Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game ). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individuals, economic and social groups, etc. The rivalry can be over attainment of any exclusive goal, including recognition .
167-413: Competition occurs in nature, between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment . Animals compete over water supplies, food, mates, and other biological resources . Humans usually compete for food and mates , though when these needs are met deep rivalries often arise over the pursuit of wealth , power, prestige, and fame when in a static, repetitive, or unchanging environment. Competition
334-425: A linguistic therapy. According to Ludwig Wittgenstein , for instance, philosophy aims at dispelling misunderstandings to which humans are susceptible due to the confusing structure of ordinary language . Phenomenologists , such as Edmund Husserl , characterize philosophy as a "rigorous science" investigating essences . They practice a radical suspension of theoretical assumptions about reality to get back to
501-573: A process. It is a process of rivalry between firms (or consumers) intensifying selective pressures for improvements. One can restate this as a process of discovery. Three levels of end-state economic competition have been classified: In addition, companies compete for financing on the capital markets (equity or debt) in order to generate the necessary cash for their operations. Investor typically consider alternative investment opportunities given their risk profile, and not only look at companies just competing on product ( direct competitors ). Enlarging
668-410: A ball, or defending territory on a playing field is not an innate biological factor in humans. Athletes in sports such as gymnastics and competitive diving compete against each other in order to come closest to a conceptual ideal of a perfect performance, which incorporates measurable criteria and standards which are translated into numerical ratings and scores by appointed judges. Sports competition
835-441: A capacity to grow , respond to stimuli , reproduce and, through natural selection , adapt to their environment in successive generations. More complex living organisms can communicate through various means. An ecosystem (also called an environment) is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals, and micro-organisms ( biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( abiotic ) factors of
1002-473: A combination of both. People that enjoy entering competitions are known as compers. Many philosophers and psychologists have identified a trait in most living organisms which can drive the particular organism to compete. This trait, called competitiveness, is viewed as having a high adaptive value , which coexists along with the urge for survival. Competitiveness, or the inclination to compete, though, has become synonymous with aggressiveness and ambition in
1169-480: A decision. Sigmund Freud explained competition as a primal dilemma in which all infants find themselves. The infant competes with other family members for the attention and affection of the parent of the opposite sex or the primary caregiving parent. During this time, a boy develops a deep fear that the father (the son's prime rival) will punish him for these feelings of desire for the mother, by castrating him. Girls develop penis envy towards all males. The girl's envy
1336-641: A decreased food supply for the wildlife in an area. The atmosphere of the Earth serves as a key factor in sustaining the planetary ecosystem. The thin layer of gases that envelops the Earth is held in place by the planet's gravity. Dry air consists of 78% nitrogen , 21% oxygen , 1% argon , inert gases and carbon dioxide . The remaining gases are often referred to as trace gases. The atmosphere includes greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Filtered air includes trace amounts of many other chemical compounds . Air also contains
1503-431: A deliberate system of internal brand-versus-brand rivalry. The company was organized around different brands , with each brand allocated resources, including a dedicated group of employees willing to champion the brand. Each brand manager was given responsibility for the success or failure of the brand, and compensated accordingly. Most businesses also encourage competition between individual employees. An example of this
1670-545: A doctor diagnoses a disease based on the observed symptoms. Logic also investigates incorrect forms of reasoning. They are called fallacies and are divided into formal and informal fallacies based on whether the source of the error lies only in the form of the argument or also in its content and context. Metaphysics is the study of the most general features of reality , such as existence, objects and their properties , wholes and their parts , space and time , events , and causation . There are disagreements about
1837-399: A game of basketball , two teams compete against one another to determine who can score the most points. When there is no set reward for the winning team, many players gain a sense of pride . In addition, extrinsic rewards may also be given. Athletes, besides competing against other humans, also compete against nature in sports such as whitewater kayaking or mountaineering , where the goal
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#17327871411962004-596: A given market. The two academic bodies of thought on the assessment of competitiveness are the Structure Conduct Performance Paradigm and the more contemporary New Empirical Industrial Organisation model. Predicting changes in the competitiveness of business sectors is becoming an integral and explicit step in public policymaking. Within capitalist economic systems, the drive of enterprises is to maintain and improve their own competitiveness. One-upmanship , also called "one-upsmanship",
2171-444: A great variety of methods to arrive at philosophical knowledge. They include conceptual analysis , reliance on common sense and intuitions , use of thought experiments , analysis of ordinary language , description of experience , and critical questioning . Philosophy is related to many other fields, including the sciences, mathematics , business , law , and journalism . It provides an interdisciplinary perspective and studies
2338-413: A high level of agency thrive on competition, are self-motivated, and are willing to risk failure. Compared to their counterparts who are low in agency, these students are more likely to be flexible, adaptable and creative as adults. Merriam-Webster gives as one definition of competition (relating to business ) as "[...] rivalry: such as [...] the effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure
2505-617: A means for aspiring writers to gain recognition. Awards for fiction include those sponsored by the Missouri Review , Boston Review , Indiana Review , North American Review and Southwest Review . The Albee Award, sponsored by the Yale Drama Series, is among the most prestigious playwriting awards. Margaret Heffernan 's study, A Bigger Prize , examines the perils and disadvantages of competition in (for example) biology, families, sport, education, commerce and
2672-702: A metaphysical foundation of ethics. The modern period in Chinese philosophy began in the early 20th century and was shaped by the influence of and reactions to Western philosophy. The emergence of Chinese Marxism —which focused on class struggle , socialism , and communism —resulted in a significant transformation of the political landscape. Another development was the emergence of New Confucianism , which aims to modernize and rethink Confucian teachings to explore their compatibility with democratic ideals and modern science. Traditional Japanese philosophy assimilated and synthesized ideas from different traditions, including
2839-455: A mud hut or a photovoltaic system in the desert , the modified environment becomes an artificial one. Though many animals build things to provide a better environment for themselves, they are not human, hence beaver dams and the works of mound-building termites are thought of as natural. People cannot find absolutely natural environments on Earth,naturalness usually varies in a continuum, from 100% natural in one extreme to 0% natural in
3006-468: A noticeable growth in the number of female philosophers , but they still remained underrepresented. Arabic–Persian philosophy arose in the early 9th century CE as a response to discussions in the Islamic theological tradition . Its classical period lasted until the 12th century CE and was strongly influenced by ancient Greek philosophers. It employed their ideas to elaborate and interpret the teachings of
3173-460: A part of intellectual history , but it also investigates questions not covered by intellectual history such as whether the theories of past philosophers are true and have remained philosophically relevant. The history of philosophy is primarily concerned with theories based on rational inquiry and argumentation; some historians understand it in a looser sense that includes myths , religious teachings , and proverbial lore. Influential traditions in
3340-454: A pond from many other aquatic terrain features, such as stream pools and tide pools . Humans impact the water in different ways such as modifying rivers (through dams and stream channelization ), urbanization and deforestation . These impact lake levels, groundwater conditions, water pollution, thermal pollution, and marine pollution . Humans modify rivers by using direct channel manipulation. We build dams and reservoirs and manipulate
3507-437: A population. However, competition among resources also has a strong tendency for diversification between members of the same species, resulting in coexistence of competitive and non-competitive strategies or cycles between low and high competitiveness. Third parties within a species often favour highly competitive strategies leading to species extinction when environmental conditions are harsh ( evolutionary suicide ). Competition
