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Philosophy is really anything and everything. Anyone can be a philosopher regarding any subject.

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So you're pretty much saying that it is nothing at all... Or perhaps you are saying nothing at all.

Post edited at 4:14 pm on Oct. 6, 2009 by Patronizing Bastard

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Quote: from The Last Magister at 4:10 pm on Oct. 6, 2009

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Philosophy is really anything and everything. Anyone can be a philosopher regarding any subject.

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So you're pretty much saying that it is nothing at all... Or perhaps you are saying nothing at all.

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Quote: from Patronizing Bastard at 6:14 pm on Oct. 6, 2009

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Quote: from The Last Magister at 4:10 pm on Oct. 6, 2009

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Philosophy is really anything and everything. Anyone can be a philosopher regarding any subject.

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 So you're pretty much saying that it is nothing at all... Or perhaps you are saying nothing at all.  

 

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No, I'm saying it is everything. To say it is nothing is to say it does not exist, I am saying it is all encompassing. Unless you're trying to argue that if it permeates everything it doesn't exist? Which is an interesting opinion but again that leads into metaphysics and you can't prove either for or against.

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When you say that it is everything the definition becomes so nebulous as to be useless.

but since this would also be a definition of science, its clear that it misses something.

I suppose the key difference is methodology, and the questions raised, and what counts as a solution.

Science is likely to ask "what happens if chemical X is added to Y"

The Philosopher is more likely to ask "what is a chemical?, "what is addition?", "What is X?", "what is Y?", "how are X and Y linked (i.e is causation a "real" thing)?"

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The truth is what money can be made from a lie.

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If you want a REAL answer...
Philosophy to me is the science of anything that can't be studied by science itself. Religion, morality, something you can argue logically, but can't observe. I hope that gives you a non-arbitrary answer.

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How is that a non-arbitrary/REAL answer...?

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I suppose you could broadly define Philosophy as an "investigation into the nature of things"

but since this would also be a definition of science, its clear that it misses something.    

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Or perhaps science is a subset of philosophy with a certain methodology and certain assumptions?

You can philosophize about anything in any way you want to, but that doesn't make all philosophies equal in truth.

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Paganism and Witchcraft  

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Ideas about the nature of something.  

You can philosophize about anything in any way you want to, but that doesn't make all philosophies equal in truth.

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So does value theory fall into "ideas about the nature of something"?

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I tried to narrow it down to something you could observe. You said it yourself, Magister's definition reduced philosophy to nothing. In addition to being basically incorrect, it doesn't really deepen anyone's understanding.
I definitely did narrow it down. Science involves observing, collecting facts, and making a conclusion based on those facts. Philosophy is the same thing... but observation replaced by reason and logic, because you can't observe morals. How is that not a real answer?

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It is still in no way non-arbitrary... I see no reason as to why I should one should support your view.

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Quote: from Sesha at 8:38 pm on Oct. 11, 2009

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Ideas about the nature of something.

 You can philosophize about anything in any way you want to, but that doesn't make all philosophies equal in truth.

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So does value theory fall into "ideas about the nature of something"?

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I can't say that I'm extremely familiar with value theory (that is perhaps the first time I've heard it termed as such) but from what I've read, yes, I would say morals are related to ideas about the true nature of humanity, our purpose (or lack of purpose) here, and things we should or should not do. According to the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, value theory "encompass all branches of moral philosophy, social and political philosophy, aesthetics, and sometimes feminist philosophy and the philosophy of religion". That is, unless you're talking about the study of morals from a psychological or sociological standpoint, then it is a science (if collecting data) and philosophy. Please correct me if I'm wrong somewhere.

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Paganism and Witchcraft  

I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but basically, there is philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, philosophy of knowledge, philosophy of ethics, etc. It's true that professors of philosophy are merely scholars that know the histories of different views held by different people.

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i need to find the derivative of you