Problem

We tell you what a problem is, its etymology and what it means to solve it. Also, the typical problems of philosophy.

What is a problem?

A problem is a question for which there is no answer..

Due to its etymology (from the Greek problem), a problem is an issue or obstacle that is in front of us and that must be solved. Problem solving is related to the idea of procedure. A procedure is a set of actions that are ordered around a goal.

However, the word “problem” refers to very different situations depending on the actors that the problem involves. Every problem occurs in a real situation that includes a series of actors:

• a subjectwho thinks and for whom the problem exists.
• The circumstances under which the problem is stated.
• The question to which the problem refers.

In philosophy, the problems are the questions around which the different philosophical disciplines are organized. In general, philosophical problems remain open. This means that, even though philosophers offer answers to each of the problems, they do not consider them definitively solved.

The word “problem” comes from the Greek problem. It means “throw forward.”. A problem is an obstacle that someone faces and must overcome. For the obstacle to become a problem, the person facing it must feel the need to solve it.

Troubleshooting

a problem It is characterized by its problematic dimension. When the problematic nature of a situation increases, the subject feels the need to overcome the problem as a requirement.

Problem solving is the set of skills and strategies that are acquired to solve different problems.. This implies a series of effective procedures, taking into account that a procedure is a set of actions that are ordered in order to resolve a goal.

Learning to solve problems involves searching for and appropriating appropriate strategies to provide answers to everyday questions specific to each specific field (such as philosophy, mathematics or physics). In each of these areas, the situation that each individual or group of individuals faces must be recognized as a problem so that it can be treated as such. Only when a situation is seen as a problem that cannot be solved automatically is it a real problem..

However, power do A procedure is not the only part of solving a problem. It is necessary that there be a attitude of who faces the problem to be able to overcome the obstacle and solve it. From the combination of procedural action and the decisive attitude arises the ability to arise a problem: converting reality into a problem interesting enough to study and solve.

In addition to the procedures, the attitude and the ability to consider a problem, solving an obstacle requires having the appropriate concepts. It involves understanding the situation, discerning the meaning of the obstacle in front of us and being able to extract learning from it as a result..

The problems of philosophy

Philosophical problems are questions that, as their etymology indicates (problem), “throw” the philosopher forward. This means that, Most of the time, philosophical problems do not have a fixed solutionbut its function is to put philosophy in motion, generate new ideas and discussions.

Despite fulfilling this mobilizing function, philosophical problems also respond to a formal structure. All of them have a series of fundamental elements, often shared with the sciences. These are:

• The researcher. The philosopher is the one who poses problems whose solution requires a divergent mental effort. Sometimes, it is not just an individual who raises a problem, but a philosophical current, a school of thought or even a generation of thinkers.
• The object of study. Defining the object of study is usually one of the great philosophical problems. The traditional questions of philosophy respond to the Greek formula “what is x?”, where x It is replaced by what you want to know.
• The hypothesis. With the passage of time, philosophical investigations acquired greater formal rigor. Starting with scholasticism, the need to propose a hypothesis to be resolved became common in philosophy. A hypothesis is a provisional explanation for a problem that you want to solve.
• The conclusions. Most philosophical works seek to provide answers to their initial concerns. It often happens that philosophical works constitute systems of thought, where an attempt is made to answer all possible questions. However, since these are such broad questions, there is always room to continue thinking.

Most of the philosophical problems were not resolved. Attempts to understand reality, the world and human beings are increasingly fruitful.but each answer given opens a new series of questions and counterquestions. Thus, it is often said that philosophical questions have been the same for more than two thousand years, when they were first formulated in Greece.

Some of the main philosophical questions are: What is the truth? What does it mean to die? What relationship is there between language and the world? Why is there being and not nothing? What is the origin of the universe? and its ending? What is the relationship between the soul and the body? What is freedom? What is beauty? What does an act of justice consist of?

Currently, some philosophical questions seem to have answers from scientific discourse. This is true only in one sense, which is the scientific factual sense, that of facts. This sense is supported by experiments and verifiable facts.

The philosophical meaning is different. The questions of philosophy point to the meaning of thingsto the understanding of its essence and the essence of the world. Asking a philosophical question involves going through a problem from a different form of curiosity, based on wonder, not on the need to provide a solution. Philosophy, as a science of the question, does not seek to give a final answer, but rather to find, each time, a more appropriate way to formulate the question.

References

• Hessen, J., Gaos, J., & Romero, F. (1981). Theory of knowledge. Espasa-Calpe.
• Sanguineti, J.J. (2005). Human knowledge: a philosophical perspective (Vol. 10). Word.
• Zuluaga, E.G. (1993). Theory of knowledge. Journal of the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, (92), 160-184.
• Pozo, JI, Pérez, MD, Domínguez, J., Gómez, MA, & Postigo, Y. (1994). The solution of problems. Madrid: Santillana.
• White, C. (2015). Great philosophical problems. Synthesis Editorial.