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Philosopher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A philosopher is someone who practices philosophy,

which involves rational inquiry into areas that are
outside of either theology or science.[1] The term
"philosopher" comes from the Ancient Greek
(philosophos) meaning "lover of wisdom". The coining
of the term has been attributed to the Greek thinker
Pythagoras (6th century BC).[2]

In the classical sense, a philosopher was someone who

lived according to a certain way of life, focusing on The School of Athens, by Raphael, depicting the
resolving existential questions about the human central figures of Plato and Aristotle, and other
condition, and not someone who discourses upon ancient philosophers exchanging their knowledge.
theories or comments upon authors.[3] Typically, these
particular brands of philosophy are Hellenistic ones and
those who most arduously commit themselves to this lifestyle may be considered philosophers.

In a modern sense, a philosopher is an intellectual who has contributed in one or more branches of
philosophy, such as aesthetics, ethics, epistemology, logic, metaphysics, social theory, and political
philosophy. A philosopher may also be one who worked in the humanities or other sciences which have
since split from philosophy proper over the centuries, such as the arts, history, economics, sociology,
psychology, linguistics, anthropology, theology, and politics.[4]

Contents
1 History
1.1 Ancient Greece and Rome
1.1.1 Transition
1.2 Medieval era
1.3 Early Modern era
1.4 Modern academia
2 Prizes in philosophy
3 See also
4 References

History
Ancient Greece and Rome

The separation of philosophy and science from theology began in Greece during the 6th century BC.[5]
Thales, an astronomer and mathematician, was considered by Aristotle to be the first philosopher of the
Greek tradition.[6]

While Pythagoras coined the word, the first known elaboration on the topic was conducted by Plato. In his
Symposium, he concludes that Love is that which lacks the object it seeks. Therefore, the philosopher is one

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who seeks wisdom; if he attains wisdom, he would be a sage. Therefore, the philosopher in antiquity was
one who lives in the constant pursuit of wisdom, and living in accordance to that wisdom.[7] Disagreements
arose as to what living philosophically entailed. These disagreements gave rise to different Hellenistic
schools of philosophy. In consequence, the ancient philosopher thought in a tradition.[8] As the ancient
world became schism by philosophical debate, the competition lay in living in manner that would transform
his whole way of living in the world.[9]

Among the last of these philosophers was Marcus Aurelius, who is widely regarded as a philosopher in the
modern sense, but personally refused to call himself by such a title, since he had a duty to live as an
emperor.[10]

Transition

According to the Classicist Pierre Hadot, the modern conception of a philosopher and philosophy developed
predominately through three changes:

The first is the natural inclination of the philosophical mind. Philosophy is a tempting discipline which can
easily carry away the individual in analyzing the universe and abstract theory.[11]

The second is the historical change through the Medieval era. With the rise of Christianity, the philosophical
way of life was adopted by its theology. Thus, philosophy was divided between a way of life and the
conceptual, logical, physical and metaphysical materials to justify that way of life. Philosophy was then the
servant to theology.[12]

The third is the sociological need with the development of the university. The modern university requires
professionals to teach. Maintaining itself requires teaching future professionals to replace the current faculty.
Therefore, the discipline degrades into a technical language reserved for specialists, completely eschewing
its original conception as a way of life.[12]

Medieval era

In the fourth century, the word philosopher began to designate a man or woman who led a monastic life.
Gregory of Nyssa, for example, describes how his sister Macrina persuaded their mother to forsake "the
distractions of material life" for a life of philosophy.[13]

Later during the Middle Ages, persons who engaged with alchemy was called a philosopher - thus, the
Philosopher's Stone.[14]

Early Modern era

Many philosophers still emerged from the Classical tradition, as saw

Generally speaking,
their philosophy as a way of life. Among the most notable are Ren
university philosophy
Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, Nicolas Malebranche, and Gottfried
is mere fencing in front
Wilhelm Leibniz. With the rise of the university, the modern
of a mirror. In the last
conception of philosophy became more prominent. Many of the
esteemed philosophers of the eighteenth century and onward have analysis, its goal is to
attended, taught, and developed their works in university. Early give students opinions
examples include: Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich which are to the liking
Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.[15] of the minister who
hands out the Chairs...
After these individuals, the Classical conception had all but died As a result, this state-
with the exceptions of Arthur Schopenhauer, Sren Kierkegaard, and financed philosophy

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Friedrich Nietzsche. The last considerable figure in philosophy to makes a joke of

not have followed a strict and orthodox academic regime was philosophy. And yet, if
Ludwig Wittgenstein.[16] there is one thing
desirable in this world,
Modern academia it is to see a ray of
light fall onto the
In the modern era, those attaining advanced degrees in philosophy darkness of our lives,
often choose to stay in careers within the educational system. shedding some kind of
According to a 1993 study by the National Research Council (as light on the mysterious
reported by the American Philosophical Association), 77.1% of the enigma of our
7,900 holders of a Ph.D. in philosophy who responded were existence.
employed in educational institutions (academia). Outside of
Arthur Schopenhauer
academia, philosophers may employ their writing and reasoning
skills in other careers, such as medicine, bioethics, business, publishing, free-lance writing, media, and
law.[17]

