PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY The term philosophy is derived from two Greek words ‘philein’ meaning love, to strive after, to search for; and ‘sophia’ meaning wisdom. Philosophy thus involves a search for wisdom by a philosopher. Philosophers take nothing for granted: not even themselves or their wisdom: as such they are constantly searching for answers and are concerned with the meaning and significance of life. This search can make them a nuisance to everyone e.g. Socrates spent most of his time in the streets of Athens going around discussing with people, taking nothing for granted and questioning everything e.g. what is good, what is true, what is beautiful, what is courage, justice democracy. He considered his task similar to that of a midwife and a sculptor: to bring to birth a new idea, and to create new things, new knowledge respectively. Eventually people in the state of Athens grew tired of him and p...