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#17327871411963674-400: A qualitative and quantitative understanding of the principal areas or spheres of Earth. The Earth's crust or lithosphere , is the outermost solid surface of the planet and is chemically, physically and mechanically different from underlying mantle . It has been generated greatly by igneous processes in which magma cools and solidifies to form solid rock. Beneath the lithosphere lies
3841-430: A river is usually in a channel , made up of a stream bed between banks . In larger rivers there is often also a wider floodplain shaped by waters over-topping the channel. Flood plains may be very wide in relation to the size of the river channel. Rivers are a part of the hydrological cycle . Water within a river is generally collected from precipitation through surface runoff , groundwater recharge , springs and
4008-513: A significant role in natural selection . At shorter time scales, competition is also one of the most important factors controlling diversity in ecological communities, but at larger scales expansion and contraction of ecological space is a much larger factor than competition. This is illustrated by living plant communities where asymmetric competition and competitive dominance frequently occur. Multiple examples of symmetric and asymmetric competition also exist for animals. In Australia, New Zealand and
4175-503: A simple concept to measure heights that firms can climb may help improve execution of strategies. International competitiveness can be measured on several criteria but few are as flexible and versatile to be applied across levels as Trade Competitiveness Index (TCI) The tendency toward extreme, unhealthy competition has been termed hypercompetitiveness . This concept originated in Karen Horney 's theories on neurosis ; specifically,
4342-507: A variable amount of water vapor and suspensions of water droplets and ice crystals seen as clouds . Many natural substances may be present in tiny amounts in an unfiltered air sample, including dust , pollen and spores , sea spray , volcanic ash and meteoroids . Various industrial pollutants also may be present, such as chlorine (elementary or in compounds), fluorine compounds, elemental mercury , and sulphur compounds such as sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ). The ozone layer of
4509-612: A variety of arguments. Deductive arguments are mainly studied by formal logic. An argument is deductively valid if the truth of its premises ensures the truth of its conclusion. Deductively valid arguments follow a rule of inference , like modus ponens , which has the following logical form : " p ; if p then q ; therefore q ". An example is the argument "today is Sunday; if today is Sunday then I don't have to go to work today; therefore I don't have to go to work today". The premises of non-deductive arguments also support their conclusion, although this support does not guarantee that
4676-615: A wide area of philosophical subfields. A central topic in Arabic–Persian philosophy is the relation between reason and revelation . Indian philosophy combines the spiritual problem of how to reach enlightenment with the exploration of the nature of reality and the ways of arriving at knowledge. Chinese philosophy focuses principally on practical issues in relation to right social conduct, government, and self-cultivation . Major branches of philosophy are epistemology , ethics , logic , and metaphysics . Epistemology studies what knowledge
4843-590: A wide array of economic phenomena and approaches, such as auctions , bargaining , mergers & acquisitions pricing, fair division , duopolies , oligopolies , social network formation, agent-based computational economics , general equilibrium , mechanism design , and voting systems ; and across such broad areas as experimental economics , behavioral economics , information economics , industrial organization , and political economy . This research usually focuses on particular sets of strategies known as "solution concepts" or "equilibria" . A common assumption
5010-436: Is a terrain feature , a body of water that is localized to the bottom of basin . A body of water is considered a lake when it is inland, is not part of an ocean and is larger and deeper than a pond . Natural lakes on Earth are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones and areas with ongoing or recent glaciation . Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers. In some parts of
5177-494: Is a combination of different parts and attempts to identify what those parts are. An influential theory in this area claims that knowledge has three components: it is a belief that is justified and true . This theory is controversial and the difficulties associated with it are known as the Gettier problem . Alternative views state that knowledge requires additional components, like the absence of luck; different components, like
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5344-510: Is a common issue in relation to the sources of knowledge and the justification they offer. It is based on the idea that beliefs require some kind of reason or evidence to be justified. The problem is that the source of justification may itself be in need of another source of justification. This leads to an infinite regress or circular reasoning . Foundationalists avoid this conclusion by arguing that some sources can provide justification without requiring justification themselves. Another solution
5511-402: Is a contest between sales representatives. The sales representative with the highest sales (or the best improvement in sales) over a period of time would gain benefits from the employer. This is also known as intra-brand competition . Shalev and Asbjornsen found that success (i.e. the saving resulted) of reverse auctions correlated most closely with competition. The literature widely supported
5678-429: Is a free entry lottery run to promote goods or services supplied by a business. An example is where you purchase goods or services and then given the chance to enter into the lottery and possibly win a prize. A trade promotion lottery can be called a lotto, competition, contest, sweepstake, or giveaway. Such competitions can be games of luck (randomly drawn) or skill (judged on an entry question or submission), or possibly
5845-442: Is a major factor in education. On a global scale, national education systems, intending to bring out the best in the next generation, encourage competitiveness among students through scholarships . Countries such as England and Singapore have special education programmes which cater for specialist students, prompting charges of academic elitism . Upon receipt of their academic results, students tend to compare their grades to see who
6012-418: Is a major tenet of market economies and business, often associated with business competition as companies are in competition with at least one other firm over the same group of customers. Competition inside a company is usually stimulated with the larger purpose of meeting and reaching higher quality of services or improved products that the company may produce or develop. Competition is often considered to be
6179-541: Is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its own methods and assumptions. Historically, many of the individual sciences , such as physics and psychology , formed part of philosophy. However, they are considered separate academic disciplines in the modern sense of the term. Influential traditions in the history of philosophy include Western , Arabic–Persian , Indian , and Chinese philosophy . Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece and covers
6346-561: Is a set of essential features shared by all parts of philosophy. Others see only weaker family resemblances or contend that it is merely an empty blanket term. Precise definitions are often only accepted by theorists belonging to a certain philosophical movement and are revisionistic according to Søren Overgaard et al. in that many presumed parts of philosophy would not deserve the title "philosophy" if they were true. Some definitions characterize philosophy in relation to its method, like pure reasoning. Others focus on its topic, for example, as
6513-467: Is also concerned with the moral evaluation of character traits and institutions. It explores what the standards of morality are and how to live a good life. Philosophical ethics addresses such basic questions as "Are moral obligations relative?"; "Which has priority: well-being or obligation?"; and "What gives life meaning?" The main branches of ethics are meta-ethics , normative ethics , and applied ethics . Meta-ethics asks abstract questions about
6680-452: Is also found in trade . For nations, as well as firms it is important to understand trade dynamics in order to market their goods and services effectively in international markets. Balance of trade can be considered a crude, but widely used proxy for international competitiveness across levels: country , industry or even firm . “We share a common belief that innovation comes from the edges,” said Luisa Delgado, an SAP HR director, who noted
6847-445: Is also present between species ("interspecific"). When resources are limited, several species may depend on these resources. Thus, each of the species competes with the others to gain access to the resources. As a result, species less suited to compete for the resources may die out unless they adapt by character dislocation, for instance. According to evolutionary theory , this competition within and between species for resources plays
