Philosophy is the study of how people have thought about various issues over the course of history. (The word comes from two Greek roots and literally means “love of wisdom”.)

Philosophy is interesting and useful because it teaches us that people have not always thought the way we do today. It gives us a sense of perspective.

Philosophy shows us how people have answered difficult questions, such as: How did the world come into being? Does God exist? What is the nature of God? Why do evil and suffering exist? What things are good, beautiful, and true?

Ethics is a subcategory of philosophy. It examines how to live well, to do the right thing in a given circumstances, and why we should act a certain way.

Esthetics examines the nature of beauty. Epistemology looks at how we know what we know — the nature of reality.

At the high school level, a study of philosophy will probably be a general survey, not an in-depth examination. But the study of philosophy does require you to think, to stretch your mind, and to accept that there are many truths, not just one.

Good luck in your studies. The world needs philosophers to think about and find answers to the big questions of life!

You study the ideas of Plato, Socrates, Nietsche (sp.), Marx, Freud, and other great thinkers.

There’s some reading & some writing essays, but it should be interesting. It was easier for me than English essays.