Philosophy is neither dogma nor advice for daily living nor a body of truisms. Rather, it examines the premises on which systematic thought may rest; it explores the types of thought that may be produced in such areas of concern as ethics, politics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology; and it evaluates the advantages and disadvantages inherent in various modes and systems of thought. Thus philosophy encourages the thinking person to develop a sophisticated self-conception and world-view, and to examine his/her values, expectations, commitments and loyalties in a rational and realistic manner.