philosophy

American  

[fi-los-uh-fee] / fɪˈlɒs ə fi /

noun

• philosophies
  plural

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

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

3. a particular system of thought based on such study or investigation.

   the philosophy of Spinoza.

4. 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.

5. a system of principles for guidance in practical affairs.

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

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philosophy British  

/ fɪˈlɒsəfɪ /

noun

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 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

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philosophy Cultural  

1. 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.)

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Usage

What does philosophy mean? Philosophy is a field of science that investigates reality and human existence, as in I am currently studying philosophy in college. The word philosophy is also used to mean a specific doctrine based on such investigation, as in I wrote my term paper on the philosophy of Plato. And philosophy is used more generally to mean a set of beliefs or an outlook, as in My philosophy on life is to be kind to everyone. Philosophy is a complex, abstract field of science. It often analyzes difficult and ultimately unanswerable topics, such as the meaning of life, the morals and ethics of humanity, and what it means to be human. Philosophy is divided into the three branches of natural philosophy (nature and the natural world), moral philosophy (morals and ethics), and metaphysical philosophy (the nature of existence and origins of the universe). In a related sense, the word philosophy is used to refer to the specific doctrines or schools of thought of a person who studies philosophy, such as Plato and Socrates, two famous ancient Greek philosophers. More generally, the word philosophy means any set of beliefs or values. It could be a philosophy on how to organize societies, as with political philosophy. Or it could be your personal outlook or viewpoint. Example: Jaime did some research on feminist philosophy to better understand feminism.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonphilosophy
  noun
• antiphilosophy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• philosophies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of philosophy

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English philosophie, from Latin philosophia, from Greek philosophía; see philo-, -sophy

Explanation

The noun philosophy means the study of proper behavior, and the search for wisdom. The original meaning of the word philosophy comes from the Greek roots philo- meaning "love" and -sophos, or "wisdom." When someone studies philosophy they want to understand how and why people do certain things and how to live a good life. In other words, they want to know the meaning of life. Add the suffix -er to philosophy, and you get a word for someone whose job it is to think these big thoughts.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

philosophy philosophies

His philosophy has changed little since he began his career.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

"Jos Buttler's whole philosophy is to hit the ball on the off side," said Malan.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Two years later, he graduated debt-free with a bachelor’s in political science and a minor in philosophy.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

A former straight-A student who had dropped out of high school, he had embarked on a program of self-education, reading deeply in African American history, Greek philosophy, finance and other subjects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

By now I was getting a sense of how Farmer put together experience and philosophy.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Similarities between his monetary philosophies on issues like forward guidance, rules-based policymaking, the Phillips curve, and productivity growth driven by high-tech innovation and Warsh’s are now emerging.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

“The Four Heavens” illustrates these and other core Mayan philosophies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

While there are other AI behemoths — including Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and others — OpenAI’s tension with Anthropic is telling because it stems from their shared origins and different philosophies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

Frustrated by what he saw as his batters' lack of intent, he revealed one of his philosophies.

From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026

Humanity could never force zero to fit its philosophies.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

• attitude
• doctrine
• idea
• ideology
• logic
• outlook
• reasoning
• system
• tenet
• theory
• thinking
• thought
• truth
• view
• viewpoint
• wisdom