Introduction to Philosophy

The simplest definition of "philosophy" is: the love of wisdom

The two root words are "philo" meaning love and "sophia" meaning wisdom.

Philosophy is not the same as wisdom. Philosophy is the love of wisdom.

There are many people who have a wisdom that they live by or believe in; many people have been indoctrinated into one creed or another. That does not make them philosophers. A philosopher is a person who personally loves to know the truth about the general principles of the world; a person who actively pursues the truth in such matters.

Using this basic definition of philosophy, one can understand what has motivated the countless number of famous philosophers down through the ages. Each one was on a personal search for the principles of the universe.

The history of western philosophy is marked by three revolutions in thought.

1. The revolutionary switch from religious or mythical ways of thinking to a rational way of thinking which occurred in ancient Greece and centers around the time of Socrates (470-399 B.C.)
2. The epistemological revolution which occurred around the time of Descartes (1596-1650). For a long time thinkers had been taking something for granted which they used in all their work - knowledge. They had assumed the reliability of the human mind. It was Descartes who called into question the very foundations of all knowledge by doubting the reliability of knowing. All philosophy since that time has had to deal with this issue.
3. The linguistic revolution occurred at the beginning of the 20th century. For a long time thinkers had been taking something for granted which they used in all their work - language. They had assumed the reliability of language. It was Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) who questioned the very purpose and function of language, and its use and misuse in philosophical discussions. Wittgenstein's philosophy is unusual in that his first major work, called the "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus", published in 1921, was a central vehicle in the view that philosophical problems were based on a misuse of language; and that a careful logical analysis would clarify the meaning of these issues. Then, Wittgenstein's second book, the "Philosophical Investigations", published in 1953 (two years after his death) was an attack on his previous work and proposed a new type of linguistic analysis, which proposed that a sentence is understood not by itself, but only in the context of its use.

NOTE TO THE READER: The above three revolutions in philosophy are greatly simplified and are given only as a bare outline. There were writers before the philosophers mentioned who began to recognize these problems. The revolutions were preceded by a gradual buildup of questioning on these issues. And of course I am only discussing western philosophy. There was philosophic activity in other cultures around the world as well.



SIX MAIN DIVISIONS OF PHILOSOPHY

While different authors divide philosophy differently, the following divisions include all the areas of philosophical problems:
1. Logic
2. Epistemology
3. Ethics
4. Metaphysics
5. Political Philosophy
6. Aesthetics

Quantum Mechanics

Quantum Mechanics is the successful theory of the fundamental forces and particles of the Universe and also the theory behind Quantum Field Theory,the main component of the Standard Model, the general theory that unifies 3 of the 4 fundamental forces in a coherent and predictable model of the Universe.

In his website Andrew Thomas gives a full account of the main concepts of Quantum Mechanics in an easy and accessible manner.

Quantum Mechanics: An Introduction

Introducing the peculiar world of the quantum, where a particle is a wave, and a wave is a particle. Considers the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

The Quantum Casino

At its most basic level, nature appears to be fundamentally random. Are we all players in a game of chance at the Quantum Casino?

Quantum Entanglement

Quantum states can become entangled in astonishing ways. Welcome to the strange world of "qubits", faster-than-light communication, and Einstein's first definition of reality.

Quantum Decoherence

At last it would appear a solution has been found to the riddle of the apparent collapse of the wavefunction. Includes an interactive simulation of decoherence in an ensemble of particles.

Quantum Reality

A review of our study of quantum mechanics, the Copenhagen Interpretation, and the first indications of a deeper "veiled" reality.

It's a Small World

Introducing the Standard Model of particle physics, and string theory. But are these theories truly fundamental, or do they rest on a infinite tower of turtles?

The Cosmic Universe

What happened at the start of the universe? Could Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator arm hold the key? Also considers quantum gravity and the "wavefunction of the universe".

The Anthropic Principle

Some of the fundamental physical constants in the universe appear to have been fine-tuned, otherwise life could not exist. Are "multiverse" solutions the answer to this mystery?

The Arrow of Time

All fundamental physical processes appear to be time-reversible - so why don't we see broken eggs mending themselves? And why can't we remember the future?

The Mathematical Universe

The universe appears to have an uncanny connection with the world of mathematics. Why is this? And do mathematical structures have a reality all of their own?

The Big Brother Universe

An examination of the evidence that our universe is the product of an advanced civilisation. Are we living in a computer simulation? Are we all "housemates" in the ultimate reality show?