In philosophy, there are three main worldviews: Scientific Materialism, Spiritualism and

Idealism/Realism/Rationalism. Scientific materialism is holds much in what we observe. What we

hear, see, feel, taste, and smell, is whats real. It is totally physical. Spiritualism is the opposite of
scientific materialism; it says that the physical is not always real and that there is a higher reality that
transcends the physical. Idealism/Realism/Rationalism is a broad view that separates what is real
and what is known by the mind (Internet intro).
There are also three ethical views: Utilitarianism, Natural Law, and Kants Deontology.
Utilitarianism is based on pleasure; whatever provides the greatest amount of pleasure is
right(internet intro). Natural law says that what is good comes from natures design. It asks what is it
and what is it used for. Kants deontology is the idea that we have the duty to follow the rules of logic
and language.
When talking about Philosophy, you must start with the famous ancient philosopher,
Socrates. During the late 400s (BC), Philosophy was very serious and could be dangerous.
Socrates ignored the seriousness of Philosophy; this made him one of the most interesting and
understandable philosophers. He also ignored the dangers of his chosen profession; this cost him
his life. Socrates spent most of his days wandering the streets of Athens and simply talking to
people. It was his simple and personal approach to discussing philosophy that made him so radical
in the eyes of the government. Socrates was a realist. Socrates thought that reason finds truth.
Throughout his life, Socrates questioned many people but was never able to come up with a
universal truth.
Socrates was always anti-government. He felt that the government had no right to make a
person think or act in a particular way. Socrates believed that becoming a politician was the worst
career any man
...

I dont know if I really lived the earlier part of my life with a personal
philosophy. Some of it may have been naturally instinctive, and
some of it may have been just a part of my upbringing and guidance
from my parents.

In thinking about it, a certain portion of my life just felt like being in
a vehicle coasting down a hill without it being in gear. Every now
and then, I would pop the clutch and begin driving where I wanted to
go and what I wanted to do. Maybe putting it into gear let me get up
certain hills and then coast again.
I dont know if that is much different from most lives. When we look
back, how we got where we are and how we got with people we are
with sometimes seems mysterious.
What I am really saying, I guess, is that I was just doing enough. I
was not living my life fully engaged all the time. Having said that,
my life has been good and filled with many good things
relationships, family, jobs, and the list goes on.
Some things happen because they are beyond our control while
other things happen because we let them. Being in gear and driving
our life with a personal philosophy are what make an individual life
more meaningful. It will also be more meaningful for all the people
on and around our path.
Living an engaged life takes work. Living an inspired life takes even
more.
I truly believe that having a personal philosophy will help put ones
life in the right gear and transport one to more meaningful places.
So, what is my personal philosophy?
Live simply
Lead with Spirit
Always try to do the right things right
Take time to re-soul
There are many motivating actions and ideas intertwined within my
life philosophy which gives these simple statements depth, and it
includes such things as community, faith, and relationships. Going
back to the definition of philosophy, these four tenets make up my
core attitude and beliefs of what gets me going every day and, if
successful, gives me satisfaction at the end of the day.
I am among the imperfect, but I am trying to lead a more engaged
life today through this philosophy.

Quotes:

John locke

Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has a right to, but himself.

-When we talk about property (and property rights) we talk about a man owning his house or his land or
his horse. Locke is making the point that the first thing that a man owns is himself--his body is his property
-- no one has a right to take that property, to enslave him, to buy and sell him.

Socrates

I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.

-
It is a measure of intelligence for a person to realize that he or she cannot know everything. It's all brand-
new, no matter how 'advanced' a person gets in a field.
pythagoras

Silence is better than unmeaning words

- It means that if you got nothin' to say but foolishness, you better keep quiet, that's better that talk a lot,
and say nothing.

Thales

The past is certain, the future obscure.

Philosophy is not a "Way of Life" . Every person does not have his or her own "Philosophy".

Philosophy is not simply a theory about something. Nor is Philosophy a belief or a wish.

Philosophy is an activity: a quest after wisdom. Philosophy is an activity of thought.

Philosophy is a particular unique type of thought or style of thinking. Philosophy is not to be

confused with its product. What a philosopher provides is a body of philosophic thought NOT

a Philosophy. A philosopher enacts a Philosophy, a quest after wisdom.

Philosophy is not a picking and choosing what body of thought one would like to call

one's own or would like to believe in; a choice based upon personal preferences or feelings.

