Defining philosophy: a process or a result of thinking?

The debates on philosophy have continued for decades, and the number of people interested in it keeps increasing. There is a simple yet intriguing question, “What is philosophy?” but there is also confusion about whether philosophy is a process or a result of thinking. So, let’s dive into the discussion. Happy reading. Enjoy the thinking.

Philosophia, Philosophy, and Filsafat

Philosophy derives from two concepts of Ancient Greek, philein or philos and sophia or sophos. Philein means love or friend, while sophia means wisdom. Literally, philosophia is the love of wisdom^[2][5]6] or a way to understand the world^[2]. Philosophy can also be translated as a general search for a common understanding of values ​​and reality, an analysis of fundamental beliefs, and a theory underlying action or thought^[3]. In another reference, filsafat (in the Indonesian language) is an attitude of life or outlook on life ^[6].

Initially, when the philosophers used the term philosophy, they pointed out the academic study of various concepts, a universal science^[2][6]. This led to the development of autonomous science, such as psychology, sociology, biology, and more. Although there are various definitions and terms of philosophy, it generally focuses on two meanings: an activity of process of thinking and a statement system or results of thinking^[1][6]. For further discussion on branches of philosophy, you can check this link. Now, let’s dive into the differences between philosophy is a process or a result of thinking.

Philosophy As A Process of Thinking

As an activity, philosophy is a process of thinking to understand fundamental questions, such as “Why do you do what you do?”, “Why do you think what you think?” or “Why do you feel what you feel?” Is it a little bit too confusing? Indeed, philosophy can cause headaches sometimes. But let’s read me share two phenomena with you.

Fenomena #1

If you have ever watched The Legend of Aang animation series, you will be familiar with the power struggle carried out by the Fire Nation. They are willing to destroy other countries to gain absolute power. Have you ever wondered, “Why did the fire nation attack other countries?” You are starting to ask “Why did they do what they did?”

Some of us may think the Fire Nation did it because of greed. Then, you will ask more questions, “Is that all? Or are there more reasons behind the Fire Nation’s actions?” “Is it wrong?” “Is it just the way the world works?” You will have endless questions on just the topic of The Fire Nation in The Legend of Aang. The world has more mystery just than merely animation series. It indicates that we tend to explore fundamental issues, the essence of phenomena around us. Our mind teases us through curiosity.

Fenomena #2

Have you ever read a novel called “Sophie’s World” by Jostein Gaarder? In that novel, Sophie got a letter. In the letter, a question was written: “Who am I?” What will you do when you get a letter or are asked about who you are? Will you be confused? curious? Let’s talk about Sophie’s respond to it.

Sophie thought on the question. She was absolutely sure that she was Sophie. That’s her name. But then she thought more about it. Is she Sophie? If she is not Sophie, who is she? Who said that she is Sophie? What if when she was born, her parents gave her another name? Does that mean Sophie will never exist? The somehow considered simple question, “Who am I?” turns into a fundamental one that philosophers have thought about for centuries, namely about human existence and beings.

From the phenomena drawn from The Legend of Aang animation series and the novel Sophie’s World, we have done philosophy as a thinking process without realising it. We question many things in life, “Why did this happen?” “How?”, “Is it possible?” and many other questions. This proves that philosophy as a thinking process can be fun. Not only using complicated language.

The core of philosophical thinking is systematic-reflective, critical, and contemplative^[6]. Systematic-reflective can be interpreted as the thinking process having a clear procedure, including certain stages in finding answers. Meanwhile, contemplative critical refers to a deep thinking process that reveals the essence of what is being thought about.

Philosophy As A Result of Thinking

Besides a process or activity of thinking, philosophy is also interpreted as a system of statements or results of thought. As a result of thought, philosophy means a group of theories or a comprehensive system of thought resulting from philosophy as a thinking process[^2][6]. So, the aim of philosophy as a thinking process is to get answers to fundamental questions; philosophy as a matter of thought refers to the results of those thinking processes or the formulation of answers to fundamental questions.

Some examples of philosophy as a system of statements or results of thought are various schools of philosophy, including idealism, realism, pragmatism, and Pancasila philosophy, as with stoic philosophy, which is currently increasing in popularity. In addition, famous philosophers’ statements, quotes, or pearls of wisdom also include philosophy as a system of statements that emphasizes the paradigm of thinking or the philosopher’s beliefs on certain things. What is your favourite quote? Let’s see one of mine.

“Cogito, ergo sum”, stated by Rene Descartes, is one of the popular philosophy quotes. It can be interpreted as “I think therefore I am” Descartes did not state that without thinking, his existence or being would be lost[4]. However, what he meant was that he realized his existence through thinking. This is an example of the results of thinking obtained by René Descartes.

Overall, philosophy literally or etymologically means love of wisdom. Because of the love of wisdom, philosophers will try to get answers to questions that are considered essential so that they can act more wisely. In conclusion, we may state that philosophy is a process and a result of thinking.

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