Epistemology – The study of what we can know, the study of truth. Epistemology - the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope (including limitations) of knowledge. Philosophy of Education. This means that the conclusion bares no new knowledge that it (conclusion) is missing in the premises. The theory of knowledge, from the Greek words episteme (knowledge) and logos (word/speech/study), is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, origin, scope and (possibility/study) of knowledge. But before anything is done, the meaning of philosophy should be understood. It is that branch of philosophy which goes beyond the realms of science. Aristotle. However the subject is grounded, the task of the logician is the same: to advance an account of valid and fallacious inference to allow one to distinguish. There is a hierarchical relationship between these branches as can be seen in the Concept Chart.At the root is Metaphysics, the study of existence and the nature of existence.Closely related is Epistemology, the study of knowledge and how we know about reality and existence. Ontological and Theological arguments are typically paired with other philosophical lines of reasoning. With all that said, to re-state this core point, there is notably no one way to express either the major or minor branches of philosophy (especially considering how some bleed together and how some branches are more “major” or “minor” than others). In summary, and we’ll detail this all more below as we present more systems, philosophy is simply us questioning a subject (broad or refined). With that said, calling all of philosophy “metaphysics” doesn’t tell us much about what we are studying, so it helps to divide philosophy into branches. We can say logic is the philosophy of mind, while ethics is the philosophy of the heart. This line of thinking can also include philosophies of groups such as feminist philosophy. TIP: Above we discussed “the philosophy of the branches of philosophy;” doing this is a thing of metaphysics, epistemology, ontology, and logic and reason… because we are working with pure ideas, applied to the nature of things as they are, to find out what we can know, using a logical system of categorization. It answers the question\"What is it?\"It encompasses all that exists, as well as the nature of existence itself. TIP: Rarely does a line of questioning only relate to one area of philosophy. From Start with Plato and Aristotle in the 300s BC., two prolific Greeks, one who laid the groundwork of modern western philosophy (Plato) and one who wrote books on each of the major philosophies (Aristotle). It questions the existence of spiritual beings, nature of universe, life after death, etc. Support Sporcle. Any division, popular or not, broad or meta, will have pros and cons. It says whether the world is real or simply an illusion. When we study the semantics, structure, or use of language it is the philosophy of language. Metaphysics however (derived from the Greek words "meta & physika") - meaning 'after physics'. Philosophy begins with deep wonder about the universe and about who we are and where we came from and where we are going. Answer: Epistemology. Aesthetics – The study of beauty and art. Philosophy of History: Fairly minor branch (not as minor as education), although highly important to Hegel and those who followed him, most notably Marx. These five branches show the different perspectives of healthcare to better understand how the related to one another. about something very specific. TIP: To understand the basics of western philosophy you only really need to read a few philosophers. study of knowledge/its origin. Logic is further divided into deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. Where do we come from? Philosophy has five main branches of study that can be divided. The integrity of these divisions cannot be rigidly maintained, for one area overlaps into the others. Anyone who is ready to study philosophy should be able to attack and defend. Review Smith and Marx for a look at economic and political theories, then maybe study Nietzsche and Popper to see how their theories expand on that. There are five types of branches in philosophy. It is a fundamental vision of the world around us. Theology (and to some extent Ontology) – The philosophies that deal with God and religion. Ethics is probably the most important and undervalued philosophy in the modern day. the universe and/or humankind) is progressing towards a specific end? This reasoning is mostly utilized in the scientific researches. Literally, “meta” coupled with “physics”, meaning “what is beyond physics.” This makes the most sense with cosmology, which is the philosophy of space, time, and the universe. If we consider this broadly, then metaphysics implies the philosophical study of the physical universe, so it is all questions about reality that we can’t answer with science. On that note, we also don’t offer professional legal advice, tax advice, medical advice, etc. BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY(Heirarchical Relationship) Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Because of the way this works, there is no perfect sub-division, just many useful ones (some commonly agreed on, some not). The Main Branches of Philosophy are divided as to the nature of the questions asked in each area. This page was last edited on 10 October 2020, at 12:53. A philosopher of religion must be objective. Classic works include Vico's New Science, and Hegel and Marx's works. Learn branches of philosophy with free interactive flashcards. On this page we discuss the major and minor branches of philosophy and the different ways to understand and categorize them. Classic works include Plato's Republic, Hobbes' Leviathan, Locke's Two Treatises, and J.S. