Jania Joise B.

Intertas HPH121
ABM 12 2

BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

1. Metaphysics
a. Study of existence
b. It is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of existence, being and
the world. Debatably, metaphysics is the foundation of philosophy: Aristotle calls
it "first philosophy", and says it is the subject that deals with "first causes and the
principles of things".
c. "What is the nature of reality?", "How does the world exist, and what is its origin
or source of creation?", "Does the world exist outside the mind?", "How can the
incorporeal mind affect the physical body?", "If things exist, what is their objective
nature?", "Is there a God (or many gods, or no god at all)?"
2. Epistemology
a. Study of knowledge
b. It is the study of the nature and scope of knowledge and justified belief. It analyzes
the nature of knowledge and how it relates to similar ideas such as truth, belief
and justification. It also deals with the means of production of knowledge, as well
as skepticism about different knowledge claims. It is essentially about issues
having to do with the creation and dissemination of knowledge in particular areas
of inquiry.
c. "What is knowledge?", "How is knowledge acquired?", "What do people know?",
"What are the necessary and sufficient conditions of knowledge?", "What is its
structure, and what are its limits?", "What makes justified beliefs justified?", "How
we are to understand the concept of justification?", "Is justification internal or
external to one's own mind?"
3. Ethics
a. Study of action
b. It is concerned with questions of how people ought to act, and the search for a
definition of right conduct (identified as the one causing the greatest good) and
the good life (in the sense of a life worth living or a life that is satisfying or happy).
c. "How should people act?", "What do people think is right?", "How do we take
moral knowledge and put it into practice?", and "What does 'right' even mean?"
4. Politics
a. Study of force
b. It is the study of vital questions about the state, government, politics, liberty,
justice and the enforcement of a legal code by authority. It is Ethics applied to a
group of people, and discusses how a society should be set up and how one should
act within a society. Individual rights (such as the right to life, liberty, property, the
 pursuit of happiness, free speech, self-defense, etc) state explicitly the
requirements for a person to benefit rather than suffer from living in a society.
c. "What is a government?", "Why are governments needed?", "What makes a
government legitimate?", "What rights and freedoms should a government
protect?", "What duties do citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any?" and
"When may a government be legitimately overthrown, if ever?"
5. Aesthetics
a. Study of art
b. It is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and appreciation of art,
beauty and good taste. It has also been defined as "critical reflection on art,
culture and nature". The word "aesthetics" derives from the Greek "aisthetikos",
meaning "of sense perception". Along with Ethics, aesthetics is part of axiology
(the study of values and value judgements).
c. "What is a work of art?", "What makes a work of art successful?", "Why do we find
certain things beautiful?", "How can things of very different categories be
considered equally beautiful?", "Is there a connection between art and morality?",
"Can art be a vehicle of truth?", "Are aesthetic judgements objective statements
or purely subjective expressions of personal attitudes?", "Can aesthetic
judgements be improved or trained?"

RESOURCES:
1. http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/FiveBranchesMain.html
2. http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch.html