PHILOSOPHY, a term said by Diogenes Laertius to have been suggested by Pythagoras, who, on being compli mented on his wisdom, said that he was not wise, but a lover of wisdom (philos sophia), the Deity alone being wise. Philosophy, while earnest in amassing knowledge, aimed chiefly at penetrating to the principles of things. Popularly, it is divided into natural and mental phi losophy, the former investigating the physical laws of nature, the latter those regulating the human mind. The term philosophy is now generally restricted to the second of these. Even as thus re duced it has a very wide sphere. Thus, there is a philosophy of history (see HISTORY). All the nations of antiquity had a philosophy, that of the Greeks be ing specially celebrated. The chief schools were: The Pythagorean, com menced about 500 B. C.; the Platonic 374 B. C.; the Peripatetic, 334 B. C.; the Scep tic, 334 B. C.; the Cynic, 330 B. C.; the
Epicurean, 306 B. C.; the Stoic, 280 B. c.; the Middle Academy, 278 B. C.; the New Academy, 160 B. c.; the New Platonists, A. D. 200 (?). Of modern systems the perceptive and sensational philosophy of Locke arose about 1690; the idealistic of Berkeley and Hume, 1710; the common sense philosophy of Reid, etc., 1750; the transcendental of Kant, 1770; the scien tific philosophy of Fichte, 1800; the ideal istic philosophy of Hegel in 1810; the positive philosophy of Comte in 1830, and the evolutionary philosophy of Herbert Spencer in 1852, or more deci dedly in 1855. Also the course of sciences read in the schools, and required for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the universities of Germany, etc., and cor responding to Arts in the United States.
For more modern philosophy consult the works of Jamles, Royce, Bergson, Von Mach, Sidgwick, Taylor, etc.