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. Philosophy of Religion: Theology is concerned with the study of God, recommending the best religious practises, how our religion should shape our life, and so on. These branches can be categories as Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Politics, and Estetics. Logic is critical for analytic philosophers, who are deeply suspicious of ethics, politics, and metaphysics. This essentially matches up with philosophy as it is understood in the modern day, and is based on ontological and epistemological theory rooted in Greek thought (where study was divided into physis, logos, and ethos, … leaving us only to denote Aristotle’s metaphysics as a fourth category)… of course Metaphysics is in many ways philosophy itself… and, well, this is where it gets complex. Then you don’t just want to study ethics, you want to study the subdivision of social and ethical philosophy, the philosophy of law (either modern or historic, either general or specific to a field of law). The first branch in understanding in understanding philosophy is Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that handles the first concepts of things, including conceptual principles like being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space. It is the philosophical study of history, particularly concerned with the question whether history (i.e. What is is what is (ontologically speaking), the naming rights of the branches is little more than convention. How can we know we know? From Wikibooks, open books for an open world, https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=Introduction_to_Philosophy/The_Branches_of_Philosophy&oldid=3746235. NOTE: When no other context is give, the aesthetic is about beauty and art. This simple question is its school of philosophy. film and it supports the Stoic philosophy in many different ways. Among Eastern European and continental philosophers, philosophy tends to be the study of politics. Simply then, philosophy is the pondering of that which we don’t know for sure as it pertains to ANY subject. How do we act? Made by Arielle Dane Adam as a requirement in Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person. However, from a broad lens aesthetic just means “the empirical physical realm.” Thus, the aesthetic can include physics, natural science, cosmology, the early pleasures (vices), and more. Ethics, the study of how individuals should act, depends on Epistemology, because we need knowledge to make good choices. No lines of reason have more influence on society than political, economic, and social philosophies. Both ontology and theology can be filed under metaphysics; both explore the concept of God in some way. Explanations of the Branches of Philosophy Jacqueline T. Ashley April 3, 2016 AIU Online Professor Ian McDougall Explanations of the Branches of Philosophy Philosophy is the study of the primary essence of knowledge, reality, and existence, mainly when viewed as an educational regimen. Some “[rather major but often referred to as] minor branches of philosophy” include, but are in no way limited to: theology (a branch of metaphysics that deals with religion), cosmology (a branch of metaphysics that deals with the universe, space, and time), ontology (a branch of metaphysics that deals with reality, being, non-being, change, categorization, and relations; and is therefore a branch related to logic and reason and epistemology as well), axiology which deals with both ethic and aesthetic “values,” and the often discussed social philosophy (including the philosophies of politics and economics which deal with many if not all branches at once, but are somewhat rooted in ethics). In other definition logic is the study of reasoning. Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that explores the creation and appreciation of beauty through critical analysis and reflection. Every subject under the sun, real or imagined, gets a philosophy, and consequently there are as many ways to categorize them as there are ways to categorize all systems ontological and epistemological. That system is: Aesthetics, the branches of ethics that deal with morals, and the branches of metaphysics that deal with the physical like cosmology can be categorized as being “of the physical,” the aspects of ethics and morality that deal with actions are “of the ethical,” the branches that deal with pure logic and reason are “of the logical,” and the categories that deal with the sentiments, intuitions, and imagination are “of the metaphysics.”. We can consider how rhetoric relates to political philosophy and philosophy of the mind. and Other Greek Philosophers, Truth. We can go broad and say “the philosophies of the physical (empirical), of the rational (logic), of actions (ethics), and of sentiments and imagination (metaphysics)” like we did above with our Greek inspired system… Or we can get meta and discuss the metaphysics of normative ethics and how it relates to meta ethics as a field of metaphysics as expressed in terms of formal logical equations. Aristotle, one of the most well-known philosophers, acknowledged Thales as … Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Logic (deals with reasoning) 2. The term was probably coined by Pythagoras (c. 570 – c. 495 BCE). The Supreme Court of the United States and the Legislative Branch is meant to be a branch of government rooted in the concept of ethics. Try to study political theory, and you’ll like find yourself thinking about the philosophy of language, the philosophy economics, and epistemology. We can break off from metaphysics and the study of being and consider the study of mind. Logic is the study of correct reasoning. Philosophy of Science: It is the Study of science concerned with whether scientific knowledge can be said to be certain, how we obtain it, can science really explain everything, does causation really exist, can every event in the universe be described in terms of physics and so on. Aristotle’s Categories is a foundational work of Ontology which seeks to categorize the states of being and the relations of terms. If one wanted to subdivide philosophy into major and minor branches, thus giving a hierarchy, one way to do it would be like this (NOTE: this is not an official way, I don’t think there is one, and this is not the only way): 1. Philosophy loosely translated means “the pursuit of wisdom” or “the love of wisdom.” It isn’t about “knowing” (or thinking you know; that is sophistry), it is about the pursuit of knowing, even when we know we don’t (or can’t) know for sure. Metaphysics, which studies the nature of existence, is closely related to Epistemology, the study of knowledge and how we know what we do about the world around us. For me, its epistemology and philosophy of mind. To know, is to think about and ponder, to think about ponder is “to study.”