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7014-483: Is an expression of the philosopher's love of wisdom and has the aim of improving one's well-being by leading a reflective life. For example, the Stoics saw philosophy as an exercise to train the mind and thereby achieve eudaimonia and flourish in life. As a discipline, the history of philosophy aims to provide a systematic and chronological exposition of philosophical concepts and doctrines. Some theorists see it as
7181-666: Is and how to acquire it. Ethics investigates moral principles and what constitutes right conduct. Logic is the study of correct reasoning and explores how good arguments can be distinguished from bad ones. Metaphysics examines the most general features of reality , existence, objects , and properties . Other subfields are aesthetics , philosophy of language , philosophy of mind , philosophy of religion , philosophy of science , philosophy of mathematics , philosophy of history , and political philosophy . Within each branch, there are competing schools of philosophy that promote different principles, theories, or methods. Philosophers use
7348-522: Is around 35 parts per thousand (ppt) (3.5%), and nearly all seawater has a salinity in the range of 30 to 38 ppt. Though generally recognized as several separate oceans, these waters comprise one global, interconnected body of salt water often referred to as the World Ocean or global ocean. The deep seabeds are more than half the Earth's surface, and are among the least-modified natural environments. The major oceanic divisions are defined in part by
7515-488: Is better. In severe cases, the pressure to perform in some countries is so high that it can result in stigmatization of intellectually deficient students, or even suicide as a consequence of failing the exams. Critics of competition as a motivating factor in education systems, such as Alfie Kohn , assert that competition actually has a net negative influence on the achievement levels of students, and that it "turns all of us into losers". Economist Richard Layard has commented on
7682-588: Is closely connected with the law on deregulation of access to markets, providing state aids and subsidies, the privatisation of state-owned assets and the use of independent sector regulators, such as the United Kingdom telecommunications watchdog Ofcom . Behind the practice lies the theory, which over the last fifty years has been dominated by neo-classical economics . Markets are seen as the most efficient method of allocating resources, although sometimes they fail , and regulation becomes necessary to protect
7849-451: Is closely related to the disciplines of logic and linguistics. The philosophy of language rose to particular prominence in the early 20th century in analytic philosophy due to the works of Frege and Russell. One of its central topics is to understand how sentences get their meaning. There are two broad theoretical camps: those emphasizing the formal truth conditions of sentences and those investigating circumstances that determine when it
8016-408: Is concerned with meaning , understanding , or the clarification of language. According to one view, philosophy is conceptual analysis , which involves finding the necessary and sufficient conditions for the application of concepts. Another definition characterizes philosophy as thinking about thinking to emphasize its self-critical, reflective nature. A further approach presents philosophy as
8183-455: Is found in various kinds of natural body of water . An ocean is a major body of saline water and a component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the surface of the Earth (an area of some 362 million square kilometers) is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas . More than half of this area is over 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) deep. Average oceanic salinity
8350-791: Is from the Old English wildeornes , which in turn derives from wildeor meaning wild beast (wild + deor = beast, deer). From this point of view, it is the wildness of a place that makes it a wilderness. The mere presence or activity of people does not disqualify an area from being "wilderness". Many ecosystems that are, or have been, inhabited or influenced by activities of people may still be considered "wild". This way of looking at wilderness includes areas within which natural processes operate without very noticeable human interference. Wildlife includes all non- domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over
8517-460: Is generally broken down into three categories: individual sports, such as archery ; dual sports, such as doubles tennis , and team sports competition, such as cricket or football . While most sports competitions are recreation, there exist several major and minor professional sports leagues throughout the world. The Olympic Games , held every four years, is usually regarded as the international pinnacle of sports competition. Competition
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#17327871411968684-440: Is increasingly rare, wild nature (e.g., unmanaged forests , uncultivated grasslands , wildlife , wildflowers ) can be found in many locations previously inhabited by humans. Goals for the benefit of people and natural systems, commonly expressed by environmental scientists and environmentalists include: In some cultures the term environment is meaningless because there is no separation between people and what they view as
8851-460: Is itself a borrowing from the Latin philosophia . The term philosophy acquired the meanings of "advanced study of the speculative subjects ( logic , ethics , physics , and metaphysics )", "deep wisdom consisting of love of truth and virtuous living", "profound learning as transmitted by the ancient writers", and "the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge , reality , and existence , and
9018-414: Is mainly used in economics , political science , and psychology , as well as logic , computer science , biology and poker . Originally, it mainly addressed zero-sum games , in which one person's gains result in losses for the other participants. Game theory is a major method used in mathematical economics and business for modeling competing behaviors of interacting agents . Applications include
9185-550: Is more efficient than perfect competition . Competition, according to the theory, causes commercial firms to develop new products, services and technologies, which would give consumers greater selection and better products. The greater selection typically causes lower prices for the products, compared to what the price would be if there was no competition ( monopoly ) or little competition ( oligopoly ). However, competition may also lead to wasted (duplicated) effort and to increased costs (and prices) in some circumstances. For example,
9352-475: Is presented by coherentists , who state that a belief is justified if it coheres with other beliefs of the person. Many discussions in epistemology touch on the topic of philosophical skepticism , which raises doubts about some or all claims to knowledge. These doubts are often based on the idea that knowledge requires absolute certainty and that humans are unable to acquire it. Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, studies what constitutes right conduct . It
9519-474: Is rooted in the biologic fact that, without a penis, she cannot sexually possess mother, as the infantile id demands, resultantly, the girl redirects her desire for sexual union upon father in competitive rivalry with her mother. This constellation of feelings is known as Oedipus Complex (after the Greek Mythology figure who accidentally killed his father and married his mother). This is associated with
9686-418: Is sometimes understood as a proper science in its own right. According to some naturalistic philosophers , such as W. V. O. Quine , philosophy is an empirical yet abstract science that is concerned with wide-ranging empirical patterns instead of particular observations. Science-based definitions usually face the problem of explaining why philosophy in its long history has not progressed to the same extent or in
9853-441: Is taken to be unambiguously good, even where that competition leaks into the rules of the game. He claims this drives financialisation (the approximate doubling of proportion of economic resources dedicated to finance and to 'rule making and administering' professions such as law, accountancy and auditing. Competition between countries is quite subtle to detect, but is quite evident in the world economy . Countries compete to provide
10020-439: Is that actions are in tune with those duties and not what consequences they have. Virtue theorists judge actions based on how the moral character of the agent is expressed. According to this view, actions should conform to what an ideally virtuous agent would do by manifesting virtues like generosity and honesty . Logic is the study of correct reasoning . It aims to understand how to distinguish good from bad arguments . It
10187-583: Is that players act rationally. In non-cooperative games, the most famous of these is the Nash equilibrium . A set of strategies is a Nash equilibrium if each represents a best response to the other strategies. If all the players are playing the strategies in a Nash equilibrium, they have no unilateral incentive to deviate, since their strategy is the best they can do given what others are doing. Literary competitions, such as contests sponsored by literary journals , publishing houses and theaters, have increasingly become
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#173278714119610354-468: Is the 1687 book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton . This book referred to natural philosophy in its title, but it is today considered a book of physics. The meaning of philosophy changed toward the end of the modern period when it acquired the more narrow meaning common today. In this new sense, the term is mainly associated with philosophical disciplines like metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Among other topics, it covers
