The very word “Philosophy” (which Pythagoras introduced, by the way) already contains the answer to the question of why this science plays such a great significance in the life of each of us. After all, a literal translation of this term means "love of wisdom." And which of us does not like sometimes to meditate, to philosophize? And if in the field of logarithms it is impossible to expand the lyrics, and the physicist feels uncertainly in the field of iamba and chorea, then they both like to think. Why is this so, and what is the role of philosophy in the life of man and society? Aristotle called her "the mistress of all sciences, whom they, like slaves, do not dare to contradict." Seneca, on the other hand, considered the ability to think as the main means of cultivating civic virtues, the intellect, and morality of a person.
The “love of wisdom” really stands above all sciences. Compared to it, each branch of knowledge is only a scrap. The role of philosophy in the life of man and society lies in the fact that it harmoniously combines the achievements of all disciplines and builds a system of our knowledge of the world as an integral phenomenon. Yes, philosophical views change due to discoveries in the field of other knowledge. For example, the heliocentric device of the solar system, discovered by Copernicus, and the origin of man from higher primates as a result of the evolution of species, proved by Darwin, made us reconsider philosophical concepts about the world order. But philosophy is a “connecting link”, which, taking advantage of achievements in individual areas, builds a definite “picture of the world”.
But the role of philosophy in the life of man and society is not limited to the construction of general principles of the universe (ontology). In our everyday life, in principle, we are not much concerned about whether the Earth moves around the Sun, or vice versa. Philosophical ontology is value and emotional connected with the human world, because it poses the questions: “Who are we in this world?”, “What is our place here?”, “What can we hope for?” That is, in addition to ontology, in the science of philosophy, which Aristotle also called metaphysics, the departments of anthropology (the doctrine of man and his being), social philosophy (the doctrine of the development of human society and the role of the individual in it) are distinguished, epistemology (that is, the theory of knowledge from Greek). Closing this series is religious studies, aesthetics and ethics.
If we learn, for example, that electric current is the movement of charged electrons, we absorb this information in our minds and remember it. Emotions remain unaffected. In the future, knowledge of the current will allow us to use an electrician for our needs and avoid a shock with a large discharge. However, knowledge of the flow of electrons will not change our lives, will not turn the inner world, will not be a motive to act in this way and not otherwise. The role of philosophy in the life of man and society is also important in that it builds a worldview, values ​​and ideals. She leads the actions of people, to some extent predetermines them. Knowing any concept of this humanities science, we feel sympathy or antipathy for it, it becomes “ours” or we completely reject it, which cannot be said if some natural or mathematical discipline is comprehended.
The role of philosophy in the life of a person, an individual, is hard to overestimate. To the questions “Who am I and why do I live?”, “What will happen to me after the death of my body?” religion is also responsible, but, unlike it, philosophy uses a scientific evidence apparatus. Does it comfortingly answer existential questions? It depends on what concept this individual is inclined to. Morality is also a product of philosophical views. Respect for each person, as in another universe, is opposed to the concepts of Machiavellianism and Social Darwinism.
The fact that man is a “zoon politikon”, a public animal, was also known to ancient sages. And this creature is trying not to adapt to the conditions of the world, but to remake it "for itself." The role of philosophy in society is that it seeks answers to the questions: “Is it possible to build an ideal society on earth?”, “How should it be?”, “What should govern the human masses?”, “Is it possible to achieve equality and brotherhood or is it utopia? ”