Changes

Philosophy is accurately described as both the first science and the "Queen of the Sciences".  Until the late 19th century, what is now called "science" was subsumed under ''Natural Philosophy''.

Philosophy is accurately described as both the first science and the "Queen of the Sciences".  Until the late 19th century, what is now called "science" was subsumed under ''Natural Philosophy''.

Philosophy in the West has its origins in Ancient Greece (ca. 600 B.C.), when the first philosophers undertake an independent inquiry of theological creeds. Later, there was an important divide between [[Analytic philosophy]] (or Anglophone philosophy) and [[Continental philosophy]]. This divide can be traced back to the late 19th century and a split in focus between [[Gottlob Frege]] and the intellectual descendants of [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel|Friedrich Hegel]].

Philosophy in the West has its origins in Ancient Greece, ca. 600 B.C. After the fall of the Roman Empire, much of Greek philosophy was lost to the West, preserved only in the Arab world until the time of the Crusades and the Moorish conquest of Spain.  Contact with Arab philosophers (especially [[al-Ghazali]], who developed a version of the [[Cosmological argument]], [[ibn Rushd]], and [[ibn Sina]]) kick-started the largely dormant philosophical tradition in Europe, beginning the "Academic period", which ended with [[Descartes]] and the beginning of the [[Enlightenment]]. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a major split between [[Analytic philosophy]] (or Anglophone philosophy) and [[Continental philosophy]]. This divide can be traced back to the late 19th century and a split in focus between [[Gottlob Frege]] and the intellectual descendants of [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel|Friedrich Hegel]].

The main branches of philosophy are [[Metaphysics]], which is (broadly speaking) the study of what-is; [[Ethics]], the study of correct action; [[Logic]], the rules (both formal and informal) of reason; [[Epistemology]], the study of knowledge, and [[Aesthetics]], the study of the nature of beauty and the artistic criteria of judgment. Notable sub-branches include [[Philosophy of Science]], [[Philosophy of language]], [[Philosophy of Religion]], [[Political Philosophy]], and [[Philosophy of mind]].

The main branches of philosophy are [[Metaphysics]], which is (broadly speaking) the study of what-is; [[Ethics]], the study of correct action; [[Logic]], the rules (both formal and informal) of reason; [[Epistemology]], the study of knowledge, and [[Aesthetics]], the study of the nature of beauty and the artistic criteria of judgment. Notable sub-branches include [[Philosophy of Science]], [[Philosophy of language]], [[Philosophy of Religion]], [[Political Philosophy]], and [[Philosophy of mind]].

Conventionally the History of Western Philosophy is divided into four eras: Ancient, Medieval, Modern and Contemporary.  

Conventionally the History of Western Philosophy is divided into four eras: Ancient, Medieval, Modern and Contemporary.  

The Ancient era starts with the [[Presocratic Philosophy|Presocratic]] philosophers and goes until the fall of the Roman empire; The Medieval goes until the end of the [[Middle Ages]]; The Moder up to the 20th century, and The Contemporary up to present.   

The Ancient era starts with the [[Presocratic Philosophy|Presocratic]] philosophers and goes until the fall of the Roman empire; The Medieval goes until the end of the [[Middle Ages]]; The Modern up to the 20th century, and The Contemporary up to present.   

=== Greek Philosophy ===

=== Greek Philosophy ===

Philosophy in the West begins with [[Thales]] of Miletus, who was the first astronomer in recorded history to accurately predict a solar eclipse.  The Milesian School founded by Thales included [[Anaxagoras]], [[Anaximander]], and [[Anaximenes]]. Closely related is the work of [[Heraclitus]] of Ephesus.  Around the time of Heraclitus, [[Parmenides]] of Elea, with his pupil [[Zeno]], raised some serious objections to the project of [[Milesian philosophy]].  These objections laid the groundwork for [[Socrates]] and his pupil [[Plato]], as well as the Atomists, [[Democritus]] and [[Leucippus]].

Philosophy in the West begins with [[Thales]] of Miletus, who was the first astronomer in recorded history to accurately predict a solar eclipse.  The Milesian School founded by Thales included [[Anaxagoras]], [[Anaximander]], and [[Anaximenes]]. Closely related is the work of [[Heraclitus]] of Ephesus.  Around the time of Heraclitus, [[Parmenides]] of Elea, with his pupil [[Zeno]], raised some serious objections to the project of [[Milesian philosophy]].  These objections laid the groundwork for [[Socrates]] and his pupil [[Plato]], as well as the Atomists, [[Democritus]] and [[Leucippus]].

=== The Twentieth Century ===

== The Twentieth Century ==

This century has offer a wide diversity of orientations. French [[Henri Bergson]] (1859 – 1941), 1927 Nobel Prize in Literature, [[Edmund Husserl]] (1859 – 1938) founder of [[phenomenology]] and the existentialism of German [[Martin Heidegger]] (1889 – 1976), and his follower, French [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] (1905 – 1980), philosopher, playwright, and novelist, that was the leading exponent of [[existentialism]], are good examples. Also criticism of [[Positivism]] by German [[Jürgen Habermas]] (1929– ), a professor at the University of Frankfurt with the [[Critical Theory]], and the Frankfurt School , a group of researchers associated with the Institut für Sozialforschung (Institute of Social Research), founded in 1923 with members such as [[Theodor Adorno]], Theodor Wiesengrund , Walter Benjamin (1892 – 1940), a German essayist and critic (He is known for his synthesis of eccentric Marxist theory and Jewish messianism) and [[Herbert Marcuse]] (1898 – 1979), U.S.; [[Structuralism]], theory that uses culturally interconnected signs to reconstruct systems of relationships rather than studying isolated, material things in themselves, with members such as [[Ferdinand de Saussure]] (1857 – 1913), Swiss linguist, Roman Jakobson (1896 – 1982), Russian-American linguist and literary critic, Anthropologist [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]] (1908 – ), French anthropologist, Roland Barthes (1915 – 1880), French critic, and Michel Foucault (1926 – 1984), French philosopher and historian. Foucault is renowned for historical studies that reveal the sometimes morally disturbing power relations inherent in social practices. <ref> [http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Philosophhy Philosophy] </ref>

This century has offered a wide diversity of orientations. The best known are the French school of [[Existentialism]], the German study of [[Phenomenology]], the [[Positivism|Positivists]] of the Vienna Circle, and the post-Positivist Analytic movement.

 

 

[[Henri Bergsson]](1859 – 1941), 1927 Nobel Prize in Literature,  

French [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] (1905 – 1980), philosopher, playwright, and novelist, that was the leading exponent of [[existentialism]], are good examples.

 

 

[[Edmund Husserl]] (1859 – 1938) founder of [[phenomenology]], [[Martin Heidegger]] (1889 – 1976), and his follower, [[Hans-Georg Gadamer]]

 

 

The [[Vienna Circle]] philosophers, most notably [[Moritz Schlick]], [[Rudolf Carnap]], [[Herbert Feigl]], [[Kurt Godel]], and [[Otto Neurath]].

 

 

the Frankfurt School , a group of researchers associated with the Institut für Sozialforschung (Institute of Social Research), founded in 1923 as an autonomous division of the University of Frankfurt; [[Structuralism]], theory that uses culturally interconnected signs to reconstruct systems of relationships rather than studying isolated, material things in themselves. <ref> [http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Philosophhy Philosophy] </ref>

=== American Philosophy ===

=== American Philosophy ===