History of Philosophy Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is History of Philosophy?

History of philosophy is a vast field that covers centuries of thought and debate. It encompasses the development of philosophical ideas from ancient times to modern day, as well as their influence on society. Philosophers throughout time have grappled with fundamental questions such as the nature of truth, reality, existence, morality and justice. They have also explored how we should live our lives in order to achieve happiness or fulfillment.The earliest philosophers were from Ancient Greece. The Greek philosopher Socrates (469 399 BC) is credited with laying the foundations for Western philosophy by introducing systematic reasoning into debates about ethics and values. His student Plato (428/427 or 424/423 348/347 BC) developed a comprehensive system based on his theory of Forms and argued that knowledge can be acquired through reason rather than sense perception alone. Other important figures in Classical Greek philosophy include Aristotle (384-322 BC), whose work focused mainly on logic, metaphysics and science; Epicurus (341 270 BC); Pyrrho (365-275BC); Zeno of Citium (334-262BC). These thinkers are considered to be some of the most influential in history and they continue to shape our views today.Throughout history there have been many different schools of thought within Philosophy including rationalism, empiricism, idealism and materialism among others. In the 17th century René Descartes espoused a form of rationalist thinking which emphasized reason over sensory experience while Baruch Spinoza introduced an ethical version called ‘pantheism’ which argued that God was identical to Nature itself rather than distinct from it. Immanuel Kant attempted to bring together both Rationalism and Empiricism by proposing that both sensation and reason should inform one another when making decisions about morality or metaphysics . In the 19th century Britain saw the emergence of utilitarianism which advocated maximizing pleasure for all members in society through collective action while Friedrich Nietzsche proposed an existentialist outlook whereby individuals must take personal responsibility for creating meaning out their own life experiences without relying upon any pre-existing moral codes or systems . In contemporary times new developments such as poststructuralism , postmodernism , feminism , critical race theory , decolonization studies , queer theory , animal rights theories etc., have sought to address issues pertaining not just to human beings but also other forms non-human entities including animals plants etc.. Moreover globalization has seen further expansion beyond western European countries allowing diverse perspectives from around world contribute more fully conversations surrounding philosophy as whole . As result this ever more interdependent globalized world has generated even richer range philosophical discussions topics ranging topics such epistemology language politics gender power environmental sustainability etc.