Which quote best expresses john muir’s philosophy? a. "when we try to pick out anything [in nature] by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." b. "not one penny for scenery." c. "the city mansions are built on the broken bones and drooping heads of children." d. "congress shall make no laws abridging the freedom of speech and of the press."

I'm going to go with A.
The purpose and reason behind philosophy is asking questions and using logic to question everything around you. A suggests questioning, specifically questioning of the universe.
Thinking like this wasn't always allowed. A brilliant Ancient Greek man named Socrates was sentenced to death for challenging known beliefs with logic and reason, instead of stating that the gods were in charge.
These ideas also sparked The Age Of Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason.
Hope this helped

The mercantilism option