Abstract
In this conceptual paper I enter the contested field of the notion of philosophy, which in itself, is an old and complex philosophical problem. Philosophers have characterized philosophical reflection by its notorious inconclusiveness. I metaphorically situate the conceptions of philosophy as a fertile pasture in which philosophers of different shades contest for a defensible meaning of philosophy. I explore four perspectives of philosophy as 1) the worldview or personal attitude, 2) an activity or an academic discipline of study, 3) universal or 4) particular /cultural. I attempt to survey and analyse the different schools of thought in an effort to provide a balanced view of the notion. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p587
Highlights
The question, what is philosophy, is a reflexive one. It is about philosophy, provoked by philosophers themselves and represents an old and complex philosophical problem
Philosophical reflections are notorious for their inconclusiveness
Given the brief charaterisation of the concept of philosophy, I hope to explore in this paper the nature and aim of philosophy before considering the two main conceptions of philosophy, that is, 1) philosophy as a worldview or personal attitude 2) philosophy as an activity and philosophy as an academic discipline of study
Summary
The question, what is philosophy, is a reflexive one. Each time philosophers attempt to discover what it is, they inevitably emerge with a new way of dealing with it, which is one way of doing philosophy. 1) and there is no other discipline that continues to question itself the way philosophy does. One of the central questions is: Is philosophy a body of knowledge? Divergent views as to what philosophy is, what it offers man and what it aspires to do dominate all debates that are said to be philosophical. The philosophy question is a vexing philosophical issue that resists every attempt to answer it in a definitive manner. Given the brief charaterisation of the concept of philosophy, I hope to explore in this paper the nature and aim of philosophy before considering the two main conceptions of philosophy, that is, 1) philosophy as a worldview or personal attitude 2) philosophy as an activity and philosophy as an academic discipline of study
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