What is philosophy?

Some ancient schools of philosophy divided their subject into three areas, which they called physics, logic and ethics. Philosophy is critical as well as creative, and for this reason there are such subjects as the philosophy of science and the philosophy of religion. Students are often surprised to find that different ‘introductions’ to philosophy can appear to be introductions to quite different subjects. In philosophy, nothing is beyond dispute, not even the nature of the subject itself. Certainly advances have been made in areas such as logic, but it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the history of philosophy seems to be characterized more by failure than by success. One of the strengths of philosophy is that by persistent questioning it leads us to fundamental assumptions, and duly reveals them to be assumptions. And assumptions are always precarious. This is why many people find philosophy uncomfortable.