Three great philosophies: 1. Greek (western) philosophy - Socrates, plato; rationality, logic, universal truth 2. Indian philosophy - Hindu, Buddha, Jain; dharma, rebirth, liberation, consciousness 3. Chinese philosophy - Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism; harmony, relational identity, ethics, and living to the dao

"Philia" meaning love or appreciation of (a deeper desire to understand) and "sofia" meaning wisdom, or meaning extracted from knowledge. Philosophy literally means a desire to be wise.

Understanding a philosophy of a culture helps understand the essence of that culture itself, but not all aspects. In order to truly become cultured, you must embrace the traditions, lifestyles, and become knowledgeable in history and traditional values.

1. superficial equivalence - forcing a comparison between two different ideas equally deserving of their own respect (ignoring deeper meanings behind connection)
2. Cherry-picking - isolating sayings or passages to paint an assumption of the whole context 3 - exoticism - treating non-western philosophies as being strange or "other worldly" 4 - assuming universality of western categories - asking questions of one branch of philosophy onto traditions that may not frame the concept the same way 5 - oversimplification - reducing entire traditions into a single set of ideas, ignoring diversity 6 - deficit thinking - assuming a tradition is "lacking" because it doesn't focus on certain concepts that other traditions do. Comparative philosophy should be used to learn from differences, rather than erasing or measuring their value and cultural ties.

Given my last answer, Chinese philosophy aims to live well in a relational world; how to live a prosperous life. Confucianism emphasizes ethical self-improvement through living virtuously (humanely, righteously, and ritualistically). Roles for individuals are clearly defined (or at least individuals seek to find their role in society) in Chinese philosophy, where western philosophy seeks to ask metaphysical questions (what is ultimate reality? What is truth? Happiness? What does it mean to be human?)

• Religion has existed since humans had the ability to think. Early humans asked about the world around us, and the physical world around us. They looked towards the stars, to find answers hidden above in the night sky. They started to notice that life has cycles, from birth to death, and started searching for meaning. When humans started developing their own differing ideas about existence, that is when early pre-historic organizations of belief originated.
• Religion can be subjugated to scientific scrutiny, as there is much to learn about neurological, psychological, and biological impacts religion has on individuals, based on how devout/spiritual they are (especially in comparison to those with no religious beliefs).