Abstract: This article discusses the problem of the lost meaning of the philosophy, which emerged as a result of its “technematization” in modern world. The question of “What is philosophy?” is being raised again. The author refers to the two key representatives of philosophical thought of the ancient West and East: Socrates and Lao Tzu, using the comparative approach and considering the category of Tao in the contrast to the main categories of ancient Greek philosophy: being, truth, logos, and action. Reconstruction of the teachings of Socrates and Lao Tzu contributes to the disclosure of philosophy through the four crucial aspects: ontological, gnoseological, anthropological, and ethical. The explanation of these aspects or dimensions of the philosophy gives the key to its initial meaning. The author concludes on the borderline and specificity between “wisdom” and “discretion”, where the latter is the primary foundation of the existence of philosophy. The philosophy itself is viewed as a being and process of cognition, directed not only to the outwards, which is characteristic to the Western European tradition overall, but also to within, which is typical to the Eastern thought. The disclosure of the structure of philosophy indicated the need for coming back to its basic meaning through the ethical dominant, which was initially embedded in the concepts of “wisdom” and “love”. The author introduces a peculiar term of “Sophiphilia”, which corresponds to the level of “discretion” as a pre-philosophical field of existence.