The Big Questions of Philosophy
Let's define our terms a bit. What is meant by the term, philosophy? Etymologically speaking, the word simply means "the love of wisdom". More specifically, however, the term refers to one or both of two related meanings. First, it can refer to a a coherent and consistent answer to the most basic questions of human existence. Or, second, philosophy can refer to the academic field of study that asks these questions, analyzes how others have addressed them, and seeks to advance answers to them (or at least one of them). So, what are these questions, these "Big Questions" of philosophy? The first question is simply, "what is real?" The second question is "how can we know?" And the third question is, "what should we do?" And these lend themselves to what are often viewed as the three main branches of philosophy: Metaphysics -- studying the nature of reality itself. This includes the question of God's existence, the question of m