Definitions for Philosophy
fɪˈlɒs ə fiPhi·los·o·phy

Princeton's WordNet(3.36 / 20 votes)Rate this definition:

1. doctrine, philosophy, philosophical system, school of thought, ism(noun)

   a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school

2. philosophy(noun)

   the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics

3. philosophy(noun)

   any personal belief about how to live or how to deal with a situation

   "self-indulgence was his only philosophy"; "my father's philosophy of child-rearing was to let mother do it"

Wiktionary(3.08 / 13 votes)Rate this definition:

1. philosophy(Noun)

   (originally) The love of wisdom

2. philosophy(Noun)

   An academic discipline that seeks truth through reasoning rather than empiricism

3. philosophy(Noun)

   A comprehensive system of belief.

4. philosophy(Noun)

   A view or outlook regarding fundamental principles underlying some domain.

5. philosophy(Noun)

   A general principle (usually moral).

6. philosophy(Noun)

   A broader branch of (non-applied) science

7. philosophy(Verb)

   To philosophize.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Philosophy(noun)

   literally, the love of, including the search after, wisdom; in actual usage, the knowledge of phenomena as explained by, and resolved into, causes and reasons, powers and laws

2. Philosophy(noun)

   a particular philosophical system or theory; the hypothesis by which particular phenomena are explained

3. Philosophy(noun)

   practical wisdom; calmness of temper and judgment; equanimity; fortitude; stoicism; as, to meet misfortune with philosophy

4. Philosophy(noun)

   reasoning; argumentation

5. Philosophy(noun)

   the course of sciences read in the schools

6. Philosophy(noun)

   a treatise on philosophy

Origin: [OE. philosophie, F. philosophie, L. philosophia, from Gr. filosofi`a. See Philosopher.]

Freebase(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Philosophy

   Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. In more casual speech, by extension, "philosophy" can refer to "the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group". The word "philosophy" comes from the Ancient Greek φιλοσοφία, which literally means "love of wisdom". The introduction of the terms "philosopher" and "philosophy" has been ascribed to the Greek thinker Pythagoras. A "philosopher" was understood as a word which contrasted with "sophist". Traveling sophists or "wise men" were important in Classical Greece, often earning money as teachers, whereas philosophers are "lovers of wisdom" and were therefore not in it primarily for the money.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Philosophy

   the science of sciences or of things in general, properly an attempt to find the absolute in the contingent, the immutable in the mutable, the universal in the particular, the eternal in the temporal, the real in the phenomenal, the ideal in the real, or in other words, to discover "the single principle that," as Dr. Stirling says, "possesses within itself the capability of transition into all existent variety and varieties," which it presupposes can be done not by induction from the transient, but by deduction from the permanent as that spiritually reveals itself in the creating mind, so that a Philosopher is a man who has, as Carlyle says, quoting Goethe, "stationed himself in the middle (between the outer and the inner, the upper and the lower), to whom the Highest has descended and the Lowest mounted up, who is the equal and kindly brother of all." "Philosophy dwells aloft in the Temple of Science, the divinity of the inmost shrine; her dictates descend among men, but she herself descends not; whoso would behold her must climb with long and laborious effort; may still linger in the forecourt till manifold trial have proved him worthy of admission into the interior solemnities." Indeed philosophy is more than science (q. v.); it is a divine wisdom instilled into and inspiring a thinker's life. See Thinker, The.

The Roycroft Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. philosophy

   Our highest conception of life, its duties and its destinies.

U.S. National Library of Medicine(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Philosophy

   A love or pursuit of wisdom. A search for the underlying causes and principles of reality. (Webster, 3d ed)

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. PHILOSOPHY

   Something that enables the rich to say there is no disgrace in being poor.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Philosophy' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2887

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Philosophy' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3792

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Philosophy' in Nouns Frequency: #1183

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Philosophy in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Philosophy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of Philosophy in a Sentence

1. Plato:

   Philosophy is the highest music.

2. Praveen Vertex:

   Philosophy is the child of sorrow

3. Cometan:

   The Philosophy is as One, for All.

4. Thomas Hobbes:

   Leisure is the mother of philosophy.

5. Alfred North Whitehead:

   Philosophy is the product of wonder.

Images & Illustrations of Philosophy

Popularity rank by frequency of use