Branches of Philosophy

The Collins English Dictionary, describes philosophy as - "the academic discipline concerned with making explicit the nature and significance of ordinary and scientific beliefs and investigating the intelligibility of concepts by means of rational argument concerning their presuppositions, implications, and interrelationships; in particular, the rational investigation of the nature and structure of reality (metaphysics), the resources and limits of knowledge (epistemology), the principles and import of moral judgment (ethics), and the relationship between language and reality (semantics)."

Thus philosophy is a critical study that uses reason and rationality to come up with solutions for better understanding of the basic problems of life and related issues such as knowledge, morals, rationality itself and language among other things. The above definition clearly indicates that there are four root branches of philosophy to which the other different branches of philosophy are related.

What are the Branches of Philosophy?

Metaphysics: Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that goes beyond the realms of science. It is concerned with answering the questions about identity and the world. The name is derived from the Greek words, Meta which means beyond or after, and Physika which means physics. Aristotle, one of the most well known philosophers, acknowledged Thales as the first known meta physician. The main branches of metaphysics are ontology, natural theology and universal science.

Epistemology: It deals with the definition of knowledge and its scope and limitations. It translates from Greek to mean 'theory of knowledge'. It questions the meaning of knowledge, how we obtain knowledge, how much do we know and how do we have this knowledge? Some of the famous epistemologists are Descartes, Kant and Hume.

Aesthetics: Aesthetics deals with sense, perception and appreciation of beauty. It broadly includes everything to do with appreciating of art, culture and nature. It also examines how the perception of beauty is determined by taste and aesthetic judgment. The practice of defining, criticizing and appreciating art and art forms is based on aesthetics.

Ethics: It is concerned with questions on morality and values and how they apply to various situations. It can be divided into the branches of meta-ethics, normative and applied ethics. Ethics seeks to understand the basis of morals, how they develop and how they are and should be followed. Famous works on ethics are by philosophers as early as Plato, Aristotle, Kant and Nietzsche.

Logic: Among the branches of philosophy, logic is concerned with the various forms of reasoning and arriving at genuine conclusions. It includes the system of statements and arguments. It is now divided into mathematical logic and philosophical logic. It tries to avoid the imaginary or assumptions without real logical proof.

Political Philosophy: It is concerned with all the things to do with government and the relationships and obligations of people in a state and their communities. It also includes things like citizens rights, laws, and justice systems. Plato, Hobbes, Locke and J.S. Mill have defining works in this branch of philosophy.

Philosophy of Mind: It is, as the name suggests, the branch of philosophy, that tries to understand and explain everything that there is to do, with the mind. It is divided into two major schools of thought, namely dualism which states that the mind and body are two distinct entities and monism, which states that the mind and body are not distinct. It has inspired work in many modern day sciences including computer science, neurosciences and evolutionary biology. It has helped research on the topics of artificial intelligence and understanding the human brain and how it effects us.

Philosophy of Language: It includes study on topics such as how language originated, its nature and usage. Here, philosophers first try to understand the nature of language, secondly, how it helps in communication, thirdly how it relates to the minds of the people communicating and how it relates to the truth in the world and how it affects our thoughts. Prominent philosophers in this category are Plato, Wittgenstein and Locke.

Philosophy of Education: It deals with the study of education and ways in which it can be improved. It tries to find the best ways to impart instruction. It tries to understand and explain the nature and need of education, methods in which it can be done, and what its ideals should be. The philosophy of education overlaps in the area of study of both the various branches of philosophy and of education. This has been a topic of interest for philosophers, the world over, and still generates a lot of debate and interest.

Philosophy of Religion: This is the branch of philosophy which is associated with religion and God. It tries to understand and rationalize, the relations between value systems and the entity of God among other things. It is designed to be different from religious philosophy so that it is not biased by certain faiths and beliefs but looks at religion as a whole.

There are a lot of other different branches of philosophy according to the subject including, philosophy of science, mathematics, law, history, psychology and anthropology. Philosophy is also a widely studied subject and philosophers from different parts of the world, have come up with their own unique ideas and theories. Philosophy can thus be further divided into the western and eastern schools of philosophy. Philosophy has deeply affected our way of life and modern culture and values, our government systems and even technology. Philosophy as a subject will continue to exist as long as man continues to think and ask questions.