10521-671: Is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location. The atmosphere is a chaotic system , and small changes to one part of the system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole. Human attempts to control the weather have occurred throughout human history, and there is evidence that civilized human activity such as agriculture and industry has inadvertently modified weather patterns. Evidence suggests that life on Earth has existed for about 3.7 billion years. All known life forms share fundamental molecular mechanisms, and based on these observations, theories on
10688-582: Is the art or practice of successively outdoing a competitor . The term was first used in the title of a book by Stephen Potter , published in 1952 as a follow-up to The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship (or the Art of Winning Games without Actually Cheating) (1947). Other Lifemanship titles in his series of tongue-in-cheek self-help books , as well as film and television derivatives, teach various ploys to achieve this. This comic satire of self-help style guides manipulates traditional British conventions for
10855-430: Is the one originally developed by Wladimir Köppen . The Thornthwaite system , in use since 1948, uses evapotranspiration as well as temperature and precipitation information to study animal species diversity and the potential impacts of climate changes . Weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given atmospheric area at a given time . Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere , just below
11022-460: Is to reach a destination, with only natural barriers impeding the process. A regularly scheduled (for instance annual) competition meant to determine the "best" competitor of that cycle is called a championship . Competitive sports are governed by codified rules agreed upon by the participants. Violating these rules is considered to be unfair competition . Thus, sports provide artificial (not natural) competition; for example, competing for control of
11189-462: Is truth established?"; and "Can we prove causal relations?" Epistemology is primarily interested in declarative knowledge or knowledge of facts, like knowing that Princess Diana died in 1997. But it also investigates practical knowledge , such as knowing how to ride a bicycle, and knowledge by acquaintance , for example, knowing a celebrity personally. One area in epistemology is the analysis of knowledge . It assumes that declarative knowledge
11356-456: Is usually divided into formal and informal logic . Formal logic uses artificial languages with a precise symbolic representation to investigate arguments. In its search for exact criteria, it examines the structure of arguments to determine whether they are correct or incorrect. Informal logic uses non-formal criteria and standards to assess the correctness of arguments. It relies on additional factors such as content and context. Logic examines
11523-556: Is whether beauty is an objective feature of entities or a subjective aspect of experience. Aesthetic philosophers also investigate the nature of aesthetic experiences and judgments . Further topics include the essence of works of art and the processes involved in creating them. The philosophy of language studies the nature and function of language . It examines the concepts of meaning , reference , and truth. It aims to answer questions such as how words are related to things and how language affects human thought and understanding. It
11690-463: The English language . More advanced civilizations integrate aggressiveness and competitiveness into their interactions , as a way to distribute resources and adapt. Many plants compete with neighboring ones for sunlight. The term also applies to econometrics . Here, it is a comparative measure of the ability and performance of a firm or sub-sector to sell and produce/supply goods and/or services in
11857-527: The Quran . Al-Kindi (801–873 CE) is usually regarded as the first philosopher of this tradition. He translated and interpreted many works of Aristotle and Neoplatonists in his attempt to show that there is a harmony between reason and faith . Avicenna (980–1037 CE) also followed this goal and developed a comprehensive philosophical system to provide a rational understanding of reality encompassing science, religion, and mysticism. Al-Ghazali (1058–1111 CE)
12024-673: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States and the European Commission's Competition Directorate General (DGCOMP) have formed international support- and enforcement-networks. Competition law is growing in importance every day, which warrants for its careful study. Game theory is "the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers." Game theory
12191-522: The United States as antitrust law, has three main functions: In all three cases, competition law aims to protect the welfare of consumers by ensuring that each business must compete for its share of the market economy . In recent decades, competition law has also been sold as good medicine to provide better public services , traditionally funded by tax -payers and administered by democratically accountable governments . Hence competition law
12358-775: The continents , various archipelagos and other criteria, these divisions are : (in descending order of size) the Pacific Ocean , the Atlantic Ocean , the Indian Ocean , the Southern Ocean and the Arctic Ocean . A river is a natural watercourse , usually freshwater , flowing toward an ocean , a lake , a sea or another river. A few rivers simply flow into the ground and dry up completely without reaching another body of water. The water in
12525-608: The cryosphere (corresponding to ice ) as a distinct portion of the hydrosphere, as well as the pedosphere (to soil ) as an active and intermixed sphere. Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geographical sciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth . There are four major disciplines in earth sciences, namely geography , geology , geophysics and geodesy . These major disciplines use physics , chemistry , biology , chronology and mathematics to build
12692-408: The mineralogic composition and the structure of its soil are similar to those of an undisturbed forest soil, but the structure is quite different. Earth science generally recognizes four spheres, the lithosphere , the hydrosphere , the atmosphere and the biosphere as correspondent to rocks , water , air and life respectively. Some scientists include as part of the spheres of the Earth,
12859-408: The mitigation of greenhouse gases that are causing climatic changes, on developing adaptative strategies to global warming, to assist humans, other animal, and plant species, ecosystems, regions and nations in adjusting to the effects of global warming . Some examples of recent collaboration to address climate change and global warming include: A significantly profound challenge is to identify
13026-399: The natural environment can be distinguished as components: In contrast to the natural environment is the built environment . Built environments are where humans have fundamentally transformed landscapes such as urban settings and agricultural land conversion , the natural environment is greatly changed into a simplified human environment. Even acts which seem less extreme, such as building
13193-620: The phallic stage of childhood development where intense primal emotions of competitive rivalry with (usually) the parent of the same sex are rampant and create a crisis that must be negotiated successfully for healthy psychological development to proceed. Unresolved Oedipus complex competitiveness issues can lead to lifelong neuroses manifesting in various ways related to an overdetermined relationship to competition. Gandhi speaks of egoistic competition. For him, such qualities glorified and/or left unbridled, can lead to violence, conflict, discord and destructiveness. For Gandhi, competition comes from
13360-421: The stratosphere . Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate is the term for the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. When used without qualification, "weather" is understood to be the weather of Earth. Weather occurs due to density (temperature and moisture) differences between one place and another. These differences can occur due to
13527-420: The "things themselves", that is, as originally given in experience. They contend that this base-level of experience provides the foundation for higher-order theoretical knowledge, and that one needs to understand the former to understand the latter. An early approach found in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy is that philosophy is the spiritual practice of developing one's rational capacities. This practice
13694-412: The 5th century CE. Its focus was on religious topics and many thinkers used ancient philosophy to explain and further elaborate Christian doctrines . The Renaissance period started in the 14th century and saw a renewed interest in schools of ancient philosophy, in particular Platonism . Humanism also emerged in this period. The modern period started in the 17th century. One of its central concerns
13861-518: The Earth's atmosphere plays an important role in reducing the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation that reaches the surface. As DNA is readily damaged by UV light, this serves to protect life at the surface. The atmosphere also retains heat during the night, thereby reducing the daily temperature extremes. Earth's atmosphere can be divided into five main layers. These layers are mainly determined by whether temperature increases or decreases with altitude. From highest to lowest, these layers are: Within
