What Are the Analytic & Constructive Tasks of Philosophy?

The history of philosophy stretches back over 2,500 years -- back to the ancient Greeks. Over the course of its development as an activity -- and later a formal discipline -- several branches of philosophy have emerged. While the matters covered by each branch vary, there are several analytic and constructive tasks that are common in philosophy.
  1. Uncovering the Strength of an Argument

    • One of the most common and important analytic tasks of philosophy is uncovering the structure and reasoning behind an argument in order to determine whether the argument is a strong one, or not. This task may be applied to the argument itself, or it may be used as part of an effort to determine which of a series of arguments is strongest. This task involves examining the points made in an argument, one by one, and looking at how they fit together.

    Determining the Good Life

    • One of the oldest questions in philosophy is: "How should we live?" This question was asked by the ancient Greeks and is still asked today. This constructive task of philosophy involves asking questions and making reasoned arguments with an aim to deciding how a group of people ought to live together in one place: the structure of their social order, the laws they will follow and the types of individual lives they think are valuable.

    Understanding Reality

    • The task of understanding reality falls into the category of analytic tasks of philosophy. This task can be broken into a series of smaller areas -- such as logic, metaphysics or the philosophy of science. Philosophers often try to understand how people think, process information and experience the world through their senses. This task is analytic because it involves breaking down human experience with an aim to understanding how humans engage with and understand the world.

    Philosophy of Religion

    • The philosophy of religion -- which is often tied closely to theology -- is both analytic and constructive. Part of this approach to philosophy involves determining certain axioms and principles derived from divine sources, while another part is bound up in analyzing the arguments for and against the very existence of a god. Many philosophers also engage with individual religious claims, examining their validity and plausibility.

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