CAREER IN PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy has many subjective definitions i.e. does not have a unified definition. Basically, the definition is derivable from the words: “Philae” – a Greek word for “love” and “Sophia,” meaning “wisdom.” Philosophy then means “love of wisdom”. Wisdom as used here stands for the right application of knowledge and knowledge refers to the acquisition of ideas. No wonder, the great philosophers of old, Aristotle, Socrates, and many others were generally regarded as men of

wisdom.

Philosophy could further be described as ‘a reasoned pursuit of fundamental truths, a quest for understanding, a study of principles of conduct. It seeks to establish standards of evidence, to provide rational methods of resolving conflicts and to create techniques for evaluating ideas and arguments.’ It cuts across many fields and seeks to enquire about every dimension of human life. For instance, we have philosophy of science, philosophy of medicine and so on. 

Sub-fields of Philosophy

Philosophy is broadly divided into the following sub-fields: Logic, Ethics, Epistemology, Metaphysics and the History of Philosophy.

1. Logic: This simply is the tool of reasoning. It enables us to be able to distinguish between good and bad reasoning, and assess how well our conclusions follows from the premises. It also helps to avoid adopting beliefs for which we lack adequate reasons.
2. Ethics: This is about our moral concept such as right action, obligation and justice. It formulates principles to guide moral decisions, whether in private or public life. ‘The “ought rules” and the “ought-not rules” uses morality as a spectacle to view man.’
3. Epistemology: Concern the nature and scope of knowledge. It answers questions such as what does truth mean. What is the nature of the truth? What can be known? Is there knowledge beyond science? What are the limits of self-knowledge? And so on.
4. Metaphysics: This seeks basic criteria for what is real. Are there mental, physical and abstract things (such as numbers), for instance, or is there just the physical and the spiritual, or merely matter and energy? Are persons highly complex physical systems, or do they have properties not reducible to anything physical?
5. The History of Philosophy: In history of philosophy, we are interested in studying the life of great philosophers and the period representing the development of philosophy, such as the ancient, medieval, modern, nineteenth century and twentieth century periods. From such studies, we are able to understand the influence of these great figures and rightly apply same to contemporary issues.

Many branches of philosophy have grown from the traditional core areas highlighted above to include philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, philosophy of history, philosophy of arts (aesthetics), philosophy of language, inductive logic, philosophy of education, philosophy of criticism, philosophy of mathematics. Etc.

Importance/Relevance of Philosophy as a course of study
Training and education in Philosophy 
Philosophy: Career Prospects