14028-626: The Soviet Union. Karl Marx insisted that "the capitalist system fosters competition and egoism in all its members and thoroughly undermines all genuine forms of community". It promotes a "climate of competitive egoism and individualism", with competition for jobs and competition between employees; Marx said competition between workers exceeds that demonstrated by company owners. He also points out that competition separates individuals from one another and while concentration of workers and development of better communication alleviate this, they are not
14195-443: The United Kingdom, competitions or lotto are the equivalent of what are commonly known as sweepstakes in the United States. The correct technical name for Australian consumer competitions is a trade promotion lottery or lotto. Competition or trade promotion lottery entrants enter to win a prize or prizes, hence many entrants are all in competition, or competing for a limited number of prizes. A trade promotion lottery or competition
14362-415: The abiotic constituents of their biotope . A more significant number or variety of species or biological diversity of an ecosystem may contribute to greater resilience of an ecosystem because there are more species present at a location to respond to change and thus "absorb" or reduce its effects. This reduces the effect before the ecosystem's structure changes to a different state. This is not universally
14529-442: The basic limits of human understanding". Before the modern age, the term philosophy was used in a wide sense. It included most forms of rational inquiry, such as the individual sciences , as its subdisciplines. For instance, natural philosophy was a major branch of philosophy. This branch of philosophy encompassed a wide range of fields, including disciplines like physics, chemistry , and biology . An example of this usage
14696-441: The beginning of the 20th century. It discusses topics such as ethnophilosophy , négritude , pan-Africanism , Marxism, postcolonialism , the role of cultural identity, relativism , epistemological dualism , and the critique of Eurocentrism . Philosophical questions can be grouped into several branches. These groupings allow philosophers to focus on a set of similar topics and interact with other thinkers who are interested in
14863-436: The best possible business environment for multinational corporations . Such competition is evident by the policies undertaken by these countries to educate the future workforce. For example, East Asian economies such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea tend to compete by allocating a large portion of the budget to the education sector, including by implementing programmes such as gifted education . Competition law , known in
15030-425: The biological manifestation of life is characterized by organization , metabolism , growth , adaptation , response to stimuli and reproduction . Life may also be said to be simply the characteristic state of organisms . In biology , the science of living organisms, "life" is the condition which distinguishes active organisms from inorganic matter , including the capacity for growth, functional activity and
15197-429: The business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms". Adam Smith in his 1776 book The Wealth of Nations and later economists described competition in general as allocating productive resources to their most highly valued uses and encouraging efficiency . Later microeconomic theory distinguished between perfect competition and imperfect competition , concluding that no system of resource allocation
15364-407: The case and there is no proven relationship between the species diversity of an ecosystem and its ability to provide goods and services on a sustainable level. The term ecosystem can also pertain to human-made environments, such as human ecosystems and human-influenced ecosystems. It can describe any situation where there is relationship between living organisms and their environment. Fewer areas on
15531-618: The cases of a government monopoly or of a government-granted monopoly . Governments may institute tariffs , subsidies or other protectionist measures in order to prevent or reduce competition. Depending on the respective economic policy, pure competition is to a greater or lesser extent regulated by competition policy and competition law . Another component of these activities is the discovery process , with instances of higher government regulations typically leading to less competitive businesses being launched. Nicholas Gruen has referred to The Competition Delusion , in which competition
15698-560: The color red, can exist at different locations at the same time. This is not the case for particulars including individual persons or specific objects. Other metaphysical questions are whether the past fully determines the present and what implications this would have for the existence of free will . There are many other subfields of philosophy besides its core branches. Some of the most prominent are aesthetics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, and political philosophy. Aesthetics in
15865-522: The company so that each division would compete with the other divisions. For example, the Chevrolet division would compete with the Pontiac division for some market segments . The competing brands by the same company allowed parts to be designed by one division and shared by several divisions, for example parts designed by Chevrolet would also be used by Pontiac. In 1931 Procter & Gamble initiated
16032-519: The company valued the ability of many autistic people to “think differently and spark innovation.” SAP’s Bangalore office saw its productivity increase after deploying autistic hires. The company is working closely with a Danish not-for-profit specializing in IT job placements for individuals with autism spectrum disorders." Research data hints that exporting firms have a higher survival rate and achieve greater employment growth compared with non-exporters. Using
16199-461: The conclusion is true. One form is inductive reasoning . It starts from a set of individual cases and uses generalization to arrive at a universal law governing all cases. An example is the inference that "all ravens are black" based on observations of many individual black ravens. Another form is abductive reasoning . It starts from an observation and concludes that the best explanation of this observation must be true. This happens, for example, when
16366-614: The consequences of the general theories developed by normative ethics in specific situations, for example, in the workplace or for medical treatments. Within contemporary normative ethics, consequentialism, deontology , and virtue ethics are influential schools of thought. Consequentialists judge actions based on their consequences. One such view is utilitarianism , which argues that actions should increase overall happiness while minimizing suffering. Deontologists judge actions based on whether they follow moral duties, such as abstaining from lying or killing. According to them, what matters
16533-425: The continual change preceding death. A diverse variety of living organisms (life forms) can be found in the biosphere on Earth, and properties common to these organisms—plants, animals , fungi , protists , archaea , and bacteria —are a carbon - and water-based cellular form with complex organization and heritable genetic information. Living organisms undergo metabolism , maintain homeostasis , possess
16700-624: The direction of the rivers and water path. Dams can usefully create reservoirs and hydroelectric power. However, reservoirs and dams may negatively impact the environment and wildlife. Dams stop fish migration and the movement of organisms downstream. Urbanization affects the environment because of deforestation and changing lake levels, groundwater conditions, etc. Deforestation and urbanization go hand in hand. Deforestation may cause flooding, declining stream flow and changes in riverside vegetation. The changing vegetation occurs because when trees cannot get adequate water they start to deteriorate, leading to
16867-438: The ego, and therefore society must be based on mutual love, cooperation and sacrifice for the well-being of humanity. In the society desired by Gandhi, each individual will cooperate and serve for the welfare of others and people will share each other's joys, sorrows and achievements as a norm of a social life. For him, in a non-violent society, competition does not have a place and this should become realized with more people making
17034-400: The emergence and application of formal logic , the focus on the role of language as well as pragmatism , and movements in continental philosophy like phenomenology, existentialism , and post-structuralism . The 20th century saw a rapid expansion of academic philosophy in terms of the number of philosophical publications and philosophers working at academic institutions . There was also
17201-482: The emergence of non-Vedic teachings, like Buddhism and Jainism . Buddhism was founded by Gautama Siddhartha (563–483 BCE), who challenged the Vedic idea of a permanent self and proposed a path to liberate oneself from suffering . Jainism was founded by Mahavira (599–527 BCE), who emphasized non-violence as well as respect toward all forms of life. The subsequent classical period started roughly 200 BCE and
17368-486: The end of which another election is usually held to determine the next holder of the office. In addition, there is inevitable competition inside a government. Because several offices are appointed, potential candidates compete against the others in order to gain the particular office. Departments may also compete for a limited amount of resources, such as for funding . Finally, where there are party systems , elected leaders of different parties will ultimately compete against