Prizes in philosophy
Various prizes in philosophy exist. Among the most prominent are:

Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy

Rolf Schock Prizes
Avicenna Prize
Berggruen Philosophy Prize

Certain esteemed philosophers, such as Henri Bergson, Bertrand Russell, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul
Sartre, have also won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The John W. Kluge Prize for the Study of Humanity, created by the Library of Congress to recognize work
not covered by the Nobel Prizes, was given to philosophers Leszek Koakowski in 2003, Paul Ricoeur in
2004, and Jrgen Habermas and Charles Taylor in 2015.[18]

See also
Sage (philosophy)
Lists of philosophers

References
1. Russell, Bertrand (1946). A History of Western
Philosophy. Great Britain: George Allen and Unwin
Ltd. p. 10. Retrieved 31 March 2016 via Internet
Archive.
2. (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper ISBN 9780199754663. OCLC 686766412.
/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=filo
/sofos). Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A
GreekEnglish Lexicon at the Perseus Project
3. Pierre Hadot, The Inner Citadel. pg. 4
4. Shook, John R., ed. (2010). Dictionary of Modern
American philosophers (online ed.). New York:
Oxford University Press. p. Introduction.
doi:10.1093/acref/9780199754663.001.0001.
(subscription required (help)). "The label of
philosopher has been broadly applied in this
Dictionary to intellectuals who have made
philosophical contributions regardless of academic
career or professional title. The wide scope of
philosophical activity across the time-span of this
Dictionary would now be classed among the
various humanities and social sciences which

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Philosopher - Wikipedia
gradually separated from philosophy over the last
one hundred and fifty years. Many figures included
were not academic philosophers but did work at the
philosophical foundations of such fields as
pedagogy, rhetoric, the arts, history, politics,
economics, sociology, psychology, linguistics,
anthropology, religion, and theology. Philosophy
proper is heavily represented, of course,
encompassing the traditional areas of metaphysics,
ontology, epistemology, logic, ethics,
social/political theory, and aesthetics, along with the
narrower fields of philosophy of science,
philosophy of mind, philosophy of language,
philosophy of law, applied ethics, philosophy of
religion, and so forth"
5. Russell, Bertrand (1946). A History of Western
Philosophy. Great Britain: George Allen and Unwin
Ltd. p. 11. Retrieved 31 March 2016 via Internet
Archive.
6. Aristotle, Metaphysics Alpha, 983b18.
7. That is to say philosophically - Pierre Hadot,
Philosophy as a Way of Life, trans. Michael Chase.
Blackwell Publishing, 1995. pg. 27: Introduction:
Pierre Hadot and the Spiritual Phenomenon of
Ancient Philosophy by Arnold I. Davidson. Citing
Hadot, 'Presentation au College International de
Philosophie,' p. 4.
8. Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life, trans.
Michael Chase. Blackwell Publishing, 1995. pg. 5:
Introduction: Pierre Hadot and the Spiritual
Phenomenon of Ancient Philosophy by Arnold I.
Davidson. Citing Hadot, 'Theologie, exegese,
revelation' p. 22
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosopher
9. Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life, trans.
Michael Chase. Blackwell Publishing, 1995. pg. 30:
Introduction: Pierre Hadot and the Spiritual
Phenomenon of Ancient Philosophy by Arnold I.
Davidson. Citing Hadot, Dictionnaire des
philosophes antiques, p. 13
10. Wikisource:Meditations#THE EIGHTH BOOK
11. Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life, trans.
Michael Chase. Blackwell Publishing, 1995. pg. 31:
Introduction: Pierre Hadot and the Spiritual
Phenomenon of Ancient Philosophy by Arnold I.
Davidson. Citing Hadot, 'Presentation au College
International de Philosophie,' p.7
12. Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life, trans.
Michael Chase. Blackwell Publishing, 1995. pg. 32:
Introduction: Pierre Hadot and the Spiritual
Phenomenon of Ancient Philosophy by Arnold I.
Davidson.
13. Readings in World Christian History (2013), p. 147,
149
14. "Online Etymology Dictionary". etymonline.com.
15. Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life, trans.
Michael Chase. Blackwell Publishing, 1995. pg.
271: Philosophy as a Way of Life
16. A. C. Grayling. Wittgenstein: A Very Short
Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2001. pg. 15
17. APA Committee on Non-Academic Careers (June
1999). "A non-academic career?" (3rd ed.).
American Philosophical Association. Retrieved
May 24, 2014.
18. Schuessler, Jennifer (11 August 2015).
"Philosophers to Share $1.5 Million Kluge Prize".
New York Times. p. C3(L). Retrieved 6 April 2016.
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