philosophy

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noun, plural phi·los·o·phies.

the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct.

any of the three branches, namely natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and metaphysical philosophy, that are accepted as composing this study.

a particular system of thought based on such study or investigation: the philosophy of Spinoza.

the critical study of the basic principles and concepts of a particular branch of knowledge, especially with a view to improving or reconstituting them: the philosophy of science.

a system of principles for guidance in practical affairs.

an attitude of rationality, patience, composure, and calm in the presence of troubles or annoyances.

Relevant Questions

What Is Moral Philosophy...

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English philosophie < Latin philosophia < Greek philosophía. See philo-, -sophy

Related forms

an·ti·phi·los·o·phy, adjective, noun, plural an·ti·phi·los·o·phies.

non·phi·los·o·phy, noun, plural non·phi·los·o·phies.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To philosophy

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Philosophy is always a great word to know.

So is callithumpian. Does it mean:

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

philosophy (fɪˈlɒsəfɪ)

—n , pl -phies
1.	the academic discipline concerned with making explicit the nature and significance of ordinary and scientific beliefs and investigating the intelligibility of concepts by means of rational argument concerning their presuppositions, implications, and interrelationships; in particular, the rational investigation of the nature and structure of reality (metaphysics), the resources and limits of knowledge (epistemology), the principles and import of moral judgment (ethics), and the relationship between language and reality (semantics)
2.	the particular doctrines relating to these issues of some specific individual or school: the philosophy of Descartes
3.	the critical study of the basic principles and concepts of a discipline: the philosophy of law
4.	archaic, literary or the investigation of natural phenomena, esp alchemy, astrology, and astronomy
5.	any system of belief, values, or tenets
6.	a personal outlook or viewpoint
7.	serenity of temper

[C13: from Old French filosofie, from Latin philosophia, from Greek, from philosophos lover of wisdom]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

philosophy

c.1300, from O.Fr. filosofie (12c.), from L. philosophia, from Gk. philosophia "love of knowledge, wisdom," from philo- "loving" + sophia "knowledge, wisdom," from sophis "wise, learned."

Nec quicquam aliud est philosophia, si interpretari velis, praeter studium sapientiae; sapientia autem est rerum divinarum et humanarum causarumque quibus eae res continentur scientia. [Cicero, "De Officiis"]

Meaning "system a person forms for conduct of life" is attested from 1771. Philosophize is attested from 1594.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

philosophy definition

A study that attempts to discover the fundamental principles of the sciences, the arts, and the world that the sciences and arts deal with; the word philosophy is from the Greek for “love of wisdom.” Philosophy has many branches that explore principles of specific areas, such as knowledge (epistemology), reasoning (logic), being in general (metaphysics), beauty (aesthetics), and human conduct (ethics).

Different approaches to philosophy are also called philosophies. (See also epicureanism, existentialism, idealism, materialism, nihilism, pragmatism, stoicism, and utilitarianism.)

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

philosophy definition

See computer ethics, liar paradox, netiquette, proof.

Example sentences

We have had the same philosophy.

He wrote countless letters about his philosophy, observations of people and

places.

But it was only half his philosophy, and not even the more important half.

And when he talks to you about a scene or a script or whatever-a moment-the

references are philosophy, religion, music.

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Cyrenaic eclectic Fichtean Heraclitean humanity Kantian

Matching Quote

"Hebraism contains no eternal realm of essence, which Greek philosophy was to fabricate, through Plato, as affording the intellectual deliverance from the evil of time. Such a realm of eternal essences is possible only for a detached intellect, one who, in Plato's phrase, becomes a "spectator of all time and all existence." This ideal of the philosopher as the highest human type—the theoretical intellect who from the vantage point of eternity can survey all time and existence—is altogether foreign to the Hebraic concept of the man of faith who is passionately committed to his own mortal being. Detachment was for the Hebrew an impermissible state of mind, a vice rather than a virtue; or rather it was something that Biblical man was not yet even able to conceive, since he had not reached the level of rational abstraction of the Greek. His existence was too earth-bound, too laden with oppressive images of mortality, to permit him to experience the philosopher's detachment."

-William Barrett