Walter Kaufmann once said, “philosophy means liberation from the - routine, soaring above the well known, seeing it in new perspectives, arousing wonder and the wish to fly.” I think this quote means that philosophy is the path that leads us to examine and change our lives for the better. Philosophy all began with the classic greeks when they started studying human behavior. They divided the art of philosophy into three main categories, which are metaphysics, logic, and ethics. Metaphysics is the study of the universe and the world around us. Logic is the science of reasoning, which means deciding cause and effect. Ethics the third category of philosophy pertains to choosing between right and wrong. A more modern and simple definition of philosophy would be, a system of organized logic and beliefs about the world that lead to certain behaviors and actions. Both of these are called formal philosophy. Formal philosophy is intended to be studied, examined, and followed by the world. As intelligent beings most of us have examined our own lives and have discovered a personal understanding of behavior. This is known as an informal or personal philosophy. I understand that as a society it is necessary to have a core value system that everyone agrees upon and for the most part follows, however, I believe there is room for individuals to develop their own ideas involving right behavior. With all of this in mind I am going to share my personal philosophy. Metaphysics
This universe, that we call ours was created and is ran by a series of natural laws. Natural laws are predictable and universal ways reality works. I believe that natural laws are governed by a divine power. The divine power that guides our universe is better known as God. I believe that God designed natural laws so that the universe will operate the way that it does. God is also bound by the same natural laws we are, but He is able to use the natural laws in ways that we cannot comprehend. It is like a God is a skilled carpenter and we are beavers. With wood a carpenter can craft chairs, tables, nightstands, and many other things. With the same material a beaver can make a dam. A miracle is just God using not changing the natural laws. As humans we cannot completely understand how He does it. Science is just us learning how God uses the natural laws. The more scientific discoveries we make the closer we are to understanding how God uses the natural laws. Although, we can learn more about how the natural laws work we will never understand as much as God does. Most people think that you either have to believe in evolution or in God, but the two ideas are not mutually exclusive. Evolution is the way God made us, using natural laws. The creation of man described in the Bible is the end result of God’s actions. Evolution is the process of God’s creation. I like to compare this to a baking a pie. In order to make an apple pie dough needs to be made, apples need to be peeled and sliced, filling needs to be mixed, and it all needs to be put in the oven to cook. After the pie is finished cooking it is cut and served. The process of the pie being prepared is evolution. We see the time it takes for the pie to be created. God is represented by people who are served the pie. To God the pie was instantaneous, but in reality the pie went through a process to become what it is. In order for this concept to be true God has to be timeless. Because God is timeless it allows creation to take place over any length of our perceived time and still be simultaneous for him. So in other words our creation was instantaneous to God but to us our creation took time. Because the Bible is God's words it is written that we were created instantaneously. Along with my body God gave me emotions. My emotions are the data that my senses gather. For example when someone punches me I feel pain then I get angry. The data my senses gather is pain and the resulting emotion is anger. Every other