Why is it that each of several persons who share a common situation or setting will develop different beliefs?Why do individuals consider their beliefs true and others’beliefs false?Why do they value one thing as ugly while others value the same thing as beautiful?Or judge something or someone morally good or bad?Or accept something as real or not real?Why are we happy or unhappy?Can one of us contribute to the happiness of others?How do we learn to enjoy life?As we think about these kinds of questions，we are engaging in philosophical activity．This serves as the basis for formulating beliefs，a philosophy，related to the culture out of which the philosophical problems have grown．One’s individual philosophy then can be defined as the organized system of convictions or beliefs adapted from this philosophical activity．
　　The literal meaning of philosophy is“love of wisdom”．If one thinks of wisdom as“a high degree of knowledge”．the extended literal meaning of philosophy becomes“love of a high degree of knowledge”． On this point．Aristotle made a statement that typifies Greek thought：“All men by nature desire to know．”Aristotle’s statement does not specify“what”men and women desire to know．What to know as the essence of wisdom is something about which individuals disagree．Wisdom as the basis of philosophy encompasses religion，science，and art；it engages one’s thinking and deals with abstract concepts and theory．One who is seeking wisdom is concerned with observations，values，mental pictures，spiritual beings，knowledge，and nature．
　　Philosophy is speculative in that it attempts to construct patterns from life experiences that give meaning to reality in the universe．①Philosophy is prescriptive in that it evaluates facts for the purpose of recommending what ought to be as well as what is．Questions examining good or bad，right or wrong，beautiful or ugly are questions of prescriptive philosophy．Philosophy extends scientific statements of fact by considering questions that lie beyond the scope of science．
There is general agreement that there are three fundamental questions that are important in　describing philosophy：What iS real?
　　HOW do we know? What iS of value? When you are able tO determine your own answers tO these questions，the answers will mean the most tO you．Many individuals(teachers)，however，borrow from existing systems of thought as they try tO substantiate beliefs and discover wisdom．Classical philosophers tried tO answer these basic questions； their speculations have proved of inexhaustible interest tO all subsequent thinkers．Human life takes on meaning as the varied aspects of experience fall into some pattern．Philosophy tries tO investigate the whole of reality by assessing experiences and then organizing those experiences in a way that is sensible tO the individual．From this perspective，philosophy can be considered to be an inquiry into the whole human and cultural enterprise．考试大 [477 words]
　　1．The questions at the beginning of this passage are designed to______
　　A．define philosophy
　　B．define personal philosophy
　　C．clarify what people usually think
　　D．illustrate what philosophical activity may involve
　　2．Aristotle’S statement quoted in paragraph 2 ______．
　　A．clarifies what people desire to know
　　B．specifies the basis of philosophy
　　C．is used to explain what philosophy really means
　　D．is given to explain the essence of wisdom
　　3．According to this text，philosophy______
　　A．concerns more than scientific statements of fact
　　B．iS able tO solve all kinds of questions in the universe
　　C．attempts tO substantiate human beliefs
　　D．encompasses nothing but religion，science and art
　　4．It can be inferred from the text that______
　　A．philosophy is a high degree of knowledge
　　B．philosophy is inquisitive in nature
　　C．philosophy is concerned with seeking truth
　　D．philosophy is able tO answer all the fundamental questions in the universe
　　5．This text is mainly about______
　　A．the speculative nature of philosophy
　　B．the prescriptive nature of philosophy
　　C．the origin of philosophy
　　D．the meaning of philosophy

难句透析
　　①Philosophy is speculative in[that it attempts to construct patterns from life experiences(that give meaning to re- ality in the universe)]．
　　【结构】方括号所标示的部分是介词“in”的宾语从句；在这个宾语从句中的“that give…universe”是先行词“pat terns”的定语从句。
　　【释义】哲学的推断性在于，哲学试图从生活经验中构筑模式，这些模式为天下存在的万物赋以意义。 
　　全文翻译
　　为什么一群身处同样境遇或拥有同样经历的人会产生各自不同的信仰？为什么每个人都只认为自己的信仰是真的而别人的信仰是假的？为什么对同一个事物有人认为是丑的，而又有人认为是美的？为什么对人的评价有善有恶？为什么会对事件分出真假？我们是幸福还是不幸？我们中的某一个人是否能为其他人都带来幸福呢？我们又是怎样学会去享受生活的？当我们去思考这些类型的问题时，我们就是在进行哲学活动。这就是形成信仰的基础，当然信仰也是哲学的一个分支，信仰的形成是和哲学问题所植根的文化紧密联系在一起的。根据这一点，个人的哲学观就可以归纳为是由这些哲学活动中所衍生出来的有秩序的观念和信仰体系。