17535-409: The environment. Central to the ecosystem concept is the idea that living organisms are continually engaged in a highly interrelated set of relationships with every other element constituting the environment in which they exist. Eugene Odum , one of the founders of the science of ecology , stated: "Any unit that includes all of the organisms (i.e.: the "community") in a given area interacting with
17702-482: The extinction of natural habitats, which in turn leads to a reduction in wildlife population. The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the group of the leading climate scientists in the world) concluded that the earth will warm anywhere from 2.7 to almost 11 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 to 6 degrees Celsius) between 1990 and 2100. Efforts have been increasingly focused on
17869-407: The features that all entities have in common. Specific metaphysics is interested in different kinds of being, the features they have, and how they differ from one another. An important area in metaphysics is ontology . Some theorists identify it with general metaphysics. Ontology investigates concepts like being , becoming , and reality. It studies the categories of being and asks what exists on
18036-586: The five principal layers determined by temperature there are several layers determined by other properties. The dangers of global warming are being increasingly studied by a wide global consortium of scientists. These scientists are increasingly concerned about the potential long-term effects of global warming on our natural environment and on the planet. Of particular concern is how climate change and global warming caused by anthropogenic , or human-made releases of greenhouse gases , most notably carbon dioxide , can act interactively and have adverse effects upon
18203-413: The gamester. The principle being all life being a game, who understands that if you're not one-up, you're one-down. Potter's unprincipled principles apply to almost any possession, experience or situation, deriving maximum undeserved rewards and discomfitting the opposition. The 1960 film School for Scoundrels and its 2006 remake were satiric portrayals of how to use Potter's ideas. In that context,
18370-530: The harmful effects, stating "people feel that they are under a great deal of pressure. They feel that their main objective in life is to do better than other people. That is certainly what young people are being taught in school every day. And it's not a good basis for a society." However, other studies such as the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking show that the effect of competition on students depends on each individual's level of agency . Students with
18537-515: The highly aggressive personality type which is characterized as "moving against people". In her view, some people have a need to compete and win at all costs as a means of maintaining their self-worth . These individuals are likely to turn any activity into a competition, and they will feel threatened if they find themselves losing. Researchers have found that men and women who score high on the trait of hypercompetitiveness are more narcissistic and less psychologically healthy than those who score low on
18704-476: The history of philosophy include Western , Arabic–Persian , Indian , and Chinese philosophy . Other philosophical traditions are Japanese philosophy , Latin American philosophy , and African philosophy . Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece in the 6th century BCE with the pre-Socratics . They attempted to provide rational explanations of the cosmos as a whole. The philosophy following them
18871-578: The ideal market model. Behind the theory lies the history, reaching back further than the Roman Empire . The business practices of market traders, guilds and governments have always been subject to scrutiny and sometimes to severe sanctions. Since the twentieth century, competition law has become global. The two largest, most organised and influential systems of competition regulation are United States antitrust law and European Community competition law . The respective national/international authorities,
19038-420: The importance of a strong state and strict laws. Buddhism was introduced to China in the 1st century CE and diversified into new forms of Buddhism . Starting in the 3rd century CE, the school of Xuanxue emerged. It interpreted earlier Daoist works with a specific emphasis on metaphysical explanations. Neo-Confucianism developed in the 11th century CE. It systematized previous Confucian teachings and sought
19205-434: The importance of competition as the primary driver of reverse auctions success. Their findings appear to support that argument, as competition correlated strongly with the reverse auction success, as well as with the number of bidders. Business and economic competition in most countries is often limited or restricted. Competition often is subject to legal restrictions. For example, competition may be legally prohibited, as in
19372-419: The indigenous Shinto religion and Chinese and Indian thought in the forms of Confucianism and Buddhism, both of which entered Japan in the 6th and 7th centuries. Its practice is characterized by active interaction with reality rather than disengaged examination. Neo-Confucianism became an influential school of thought in the 16th century and the following Edo period and prompted a greater focus on language and
19539-585: The intense competition for the small number of top jobs in music and movie-acting leads many aspiring musicians and actors to make substantial investments in training which are not recouped, because only a fraction become successful. Critics have also argued that competition can be destabilizing, particularly competition between certain financial institutions. Experts have also questioned the constructiveness of competition in profitability. It has been argued that competition-oriented objectives are counterproductive to raising revenues and profitability because they limit
19706-483: The interconnectedness of all things. Latin American philosophy during the colonial period , starting around 1550, was dominated by religious philosophy in the form of scholasticism . Influential topics in the post-colonial period were positivism , the philosophy of liberation , and the exploration of identity and culture. Early African philosophy, like Ubuntu philosophy , was focused on community, morality, and ancestral ideas. Systematic African philosophy emerged at
19873-464: The investment universe to include indirect competitors leads to a broader peer universe of comparable, indirectly competing companies. Competition does not necessarily have to be between companies. For example, business writers sometimes refer to internal competition . This is competition within companies. The idea was first introduced by Alfred Sloan at General Motors in the 1920s. Sloan deliberately created areas of overlap between divisions of
20040-551: The manifestation of cognitive virtues instead of justification; or they deny that knowledge can be analyzed in terms of other phenomena. Another area in epistemology asks how people acquire knowledge. Often-discussed sources of knowledge are perception , introspection , memory , inference , and testimony . According to empiricists , all knowledge is based on some form of experience. Rationalists reject this view and hold that some forms of knowledge, like innate knowledge , are not acquired through experience. The regress problem
20207-415: The mantle which is heated by the decay of radioactive elements . The mantle though solid is in a state of rheic convection . This convection process causes the lithospheric plates to move, albeit slowly. The resulting process is known as plate tectonics . Volcanoes result primarily from the melting of subducted crust material or of rising mantle at mid-ocean ridges and mantle plumes . Most water
20374-596: The most fundamental level. Another subfield of metaphysics is philosophical cosmology . It is interested in the essence of the world as a whole. It asks questions including whether the universe has a beginning and an end and whether it was created by something else. A key topic in metaphysics concerns the question of whether reality only consists of physical things like matter and energy. Alternative suggestions are that mental entities (such as souls and experiences ) and abstract entities (such as numbers) exist apart from physical things. Another topic in metaphysics concerns
20541-404: The most influential philosophers of the subsequent period. The increasing influence of Western thought and institutions in the 19th and 20th centuries gave rise to the intellectual movement of Islamic modernism , which aims to understand the relation between traditional Islamic beliefs and modernity. One of the distinguishing features of Indian philosophy is that it integrates the exploration of
20708-472: The natural and social sciences, religion, and mathematics. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies knowledge. It is also known as theory of knowledge and aims to understand what knowledge is, how it arises, what its limits are, and what value it has. It further examines the nature of truth , belief , justification , and rationality . Some of the questions addressed by epistemologists include "By what method(s) can one acquire knowledge?"; "How
20875-410: The natural environmental dynamics in contrast to environmental changes not within natural variances. A common solution is to adapt a static view neglecting natural variances to exist. Methodologically, this view could be defended when looking at processes which change slowly and short time series, while the problem arrives when fast processes turns essential in the object of the study. Climate looks at
