This is not an easy question to answer. The word 'philosophy' means simply, 'love of wisdom', and the early philosophers were also the leading thinkers in areas on knowledge in general - science, religion, politics &c. Nowadays, these branches of thought are increasingly specialised and philosophy has separated off from them as a distinct discipline. It is about the interpretation and meaning of what these different areas of learning have to tell us.

For example : Science may teach us that all matter is made of quarks and leptons. Philosophy asks the question, what does it mean to speak of these paradoxical entities, in principle unobservable and detectable only by their effects. Theology may teach us about God, but philosophy, in turn, asks how we are to understand talk of an invisible, eternal being. Philosophy may even ask whether scientists and theologians are not actually talking about the same thing, just in different language.

There are many important areas of philosophy, but here are three of the most important :

METAPHYSICS - what is there? What is the ultimate nature of being?

EPISTEMOLOGY - what can we know and how do we know it?

AXOLOGY - what is good, or right? This is the science of values.

LOGIC - the science of good argument.

Here is a simple example of how philosophy can question even the plainest of statements:

"I believe in God"

Firstly, who or what is this 'I' who claims it believes in God. Is this statement equivalent to a lump of matter self-referentially reporting the state of its processor (its brain)? Or is there a spirit or soul involved? Is the belief a property of this spirit or of the matter it inhabits?

Secondly, what does 'believe' mean? Can you describe belief without using the word 'believe' or some synonym? Religious thinkers would distinguish between believing passively, as a purely cognitive, or mental state, and believing as an act of faith.

What or who is God? You would never say, 'I believe in squamalox', because it is meaningless. Many people claim that the concept of God is at worst ill-defined and at best meaningless. Certainly, different people, all saying they believe in God, might mean totally different things by this.

This option will look at many questions and try to begin the search for answers, but all the time I would like you to challenge your opinions by looking at the deeper questions behind them. You might be surprised by what we find.

We will begin today by asking the biggest question of all - What is the meaning of life?

We will not find an answer today! But we will analyse the question and look at how each of you, in your own lives, might set about finding the answer. We will use some of the questions you raise as the starting points for later sessions.

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