An Overview of the Branches of Philosophy
Generally speaking, philosophy the critical examination of thegrounds for fundamental beliefs and an analysis of the basic conceptsemployed in the expression of such beliefs. Philosophical inquiry is acentral element in the intellectual history of many historicalcivilizations. The word is from the Greek (by way of Latin, philosophia)and means "love of wisdom" (Martinich & Stroll 2004:17). This paperprovides a brief definition and description of three approaches tophilosophical investigation: metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology(including its two branches, aesthetics and ethics). Metaphysics. This branch of philosophy deals with the ultimate
This field of philosophy is defined as the study ofthe nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. According to Morris, axiology is concerned with "What is good'In formal discourse, this is customarily divided into two divisions, i. This branch of philosophy is concerned with "values" and"what is good" (Morris 1961:219). In both cases, the issuesinvolved are not so much concerned with reality or with truth, but ratherwith "values. " "These matters are known under the larger term axiology,the study of Value" (1961:74). ,the question of ethics (what is right conduct') and the question ofaesthetics (What is beautiful')" (1961:74). This collection of treatises placed after the Physics [Gr. The term comes from theGreek episteme ("knowledge") and logos ("reason"), and accordingly thefield is sometimes called the theory of knowledge (Martinich & Stroll2004). The primary focus of metaphysical speculation is termed"ontology," which is the study of the ultimate nature of being; however,philosophical theology and cosmology are typically considered branches ofmetaphysics as well (Metaphysics 2000). metaphysics =after physics ] treated what Aristotle termed the FirstPhilosophy. largely as an extension of the Metaphysics ofAristotle. This branch of philosophy leavesnothing unquestioned and proceeds entirely without assumptions; accordingto Walsh (1963), "The only propositions with which a metaphysician couldproperly be content were propositions whose truth could not be denied, orwhose truth was seen to be involved in their own attempted denial" (11).
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