ABSTRACT
What is philosophy? This is by no means an easy question to answer, as the nature of the subject is itself a matter of philosophical dispute. But perhaps it can be said that philosophers have two primary sorts of concern. Firstly, they are concerned with matters of justification: demanding reasons for what others take for granted, and investigating the basis of even our most obvious beliefs. One characteristic philosophical question is thus ‘How do I know?’ Secondly, they are concerned to achieve an understanding of the essential nature of things, their other characteristic question taking the form ‘What kind of thing is such-and-such?’ In fact the two concerns are intimately related, as we shall see. Often the best way to understand the nature of a thing is to inquire how we know of it. And often the demand for justification can only be met by closer investigation of the things about which we hold our beliefs.