Philosophy is a pursuit. One can choose to be philosophical. One can choose to be a

philosopher. One can NOT choose a Philosophy. Philosophy, insofar as it may be correlated

at all to a "way of Life", is a form of thinking meant to guide action or to prescribe a way of

life. The philosophic way of life , if there is one, is displayed in a life in which action is held

to be best directed when philosophical reflection has provided that direction; e.g., SOCRATES

the paradigm of a philosopher.

Philosophy is an activity of thought, a type of thinking. Philosophy is critical and

comprehensive thought, the most critical and comprehensive manner of thinking which the

human species has yet devised. This intellectual process includes both an analytic and

synthetic mode of operation. Philosophy as a critical and comprehensive process of thought

involves resolving confusion, unmasking assumptions, revealing presuppositions,

distinguishing importance, testing positions, correcting distortions, looking for reasons,

examining world-views and questioning conceptual frameworks. It also includes dispelling

ignorance, enriching understanding, broadening experience, expanding horizons, developing

imagination , controlling emotion, exploring values, fixing beliefs by rational inquiry,

establishing habits of acting, widening considerations, synthesizing knowledge and questing

for wisdom.

Philosophy as a process functions as an activity which responds to society's demand

for wisdom, which is bringing together all that we know in order to obtain what we value.

Viewed in this way Philosophy is part of the activity of human growth and thus an integral,

essential part of the process of education. Philosophy and education have as a common

goal the development of the total intellect of a person, the realization of the human

potential.

What type of thought is Philosophy?

Philosophy is thought which is critical and comprehensive

analytic and synthetic

practical and theoretical

logical and empirical

Philosophy is thought which is CRITICAL, i.e.

i)it attempts to criticize assumptions, meanings, word usages, beliefs, and theories.

ii) it attempts to develop clear definitions and formulations of propositions and to retain
maximum precision in expression.

iii) it holds the LOGICAL criteria of consistency and coherency to be valuable

consistency

1 without contradiction

2 each term has univocal meaning

 3 meanings of terms don't vary between passages

coherency - that the terms and phrases have meaning in

relation to one another within a single framework of

thought. Terms are not totally reducible to others and

not meaningful without reference to others.

iv) it holds the EMPIRICAL criteria of adequacy and applicability

adequacy- that all that is given in experience is

accounted for within an analysis or explanation.

applicability- that there does not exist anything in the

explanation that has no referent to some element in

experience.

v) it is COMPREHENSIVE in attempting to address social and human problems reflective

inquiry must come to bear on a wide range of affairs with a critical eye that is unwavering.

As on issue leads into another, as reality as experienced is One, so too is thought

about such actual human affairs revelatory of the interconnection of issues and the
underlying unity. Such thought attempts to show how the principles of explanation and
basic categories of any conceptual schema are applicable throughout the breadth and depth
of human experience. Such Philosophic thought at its most abstract levels reveals the basic
insights into every area of life.

vi) Philosophic thought is SYNTHETIC insofar as it attempts to relate and coordinate all the
knowledge the sciences provide with the values revealed in the production of the
humanities. Such philosophic thought attempts to develop a concordance of ideas, values
and distinctions in order to answer fundamental questions and to present the most critically
formulated conceptual framework and world-view with which all subsequent thought would
work and help to evaluate and reformulate.

vii) Philosophy is PRACTICAL, insofar as the method of inquiry can be put to use solving
practical questions but even more so it is practical when the practice one seeks to activate
is solution of problems that have resulted from the inadequacies of the practical-common
sense approach to life. It is at such times that the most truly practical thing to have is a
theory. Theories help to analyze, explain, and assist in planning. At such times it becomes
practical to question assumptions, beliefs, current presuppositions, common sense, ideas
and the efficacy of current practices and it is only from the perspective of philosophic
thought that such an inquiry can take place.
viii) Philosophic thought is SPECULATIVE in pursuing questions that do not bear directly

on practical matters AT FIRST SIGHT. It is speculative in considering problems which only

highly abstract thought presents. It is speculative in developing truly presbyopic

perspectives and concerns. It is speculative in considering ultimate metaphysical issues,

pursuing the most critical formulation of principles held to govern thought and action, and

furthering mathematical and logical inquiry in its attempt to further the progress of

human thought and the improvement of the human condition.