21042-489: The natural world, or their surroundings. Specifically in the United States and Arabian countries many native cultures do not recognize the "environment", or see themselves as environmentalists. Philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek ) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence , reason , knowledge , value , mind , and language . It
21209-504: The natural world. The Kyoto School emerged in the 20th century and integrated Eastern spirituality with Western philosophy in its exploration of concepts like absolute nothingness ( zettai-mu ), place ( basho ), and the self . Latin American philosophy in the pre-colonial period was practiced by indigenous civilizations and explored questions concerning the nature of reality and the role of humans. It has similarities to indigenous North American philosophy , which covered themes such as
21376-455: The nature and sources of morality. It analyzes the meaning of ethical concepts, like right action and obligation . It also investigates whether ethical theories can be true in an absolute sense and how to acquire knowledge of them. Normative ethics encompasses general theories of how to distinguish between right and wrong conduct. It helps guide moral decisions by examining what moral obligations and rights people have. Applied ethics studies
21543-468: The nature of competition. They investigate the natural urge of competition and its circumstances. They also study group dynamics , to detect how competition emerges and what its effects are. Sociologists , meanwhile, study the effects of competition on society as a whole. Additionally, anthropologists study the history and prehistory of competition in various cultures. They also investigate how competition manifested itself in various cultural settings in
21710-471: The nature of reality, the ways of arriving at knowledge, and the spiritual question of how to reach enlightenment . It started around 900 BCE when the Vedas were written. They are the foundational scriptures of Hinduism and contemplate issues concerning the relation between the self and ultimate reality as well as the question of how souls are reborn based on their past actions . This period also saw
21877-587: The opposite of cooperation ; however, in the real world, mixtures of cooperation and competition are the norm. In economies, as the philosopher R. G. Collingwood argued "the presence of these two opposites together is essential to an economic system. The parties to an economic action co-operate in competing, like two chess players". Optimal strategies to achieve goals are studied in the branch of mathematics known as game theory . Competition has been studied in several fields, including psychology , sociology and anthropology . Social psychologists , for instance, study
22044-414: The options of strategies for firms as well as their ability to offer innovative responses to changes in the market. In addition, the strong desire to defeat rival firms with competitive prices has the strong possibility of causing price wars . Another distinction appearing in economics is that between competition as an end-state – as in the case of both perfect and imperfect competition – and competition as
22211-409: The origin of life attempt to find a mechanism explaining the formation of a primordial single cell organism from which all life originates. There are many different hypotheses regarding the path that might have been taken from simple organic molecules via pre-cellular life to protocells and metabolism. Although there is no universal agreement on the definition of life, scientists generally accept that
22378-929: The other parties for laws , funding and power . Finally, competition also exists between governments . Each country or nationality struggles for world dominance, power, or military strength. For example, the United States competed against the Soviet Union in the Cold War for world power, and the two also struggled over the different types of government (in these cases representative democracy and communism ). The result of this type of competition often leads to worldwide tensions, and may sometimes erupt into warfare . While some sports and games (such as fishing or hiking ) have been viewed as primarily recreational, most sports are considered competitive. The majority involve competition between two or more persons (sometimes using horses or cars ). For example, in
22545-506: The other. The massive environmental changes of humanity in the Anthropocene have fundamentally effected all natural environments including: climate change , biodiversity loss and pollution from plastic and other chemicals in the air and water . More precisely, we can consider the different aspects or components of an environment, and see that their degree of naturalness is not uniform. If, for instance, in an agricultural field,
22712-456: The past, and how competition has developed over time. Competition within, between, and among species is one of the most important forces in biology, especially in the field of ecology . Competition between members of a species ("intraspecific") for resources such as food , water , territory , and sunlight may result in an increase in the frequency of a variant of the species best suited for survival and reproduction until its fixation within
22879-414: The personal choice to have fewer tendencies toward egoism and selfishness. Competition is also found in politics . In democracies , a free and fair election is an electoral competition for an elected office. In other words, two or more candidates strive and compete against one another to attain a position of power. The winner gains the seat of the elected office for a predefined period of time, towards
23046-436: The philosophical sense is the field that studies the nature and appreciation of beauty and other aesthetic properties, like the sublime . Although it is often treated together with the philosophy of art , aesthetics is a broader category that encompasses other aspects of experience, such as natural beauty. In a more general sense, aesthetics is "critical reflection on art, culture, and nature ". A key question in aesthetics
23213-438: The physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to clearly defined trophic structure, biotic diversity, and material cycles (i.e.: exchange of materials between living and nonliving parts) within the system is an ecosystem." The human ecosystem concept is then grounded in the deconstruction of the human/nature dichotomy , and the emergent premise that all species are ecologically integrated with each other, as well as with
23380-400: The planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative. Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems. Deserts, rain forests, plains, and other areas—including the most developed urban sites—all have distinct forms of wildlife. While the term in popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by civilized human factors, most scientists agree that wildlife around
23547-415: The planet, its natural environment and humans' existence. It is clear the planet is warming, and warming rapidly. This is due to the greenhouse effect , which is caused by greenhouse gases, which trap heat inside the Earth's atmosphere because of their more complex molecular structure which allows them to vibrate and in turn trap heat and release it back towards the Earth. This warming is also responsible for
23714-417: The precise definition of the term and its meaning has changed throughout the ages. Metaphysicians attempt to answer basic questions including " Why is there something rather than nothing? "; "Of what does reality ultimately consist?"; and "Are humans free?" Metaphysics is sometimes divided into general metaphysics and specific or special metaphysics. General metaphysics investigates being as such. It examines
23881-400: The problem of identity . One question is how much an entity can change while still remaining the same entity. According to one view, entities have essential and accidental features . They can change their accidental features but they cease to be the same entity if they lose an essential feature. A central distinction in metaphysics is between particulars and universals . Universals, like
24048-428: The provocative, vexing, and enduring problems central to the human condition. The philosophical pursuit of wisdom involves asking general and fundamental questions. It often does not result in straightforward answers but may help a person to better understand the topic, examine their life, dispel confusion, and overcome prejudices and self-deceptive ideas associated with common sense. For example, Socrates stated that "
24215-436: The rational study of reality, knowledge, and values. It is distinguished from other disciplines of rational inquiry such as the empirical sciences and mathematics . The practice of philosophy is characterized by several general features: it is a form of rational inquiry, it aims to be systematic, and it tends to critically reflect on its own methods and presuppositions. It requires attentively thinking long and carefully about
24382-443: The release of water stored in glaciers and snowpacks. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including stream , creek and brook. Their current is confined within a bed and stream banks . Streams play an important corridor role in connecting fragmented habitats and thus in conserving biodiversity . The study of streams and waterways in general is known as surface hydrology . A lake (from Latin lacus )
24549-488: The same questions. Epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics are sometimes listed as the main branches. There are many other subfields besides them and the different divisions are neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive. For example, political philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics are sometimes linked under the general heading of value theory as they investigate normative or evaluative aspects. Furthermore, philosophical inquiry sometimes overlaps with other disciplines in
