Definition and Classification of Philosophy

Abstract

The conception of the world (mirovozzrenie) was formerly defined as “the all-embracing consideration of all phenomena in nature and society”¹; or as “a certain system of considering nature and society.”² A new definition runs as follows: “A system of views (vzgljadov), notions and conceptions of the world as a whole.” ³ It is often said that Dialectical Materialism, i.e. this philosophy, is the Communist conception of the world ⁴; however, a distinction should be drawn between the general and the particular meaning of the term. “The essential kernel of every conception of the world, the conception of the world in the proper sense of the word, is formed by philosophical notions.”⁵ But interpreted more widely, the conception of the world includes not only philosophy, but also the other sciences. Science has the task of presenting ‘an exact chart of the world’; in its wider interpretation, science is a system of apprehending the laws (zakonomer-nosti) which govern nature, human society and thought ⁶; while natural science studies the laws of nature, social sciences investigate the laws governing the evolution of human society. ⁷