The term "philosophy" can be clearly and succinctly defined, although this meaning seems to elude even the makers of dictionaries, who stretch the term to mean things both as general as "thought" and as specific as "calmness of temper." For example, Merriam-Webster provides the following fuzzy definitions (among others):

• all learning exclusive of technical precepts and practical arts
• the sciences and liberal arts exclusive of medicine, law, and theology
• pursuit of wisdom
• calmness of temper and judgment befitting a philosopher

Such definitions are of no use to someone who may be interested in learning about philosophy, what it is, and how it applies to real life.

Ayn Rand provides a clearer definition in Philosophy: Who Needs It. "Philosophy studies the fundamental nature of existence, of man, and of man's relationship to existence." [1]

Here's another Ayn Rand quote which sheds further light on what manner of inquiry is entailed in philosophical pursuit:

"Philosophy will not tell you, for instance, whether you are in New York City or in Zanzibar (though it would give you the means to find out). But here is what it would tell you: Are you in a universe which is ruled by natural laws and, therefore, is stable, firm, absolute -- and knowable? Or are you in an incomprehensible chaos, a realm of inexplicable miracles, an unpredictable, unknowable flux, which your mind is impotent to grasp? Are the things you see around you real -- or are they only an illusion? Do they exist independent of any observer -- or are they created by the observer? Are they the object or the subject of man's consciousness?" [2]

Leonard Peikoff, sometimes called the "intellectual heir of Ayn Rand", expands on the interconnected nature of philosophical ideas:

"one must recognize that philosophy is a system of ideas. By its nature as an integrating science, it cannot be a grab bag of isolated issues. All philosophical questions are interrelated. One may not, therefore, raise any such questions at random, without the requisite context." [3]

So a study of philosophy will undertake the task of explaining existence - both the existence of the universe as well as your relationship to it - from metaphysical concepts through the ethical, political, and esthetic decisions that people make every day. This study will require the integration of ideas into a body of consistent, non-contradictory knowledge.

[1] Rand, Ayn. Philosophy: Who Needs It. First Signet Printing, November 1984, paperback. p2.
[2] Ibid. pp2-3.
[3] Peikoff, Leonard. Objectivism: The Philosophy Of Ayn Rand. First Meridian Printing, December 1993. p2.