ABSTRACT
Philosophical method in its purest form is, in one simple phrase, a priori, not a posteriori. The cliche for this is ‘the armchair method’. The intellectual aim of philosophizing is to achieve reflective equilibrium. This the philosopher does by synthesizing, integrating, and reconciling all our immediate intuitions, important insights, arduously deduced results, and inspired hypotheses. The five main areas of Philosophy have traditionally been Metaphysics, Epistemology, Logic, Ethics and Aesthetics. Logic is the study of valid reasoning, that is, transitions in thought that aim to preserve truth from their premises, or starting points, to their conclusion, or end point. The philosopher seeks to resolve paradoxes and eliminate inconsistencies, and to provide proper foundations where appropriate. The aim is to attain some overarching understanding both of the human condition within the natural cosmos, and of the connections among thought, language, and the world; emotion and reason; fact and value; being and truth.
