by C. Spencer

Created on: October 18, 2008

Although philosophy and philosophical thinking are often caricatured in various ways (one thinks of someone navel-gazing, or a bumbling professor spouting off complicated gobbledygook), genuine philosophizing is a deeply personal, rational investigation into the reasons for one's beliefs.

Philosophers since the time of Socrates have understood philosophizing to be a form of

self-examination in which one explores (usually in conversation with other people) what reasons one has for believing what one does, and whether those reasons are good
reasons. Understood in this way, philosophy is absolutely distinct from rhetoric (the art of persuasion), since the point of philosophizing is not to convince
anyone of anything, but rather to reveal for oneself the justification for one's own beliefs (or, as often happens, the lack
of justification!).

One thing should be immediately obvious: there is a sense in which everyone
philosophizes to a certain extent. At various points in our lives, we all inevitably question our reasons for believing one thing or another. For many people, the question of God's existence and the legitimacy of religion are the subjects of very profound and deeply personal philosophical reflection. Similarly, many people find themselves challenged to evaluate (or re-evaluate) their moral beliefs at different times in their lives.

Sometimes, philosophical reflection can be spurred on or instigated as a result of reading an interesting story, or watching a film. Many people who watched The Matrix or Vanilla Sky
left the theater asking themselves, "How do I know I am not dreaming?" Similarly, many people who have read Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov found themselves challenged to consider whether they believe that if there were no God, there would be no moral law (as discussed by the brothers). It is not surprising that questions regarding moral and religious beliefs have occupied philosophers throughout time. These are some of the most universally relevant and interesting matters to which philosophical reflection can be put.

Of course, philosophical thinking can be applied to much more scientific-sounding subjects. It is not uncommon for philosophers to consider whether there are laws of nature (as opposed to mere statistical laws), or whether the universe contains only physical things or also non-material things (like souls). In the nomenclature of the philosopher, these are not really scientific questions, but instead, metaphysical questions. They are philosophical

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