Chapter 3 - The Major Philosophies

This chapter really got me thinking about certain things. The definition of philosophy is as follows: "the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct" To understand your own philosophies, you must ask yourself three questions: 1. What is the nature of reality? 2. What is the nature of knowledge? 3. What is the nature of values? Answering these questions will help you figure out which philosophy you might relate to the most. I also learnt that there are three branches of philosophy (metaphysics, epistemology and axiology) and two types of logic (deductive and inductive). The traditional philosophies are idealism, realism and Neo-Thomism, which is "the belief in certain preestablished metaphysical truths." The modern philosophies are pragmatism, existentialism and analytic philosophy, which is "the belief that there are no preestablished truths." After reading this chapter, I tried to see which philosophy I could relate to the most, but I haven't quite figured it out yet. One last quote that really got me thinking... "I think, therefore I am" :)