Pythagoras (570-500 BCE) is said to have coined the word philosophy. Philia means being a friend; sophia means wisdom; hence, philosophy means being a friend of wisdom. According to Pythagoras, God alone is wise. The most noble vocation for women and men is to be friends of wisdom.
There are numerous areas of study within philosophy. They include:
AXIOLOGY. An inquiry into the nature of value. Axiology includes ethics, or the study of moral value, and aesthetics, or the study of beauty in art and nature.
EPISTEMOLOGY. An inquiry into the nature and limits of truth, knowledge, and justification.
HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY. The study of major philosophers and entire periods in the development of philosophy.
LOGIC. An inquiry into the nature of correct and incorrect reasoning.
METAPHYSICS. An inquiry into the nature of reality and the examination of ultimate causes.
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY. The study of the moral foundations of government and ruling.
Socrates (470-399 BCE), like Pythagoras, believed we should be friends of wisdom. When told by an oracle that there was none wiser than he, Socrates concluded that his wisdom was in knowing that he was not wise. Socrates argued that the unexamined life is not worth living.
Those coming to philosophy expecting it to answer life's questions may go away disappointed. For philosophy is as concerned to question answers as to answer questions. Every answer is tentative, a hypothesis proposed for consideration. To be informed by the love of wisdom is to learn to live in "the high country of the mind"
where the air is thin and things are less certain. Those who adhere in blind faith to some received tradition may find what philosophy cannot offer, security against doubt. However, they will miss the grandeur of the view from on high and the thrill of discovery that is the end result of admitting that one does not have all the answers.
SO WHO ARE WE?
Our fearless leaders are Dr. Don Viney, PSU's Philosophy "Department", and Camilla North, the Philosophical Society's president. Our members come from various Major areas in PSU (unfortunately, there is no Philosophy Major offered). Anyone interested in philosophy is welcome. You can contact us about the Philosophy Minor or the Philosophical Society at logossophia@yahoo.com.