24716-410: The same way as the sciences. This problem is avoided by seeing philosophy as an immature or provisional science whose subdisciplines cease to be philosophy once they have fully developed. In this sense, philosophy is sometimes described as "the midwife of the sciences". Other definitions focus on the contrast between science and philosophy. A common theme among many such conceptions is that philosophy
24883-563: The scope and fundamental concepts of these fields. It also investigates their methods and ethical implications. The word philosophy comes from the Ancient Greek words φίλος ( philos ) ' love ' and σοφία ( sophia ) ' wisdom ' . Some sources say that the term was coined by the pre-Socratic philosopher Pythagoras , but this is not certain. The word entered the English language primarily from Old French and Anglo-Norman starting around 1175 CE. The French philosophie
25050-495: The statistics of temperature , humidity , atmospheric pressure , wind , rainfall , atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time. Weather , on the other hand, is the present condition of these same elements over periods up to two weeks. Climates can be classified according to the average and typical ranges of different variables, most commonly temperature and precipitation. The most commonly used classification scheme
25217-598: The study of the biggest patterns of the world as a whole or as the attempt to answer the big questions. Such an approach is pursued by Immanuel Kant , who holds that the task of philosophy is united by four questions: "What can I know?"; "What should I do?"; "What may I hope?"; and "What is the human being?" Both approaches have the problem that they are usually either too wide, by including non-philosophical disciplines, or too narrow, by excluding some philosophical sub-disciplines. Many definitions of philosophy emphasize its intimate relation to science. In this sense, philosophy
25384-434: The sun angle at any particular spot, which varies by latitude from the tropics. The strong temperature contrast between polar and tropical air gives rise to the jet stream . Weather systems in the mid-latitudes , such as extratropical cyclones , are caused by instabilities of the jet stream flow. Because the Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane, sunlight is incident at different angles at different times of
25551-775: The surface of the earth today exist free from human contact, although some genuine wilderness areas continue to exist without any forms of human intervention. Global biogeochemical cycles are critical to life, most notably those of water , oxygen , carbon , nitrogen and phosphorus . Wilderness is generally defined as a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. The WILD Foundation goes into more detail, defining wilderness as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet – those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with roads, pipelines or other industrial infrastructure." Wilderness areas and protected parks are considered important for
25718-420: The survival of certain species , ecological studies, conservation , solitude, and recreation . Wilderness is deeply valued for cultural, spiritual, moral , and aesthetic reasons. Some nature writers believe wilderness areas are vital for the human spirit and creativity. The word, "wilderness", derives from the notion of wildness ; in other words that which is not controllable by humans. The word etymology
25885-469: The teachings of Advaita Vedanta to argue that all the different religions are valid paths toward the one divine. Chinese philosophy is particularly interested in practical questions associated with right social conduct, government, and self-cultivation . Many schools of thought emerged in the 6th century BCE in competing attempts to resolve the political turbulence of that period. The most prominent among them were Confucianism and Daoism . Confucianism
26052-407: The term refers to a satiric course in the gambits required for the systematic and conscious practice of "creative intimidation", making one's associates feel inferior and thereby gaining the status of being "one-up" on them. Viewed seriously, it is a phenomenon of group dynamics that can have significant effects in the management field: for instance, manifesting in office politics . Competition
26219-530: The trait. Hypercompetitive individuals generally believe that winning is the only thing that matters. Natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all biotic and abiotic things occurring naturally , meaning in this case not artificial . The term is most often applied to Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses the interaction of all living species , climate , weather and natural resources that affect human survival and economic activity. The concept of
26386-601: The unexamined life is not worth living " to highlight the role of philosophical inquiry in understanding one's own existence. And according to Bertrand Russell , "the man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the cooperation or consent of his deliberate reason." Attempts to provide more precise definitions of philosophy are controversial and are studied in metaphilosophy . Some approaches argue that there
26553-411: The world is (now) impacted by human activities. It is the common understanding of natural environment that underlies environmentalism — a broad political , social and philosophical movement that advocates various actions and policies in the interest of protecting what nature remains in the natural environment, or restoring or expanding the role of nature in this environment. While true wilderness
26720-826: The world, there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last ice age . All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them. A pond is a body of standing water , either natural or human-made, that is usually smaller than a lake . A wide variety of human-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens designed for aesthetic ornamentation, fish ponds designed for commercial fish breeding and solar ponds designed to store thermal energy. Ponds and lakes are distinguished from streams by their current speed . While currents in streams are easily observed, ponds and lakes possess thermally driven micro-currents and moderate wind-driven currents. These features distinguish
26887-465: The year. On the Earth's surface, temperatures usually range ±40 °C (100 °F to −40 °F) annually. Over thousands of years, changes in the Earth's orbit have affected the amount and distribution of solar energy received by the Earth and influenced long-term climate. Surface temperature differences in turn cause pressure differences. Higher altitudes are cooler than lower altitudes due to differences in compressional heating. Weather forecasting
27054-472: Was a strong critic of the idea that reason can arrive at a true understanding of reality and God. He formulated a detailed critique of philosophy and tried to assign philosophy a more limited place besides the teachings of the Quran and mystical insight. Following Al-Ghazali and the end of the classical period, the influence of philosophical inquiry waned. Mulla Sadra (1571–1636 CE) is often regarded as one of
27221-437: Was characterized by the emergence of the six orthodox schools of Hinduism : Nyāyá , Vaiśeṣika , Sāṃkhya , Yoga , Mīmāṃsā , and Vedanta . The school of Advaita Vedanta developed later in this period. It was systematized by Adi Shankara ( c. 700 –750 CE), who held that everything is one and that the impression of a universe consisting of many distinct entities is an illusion . A slightly different perspective
27388-660: Was defended by Ramanuja (1017–1137 CE), who founded the school of Vishishtadvaita Vedanta and argued that individual entities are real as aspects or parts of the underlying unity. He also helped to popularize the Bhakti movement , which taught devotion toward the divine as a spiritual path and lasted until the 17th to 18th centuries CE. The modern period began roughly 1800 CE and was shaped by encounters with Western thought. Philosophers tried to formulate comprehensive systems to harmonize diverse philosophical and religious teachings. For example, Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902 CE) used
27555-511: Was founded by Confucius (551–479 BCE). It focused on different forms of moral virtues and explored how they lead to harmony in society. Daoism was founded by Laozi (6th century BCE) and examined how humans can live in harmony with nature by following the Dao or the natural order of the universe. Other influential early schools of thought were Mohism , which developed an early form of altruistic consequentialism , and Legalism , which emphasized
27722-512: Was how philosophical and scientific knowledge are created. Specific importance was given to the role of reason and sensory experience . Many of these innovations were used in the Enlightenment movement to challenge traditional authorities. Several attempts to develop comprehensive systems of philosophy were made in the 19th century, for instance, by German idealism and Marxism . Influential developments in 20th-century philosophy were
27889-449: Was shaped by Socrates (469–399 BCE), Plato (427–347 BCE), and Aristotle (384–322 BCE). They expanded the range of topics to questions like how people should act , how to arrive at knowledge , and what the nature of reality and mind is. The later part of the ancient period was marked by the emergence of philosophical movements, for example, Epicureanism , Stoicism , Skepticism , and Neoplatonism . The medieval period started in
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