User:Phlsph7/Philosophy - influence section

Relation to other fields

Philosophy is closely related to many other fields. It is sometimes understood as a metadiscipline that clarifies their nature and limits. It does this by critically examining their basic concepts, background assumptions, and methods. In this regard, it plays a key role in providing an interdisciplinary perspective. It bridges the gap between different disciplines by analyzing which concepts and problems they have in common. It shows how they overlap while also delimiting their scope. Historically, philosophy is often considered the "mother of all sciences" since most of the individual sciences formed part of philosophy until they reached their status as autonomous disciplines.

The influence of philosophy is felt in various fields that require difficult practical decisions. In bioethics, philosophical considerations affect issues like whether an embryo is already a person and under what conditions abortion is morally permissible. A closely related philosophical problem is how humans should treat other animals, for example, whether it is acceptable to use non-human animals as food or for research experiments. In relation to business and professional life, philosophy has contributed by providing ethical frameworks. They contain guidelines on which business practices are morally acceptable and cover the issue of the corporate social responsibility of CEOs and stockholders. In the field of politics, philosophy addresses issues like what the ideal form of government is and how to assess whether a government policy is just.

Philosophical inquiry is relevant to many fields that are concerned with what to believe and how to arrive at evidence for one's beliefs. This is a key issue for the sciences, which have as one of their prime objectives the creation of scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence but it is often not clear whether empirical observations are neutral or already include theoretical assumptions. A closely related problem is whether the available evidence is sufficient to decide between competing theories.

In the fields of theology and religion, there are many doctrines associated with the existence and nature of God as well as rules governing correct behavior. A key issue is whether a rational person should believe these doctrines, for example, whether revelation in the form of holy books and religious experiences of the divine are sufficient evidence for these beliefs.

A similar problem in relation to the law is what counts as evidence and how much evidence is required to find a person guilty of a crime. A related problem affects journalists who have to decide whether a source of information is reliable. Another philosophical issue in this field is how to ensure objectivity when reporting on events and how to avoid implicit or explicit biases.

Philosophy in the form of logic has been influential in the field of mathematics and computer science. Further fields influenced by philosophy include psychology, sociology, linguistics, education, and art.

On a cultural level, philosophy helps shape the self-understanding of a society by making its norms and values explicit. It does this, for example, by examining and comparing worldviews. Such comparisons can show how one culture differs from another and how different attitudes toward the same issue are possible. Besides articulating dominant norms and values, philosophy can also act as a critical voice that points out their shortcomings. On a more personal level, it encourages critical thinking and open-mindedness by prompting individuals to question the assumptions and values they hold.

However, the idea that philosophy is useful for many aspects of life and society is sometimes rejected. According to one such view, philosophy is a useless activity that is only done for its own sake. This would mean that it does not help existing practices and makes no significant contributions to external goals. Other criticisms see philosophy as an outdated enterprise that should be replaced by empirical sciences or hold that philosophical claims are meaningless.

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