What is Philosophy?

Philosophy is the study of knowledge, reality and the meaning of life and all existence. That's the short answer. In the early centuries of recorded history, a philosopher was anyone who liked to think logically, who asked questions about anything or everything around him and looked for answers. As answers emerged, philosophy gave birth to religions. Those philosopers who didn't subscribe to any of the religions, carried on questioning, and the next offshoot was science. Since then, philosopers have got into their own camps, some saying ,for example, that the only subject worth studying is Language. The bottom line is, the question has a thousand answers.

An Etymological Answer

Philosophy was coined from the greek (Philos: friend, or lover) and (sophia wisdom). This word sought to break from the word "sophism" which, though at first a positive term, had obtained a negative connotation. This was due to greek sophists who taught wisdom and rhetoric for money. For more on this refer to Wikipedia.

First answer by ID2057898857. Last edit by Quixote ex machina. Contributor trust: 33 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 36 [recommend question]