Philosophy is one of those subjects matters that is so large and that has so much information about it that if you were to attempt to learn about every type of philosophy or philosophical thinker, you would go your whole life without learning everything there is to know about philosophy. You'd be better off picking a topic like the Canadian trade mark firm. But luckily you don't need to know everything about philosophy. All the fun is in the learning. And who doesn't want to know about John Locke and his social contract theory or about Jean Jacques Rousseau and his theory of natural man?
The history of philosophy can be defined as the study of philosophical concepts and ideas through time. That can be seen as pretty vague, which is why philosophy is seen as such a tough subject to study because it deals with, but is not limited to, such thoughts as how one accounts for the changes of philosophy over time, how has philosophy accounted for historical changes to what degree have philosophy teachings from previous eras taught today's societies? It's at the center of everything, even whether to choose time consuming cloth diapers or environmentally unfriendly disposables for your child. Confusing, isn't it? Maybe taking that Ontario art tour instead of reading about philosophy isn't such a bad idea anymore.
No matter the culture, be it prehistoric, medieval, modern, Western, secular or ancient, they have all had their own schools of philosophical thought over the years. Each theory that they have learned or discovered has been done so independently and has grown from other premises. Does a sheet metal bender exist in an isolated park if no one knows it's there? Probably. But unless someone is out there searching for such a thing, it'll never be found and the best part of philosophy is the discovery of the different thoughts. The theory of rationalism that states the exercise of reason, not experience provides the basis for knowledge was discovered through logic. Or that empiricism that views that experience is the one true source of knowledge was arrived at from observation. Philosophical thoughts have developed from various thoughts over its history and philosophy tries to classify each thought.
On this website you'll learn about the differences between Western and Eastern philosophy. Western philosophy is divided up into ancient, modern, medieval and contemporary philosophy and includes thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. While Eastern philosophy deals with the various philosophies of such Asian countries as India and Persia where you will learn about Confucianism, which deals with human morality and right action and is considered one of China's oldest philosophies. So, it's time to stop cleaning out that fish tank filter and start learning about the complex history of metaphysics.
Any textbook or guide that you may have picked up at the Toronto print shop can claim to be the ultimate authority on the history of philosophy but the truth of the matter is that there is just too much information out there about the history of philosophy that you need to have as many sources as possible. This website deals with many branches of philosophy such as logic, aesthetics or the philosophy of mind and we hope that you'll be able to get a head start in learning about Immanuel Kant and his thoughts on ethics from us.
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