Changes

The definition of the word "philosophy" in English has changed over the centuries -- in medieval times, any research outside the fields of [[theology]] or [[medicine]] was called "philosophy", hence the [[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society]] is a scientific journal dating from [[1665]], the [[Doctor of Philosophy]] (Ph.D.) degree covers a wide range of subjects, and the [[Cambridge Philosophical Society]] is actually concerned with what we would now call [[science]] and not modern philosophy.

The definition of the word "philosophy" in English has changed over the centuries -- in medieval times, any research outside the fields of [[theology]] or [[medicine]] was called "philosophy", hence the [[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society]] is a scientific journal dating from [[1665]], the [[Doctor of Philosophy]] (Ph.D.) degree covers a wide range of subjects, and the [[Cambridge Philosophical Society]] is actually concerned with what we would now call [[science]] and not modern philosophy.

=== Modern philosophy ===

=== [[Modern Philosophy]] ===

As with many periodizations, there are multiple current usages for the term "Modern Philosophy" that exist in practice. One usage is to date modern philosophy from the "[[Age of Reason]]", where systematic philosophy became common, excluding [[Erasmus]] and [[Niccolò Machiavelli|Machiavelli]] as "modern philosophers". Another is to date it, the way the entire larger modern period is dated, from the [[Renaissance]]. In some usages, "Modern Philosophy" ended in 1800, with the rise of Hegelianism and Idealism. There is also the [[lumpers/splitters]] problem, namely that some works split philosophy into more periods than others: one author might feel a strong need to differentiate between "The Age of Reason" or "Early Modern Philosophers" and "The Enlightenment", another author might write from the perspective that 1600-1800 is essentially one continuous evolution, and therefore a single period. Wikipedia's philosophy section therefore hews more closely to centuries as a means of avoiding long discussions over periods, but it is important to note the variety of practice that occurs.

As with many periodizations, there are multiple current usages for the term "Modern Philosophy" that exist in practice. One usage is to date modern philosophy from the "[[Age of Reason]]", where systematic philosophy became common, excluding [[Erasmus]] and [[Niccolò Machiavelli|Machiavelli]] as "modern philosophers". Another is to date it, the way the entire larger modern period is dated, from the [[Renaissance]]. In some usages, "Modern Philosophy" ended in 1800, with the rise of Hegelianism and Idealism. There is also the [[lumpers/splitters]] problem, namely that some works split philosophy into more periods than others: one author might feel a strong need to differentiate between "The Age of Reason" or "Early Modern Philosophers" and "The Enlightenment", another author might write from the perspective that 1600-1800 is essentially one continuous evolution, and therefore a single period. Wikipedia's philosophy section therefore hews more closely to centuries as a means of avoiding long discussions over periods, but it is important to note the variety of practice that occurs.