ABSTRACT
While it is hard to give a one-sentence definition of the term philosophy, it is relatively easy to describe the field by reviewing some of the classic questions philosophers study.Here are some examples.What are the limits of human knowledge? (Can I, for example, know that an external world exists?) What is the ultimate nature of reality? Does it make sense to talk about the way the world is apart from our conceptualization of it? What makes me me? What does it mean to have a mind? What distinguishes morally right from morally wrong action? Under what circumstances can I be held morally responsible for my actions? Do I have an obligation to obey the laws of the state? Does God exist? If so, is that God worthy of praise and adoration? Does life have meaning? If so, is God a necessary prerequisite to making sense of life’s meaning? At first glance, nothing seems to tie these diverse questions together, leaving the impression that they are all considered “philosophical” questions only because of some historical accident in the development of the Western intellectual tradition. On closer examination, however, the questions are seen to share at least one attribute in common-they are all basic questions. By basic, I mean that each of these questions must be among the first questions asked when building a framework for thinking about and acting in the world.
