History of Philosophy

What is Philosophy?

Philosophy and Worldview

Since philosophy engages with concepts of a fundamentally different nature from those of the sciences, it must employ a distinct method and pursue different goals. While science aims to study the world, philosophy seeks to comprehend it. The philosopher does not conduct experiments or collect facts but engages in the intellectual contemplation of truth. In ancient Greece, where philosophy assumed the form we recognize today, two types of activity were distinguished: πρᾶξις (praxis), meaning action, and θεωρία (theoria), meaning contemplation. Theoria was regarded as the higher form of intellectual activity, enabling insight into the truth. Philosophy, thus, is theoria — the contemplation of truth. It does not concern itself with how humans function but rather with what a human is; it does not focus on economic calculations but on what constitutes economics; it does not analyze the relationship between parliament and government but explores what a state is. Philosophy addresses general theories of everything.

Therefore, philosophy's task is to construct a worldview, which serves as the foundational theoretical basis for understanding. Since a worldview forms the bedrock of knowledge, its content appears so self-evident that most people do not consider that their thoughts align with a worldview that was shaped by others. For instance, most Europeans not only accept the world's existence but do not even entertain doubts about it. Yet, the existence of the world is not as self-evident as it seems. Buddhists, for example, believe that the world does not exist and that what people perceive as the world is merely an illusion. Neither of these completely opposing beliefs can be proven or disproven because proving or disproving pertains to scientific judgments, whereas existence or non-existence is a matter of worldview. The same applies to other elements of worldview. Some people see humans as God's greatest creation, while others see no significant difference between humans and animals. Some believe that law is based on eternal and unchanging principles, while others are convinced that law is formed through human activity. These are elements of worldview that cannot be proven in the manner of Pythagoras's theorem or the laws of gravity. Worldviews cannot be subjected to proof. However, it must be recognized that science constitutes only a part of human knowledge, and not the most fundamental one. Despite the rigor with which scientific hypotheses are tested, science itself is based on a worldview.

Worldview has practical consequences: it determines all other forms of knowledge. If Europeans are convinced that the world exists, then it must be studied and utilized. This worldview has led to the development of natural sciences and technology in European culture. All natural laws taught in physics, chemistry, biology, etc., were discovered by European or American scientists; all continents of our planet were discovered by European explorers, with no one discovering Europe itself; most of the technological inventions used by humanity today (such as printing, aviation, automobile manufacturing, information technologies, and evidence-based medicine) were created by Europeans. Indian culture did not achieve such discoveries simply because it is guided by a different worldview: if the world does not exist and what people perceive as the world is only an illusion, then there is no point in studying it. For Indians, reality lies within the inner world of the person, which is why Indian culture devotes so much attention to the spiritual aspect of human life. Practices like yoga, meditation, and the spiritual guidance of Indian gurus or Tibetan lamas are profound and insightful into the mysteries of human essence. The differences in cultural achievements are a result of differing worldviews: if Europeans see the world as real, it becomes the subject of study; if for Indians or Buddhists the inner world is valuable, it becomes the focus of their cultural achievements.

Philosophy is not only the intellectual articulation of worldview but also a creative force that shapes it. A worldview does not emerge spontaneously but is the creative work of people. A person sees the world through the prism of their worldview, and thus the world appears as their worldview dictates. However, it is crucial to remember that the foundational principles of any belief were once established by someone. For example, the economy of any country is based on some economic theory, and each economic theory was formulated by someone. The concept of the free market, foundational to the economies of developed Western countries, is impossible without Adam Smith, who first articulated it. The use of experiments as a method of scientific research would not be possible without Galileo Galilei. The principle of historicism, essential to modern scientific history, was introduced by Leopold von Ranke. Typically, ordinary people adhere to certain beliefs without realizing that these beliefs were formulated by someone. Often, it is not possible to pinpoint the genius who established the foundational worldview of their field, as the creation of worldview paradigms frequently involves large groups of scholars and thinkers.

Thus, a worldview is not an arbitrary formation but a creative contribution of people. To understand why something is the way it is, one must delve into theoretical developments. The only way to do this is by studying foundational philosophical ideas. Since these ideas are articulated in books, understanding the principles underlying a worldview requires reading them. There is no other way to grasp Western economic theory than through the works of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Maynard Keynes, and other economic theorists. Understanding history necessitates reading the works of Oswald Spengler, Arnold Toynbee, Immanuel Wallerstein, and other historians. This applies to any field. The experience of the most prestigious universities shows that preparing highly qualified specialists requires a thorough study of the classics. This is why top-ranking universities focus on theory, philosophy, and worldview in their educational processes rather than solely on practical skills.

Understanding the philosophical foundations of a worldview is a matter of national security. The bloodiest dictatorships of the 20th century were based on ideologies that were attempts to address the worldview questions of their time. The greatest resistance to both Nazism and Communism came from the intelligentsia, as their education enabled them to understand both the philosophical foundations of these ideologies and their consequences. This is why highly educated individuals were often targeted by concentration camps and executions. Dictatorships aimed not only to destroy the educated elite but also to prevent the formation of a new generation of educated individuals. Thus, there is a distinction between the philosophical and humanitarian components in the educational systems of free and totalitarian countries: while democratic countries with advanced economies expand the study of philosophical and humanitarian sciences, totalitarian countries reduce the emphasis on the humanities.