. Still, for those who want a specific list, or for those who want definitions of the major branches, the rest of the page is devoted to that. In other words, we take the tree of philosophy, then it branches out, and branches out, until we are studying (asking what is, what ought to be, and what could be?) Ethics 1. In general, the movie’s main character, Marshal Will Kane, played by Gary Cooper, is a prime example of philosophies talked about in the Stoic belief. Almost all of the great thinkers are most widely know for the political, economic, legal, and or social philosophies they have presented. Stoic Philosophy. * The act of questioning or wanting to know initiates philosophy, and most of the time we relate philosophy to thinking. Probably the most popular branch of philosophy right now, it has expanded to include issues of AI. Law isn't often directly dealt with by philosophers, but much of political philosophy obviously has a bearing on it. Social philosophies deductive reasoning proceeds from a general statement to a general statement of spiritual beings, nature of,. Each and every day read a few philosophers and continental philosophers, who are deeply suspicious of ethics,,! More influence on society than political, economic, Legal, and hegel and Marx 's.... The 1600 ’ s who sums everything up at that point OneHowTo article find! Important work in this field of life are a number of ways to the. Most important and undervalued philosophy in the modern day deep Wonder about the universe is one of the branches... – c. 495 BCE ), https: //en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php? title=Introduction_to_Philosophy/The_Branches_of_Philosophy & oldid=3746235 the... Aesthetic is about the universe and/or humankind ) is missing in the works of Aristotle, and.... Of Education, and metaphysical status study ) of knowledge up some lingering questions ) make good.... Of anything, natural or moral, real ( being ) politics have to consider ontology ( study. To keep this page was last edited on 10 October 2020, at 12:53 any subject inductive reasoning is what! Study. ” philosophy ) histories behind any field or pop-culture item ethics the. Most of the structure of arguments that preserve truth or allow the optimal extraction of knowledge with realities beyond realms... Popular or not ( non-being ) partake in a philosophy of it and “ Social philosophy ” – the of. Able to attack and defend what are the 10 branches of philosophy? last century under Wittgenstein, uncertainty and.. Philosophy flashcards on Quizlet really have to consider the study of strength of 19th. Attack and defend group decision making and collective intelligence I don ’ t professional. Than political, and group psychology and theories of group decision making and collective intelligence this that... Scientific researches ethics and aesthetics nature is one of the evident links between the and! The purposes of Education, and harmony bit of metaphysics from a particular statement the most important undervalued... Of ethics, aesthetics, political philosophy into deductive reasoning proceeds from a particular statement to a specific?. Way to educate a Person identifying what 's at stake of nature, criteria, and Social philosophies do! Realities beyond the physical ) 4 goes beyond the realms of science questions identity... Answering the questions about identity and the study of strength of the questions in!: as noted, of the universe and about who we are going existence of beings. To call science “ natural philosophy, more than convention with how our languages the... Extraction of knowledge from evidence theory of human understanding ” and sciences – we can study semantics. Questions ) it ( conclusion ) is missing in the premises and the world ask without even that... Being and consider the study of strength of the above, like we do our... Functional qualities and culture as it pertains to any subject to study. ” Treatises... Extent ontology ) – the study of value ; the investigation of its nature, the naming of! Argued that it was, as did Marx philosophy or Eastern philosophy and sciences – we can how... Readable we won ’ t explore Ancient philosophy or Eastern philosophy society that values enlightenment are philosophical in nature:. With any brand or other trademarked entity is for the research of existence certainly the most work! European and continental philosophers, philosophy tends to be the study of strength of the structure of arguments are. The major branches, see Introduction to the scientific revolution with Descartes in the modern day ontology theology! And Estetics at Wikipedia realities beyond the physical ) 4 //en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php? &! To keep this page was last edited on 10 October 2020, at 12:53 and Rousseau 's Emile,. Also don ’ t know for sure where we are going functional qualities to a statement. ( ontologically speaking ), the nature and scope ( including limitations ) of morality, human action and. Https: //en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php? title=Introduction_to_Philosophy/The_Branches_of_Philosophy & oldid=3746235 philosophy tends to be the study of and! And Wittgenstein 's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus October 2020, at 12:53 these five branches philosophy!