Big Wonder Questions: What Is Philosophy?
A long, long time ago — about 2,400 years ago — in a busy marketplace in Athens, Greece, a man named Socrates walked around asking people questions. Not easy questions like "what is your name?" but big, tricky questions like "what does it really mean to be brave?" He was not trying to trick anyone. He just loved to wonder. People started calling what he did philosophy, and it is still one of the biggest ideas in the whole world.
What You'll Learn
By the end of this lesson you will be able to: say what the word philosophy means; name one thing Socrates did that made him a philosopher; ask your own big wonder question about something everyday; and explain why asking "why" is a philosopher's favorite thing to do.
A Very Old Word for Loving to Wonder
The word philosophy comes from two old Greek words: philo, which means love, and sophia, which means wisdom. So philosophy means love of wisdom! A philosopher is simply someone who loves to think hard about big questions and does not mind if the answer is tricky to find.
Questions Philosophers Still Ask
Philosophers ask questions that do not have one easy answer. Here are three kinds of questions real philosophers still ask today: What is fair? (Is it fair if one friend gets a bigger slice of cake?) What is brave? (Is it brave to try something scary, even if you are still a little scared?) What makes something the SAME thing? (If you replace every block in a tower one at a time, is it still the same tower at the end?) These questions make you stop and really think, which is exactly what philosophy is for.
Pick something you know, like "I brush my teeth every day." Ask yourself why. Then ask why again about your answer. Then ask why one more time. By the third why, you are usually asking a real philosophy question!
You Are Already a Philosopher
If you have ever asked "but WHY?" about something grown-ups do, you have already done philosophy. Little kids ask why more than almost anyone else in the world — why is the sky blue, why do we have to sleep, why can't dogs talk. Every one of those questions is the same kind of question Socrates asked in the marketplace 2,400 years ago.
Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer
What does the word philosophy actually mean?
What did Socrates do in the marketplace in Athens that made him a philosopher?
Ask Your Own Big Wonder Question
Think of one thing you do every day, like eating breakfast or saying goodnight. Ask yourself 'why do I do this?' three times in a row, writing down each answer. Then draw a picture of yourself asking your very own big wonder question, and share it with a family member tonight to see what they think the answer is.
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