What do you think the essence of philosophy is in an academic setting?

Answer 1

Ideally, the essence of philosophy is the same in all settings. Etymologically, to be a philosopher is to be a lover of wisdom. Therefore, anyone who seeks after wisdom is doing philosophy. Aristotle distinguished between theoretical and practical wisdom. Professors of philosophy often concentrate on theoretical wisdom. While the most fundamental ideas are not necessarily the most important, they are the ones philosophers most often discuss in the academy. For example, the question "What is a wise human being?" is important. We would like to understand its answer so that we can become wise. Notice that answering it takes for granted or presupposes the answer to a more fundamental question, namely, "What is a human being?" If you don't know what humans being are, it's impossible to sort them into those who are wise and those who are not. Notice also that the question "What is a human being?" takes for granted or presupposes the answer to a more fundamental question, namely, "What is a being?" If you don't know what beings are, it's impossible to sort them into those who are wise and those who are not. Since any claims about beings are worthless unless backed by evidence, another fundamental idea is the idea of evidence. Since an understanding of reality should ground the decisions that we make about how to live, the idea of value is a third fundamental idea. In this way, the essence of philosophy in the academy often focuses on three fundamental ideas, namely, being (reality, existence), evidence (apprehending, knowing, believing), and valuing. The relevant disciplines, namely, ontology, epistemology, and axiology, are central to philosophy.