is the mark of the philosopher; it is the beginning of philosophy. Plato was not mistaken when he said that "iris" (the rainbow, the goddess of the rainbow, the messenger of Zeus) was the daughter of "thauma" (wonder). "Iris" (rainbow) communicates the will of the gods and the gospel to man, and philosophy is born of wonder. Under its gaze, all things shed their mundane coverings and reveal their true nature. In so doing, it reveals itself as a truly liberating force.

Aristotle says in the Metaphysics that it is in the nature of all men to seek knowledge. All men begin philosophical thinking by wonder, at first at what is unintelligible around them, and then gradually advancing to questions about more significant things, such as about the changing phases of the moon, about the changes of the sun and stars, and about the creation of all things. A person who is perplexed and amazed becomes conscious of his ignorance.

Hegel argued that philosophy is a special movement of thought, and that philosophy is the quest for the Absolute. "Philosophy has the Absolute as its object; it is a special way of thinking" - Hegel, Little Logic.

Einstein spoke of philosophy in this way: if philosophy is understood as the pursuit of knowledge in its most general and extensive form, then it is clear that philosophy can be considered the mother of all the sciences.

The eighteenth-century German romantic poet, the short-lived genius Novalis (1771-1801) on the definition of philosophy: philosophy is the mother of all sciences, the essence of philosophical activity is the spirit of the original return to their homes, the impulse of nostalgia to look for a spiritual home everywhere in the activities of all can be called philosophy.

Feng Youlan put forward his own definition of philosophy in A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy: "It is the systematic reflection on the thought of life". Both Chinese and foreign philosophies have their origins in doubt.

After the introduction of philosophy into China from the West, there was a debate in the academic world about the presence or absence of philosophy in China's native culture. Those who believed that there was philosophy in China defined it as basic ideas about the universe and life. Hu Shih, in his Outline of the History of Chinese Philosophy, pointed out that "the study of life and its problems, from the fundamental point of view, to find a solution to them" is called philosophy.

There are many views on the subject of philosophy. Some see philosophy as an examination of the process of questioning itself; others see it as the existence of essentially philosophical propositions that philosophy must answer. Postmodernism defines philosophy as the academic creation of concepts. Philosophy involves the study of categories that are the sum total of other disciplines, which give explanations of the nature of the world and largely influence the worldview of the recipient. Philosophy is the study of categories and their interrelationships. The categories relate to the most basic objects of study, concepts and content of a discipline, and philosophy functions as a general methodology. The difference between philosophy and other methods of approaching a problem is a critical, methodical approach and a rationally based debate. Philosophy is a science in the broad sense of the word, not dealing with specifics, and its scope of study is the broad concepts of specific sciences.