History of philosophy

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The history of philosophy is the systematic study of the development of philosophical thought. It focuses on philosophy as rational examination based on arguing, but some people also include myth and religious traditions.

Western philosophy started with a question about the basic nature of the outer space in Ancient Greece. Later philosophical developments covered several different topics including the nature of reality and the mind, how people should act, and how to arrive at knowledge. The medieval period was focused more on theology. The Renaissance period saw a renewed interest in Ancient Greek philosophy and the coming of humanism. The modern period was seen as an increased focus on how philosophical and scientific knowledge is created. Its new ideas were used during the Enlightenment period to challenge traditional people in charge. Important developments in the 19th and 20th centuries included German idealism, pragmatism, positivism, formal logic, linguistic analysis, phenomenology, existentialism, and postmodernism.