Explain the different branches of philosophy.
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
While studying the philosophical thoughts of a philosopher, we learn the thinking in different branches of philosophy.
These branches of philosophy are as follows:
(1) Epistemology
Philosophy is the search for knowledge. This search is critical. Hence, the first problem which arises before a philosopher is about the nature of knowledge and its limitations. Therefore, epistemology is the most fundamental branch of philosophy. It discusses truth, falsehood, the validity of knowledge, limits of knowledge and nature of knowledge, knower philosophically and known, etc.
(2) Metaphysics
This is the study of existence, reality, or essence. Its main branches are as follows:
I. Cosmogony. This is a study of creation. Is the world created, or is it eternal? How was the world made? Why was it made? Who created the world? What is the purpose of creation? All these are the problems of cosmogony.
II. Cosmology. The main problems of cosmology are: Is the world one or many, or is it both one and many?
III. Ontology. Ontology is the study of ultimate reality. Is it real, or is it many, or is it both one and many? If truth is many, what is the relation between these many elements? All these are ontological questions.
IV. Philosophy of self. This is mainly concerned with the philosophical analysis of self. What is the self? What is its relation with the body? Is it free, or does it depend on the body? Is it one or many? All these are problems of the philosophy of self.
V. Eschatology. The discussion of the condition of the soul after death, the nature of the other world, etc., forms the subject matter of this branch of philosophy.
(3) Axiology
This branch of philosophy is concerned with philosophically studying value. It has been divided into the following three components:
(i) Ethics. Ethics discusses the criteria of right and good.
(ii) Aesthetics. Aesthetics discusses the nature and standards of beauty.
(iii) Logic studies truth. The subject matter of logic includes the methods of judgment, types of propositions, hypotheses, definitions, comparisons, division, classification and fundamental laws of thought, etc.
(4) Philosophy of Sciences
This branch of philosophy is concerned with the philosophical examination of the postulates and conclusions of different sciences.
(5) Philosophies of Social Science
The philosophical problems in different social sciences give birth to other branches of philosophy of which the main are as follows:
(i) Philosophies of Education.
This is concerned with the aim of education and the fundamental philosophical problems arising in education.
(ii) Social Philosophy.
This branch of philosophy discusses the philosophical basis of social processes and social institutions.
(iii) Political Philosophy.
This branch of philosophy is concerned with the forms of government, conditions of the state, and other fundamental problems arising in the political field. 5
(iv) Philosophy of History.
The subject matter of this branch of philosophy is the nature of the historical process, its purpose, and its relations with the cosmic process.
(v) Philosophy of Economics.
This branch of philosophy studies the aim of man’s economic activities and the fundamental problems arising in the financial field. Besides the components mentioned above of philosophy based on sciences, there may be certain comparatively lesser branches of philosophy such as philosophy of physics, philosophy of commerce, philosophy of physical education, philosophy of marriage, philosophy of family, etc. These, however, are not sufficient to form independent branches of philosophy.
(6) Semantics
According to the contemporary school of Logical Positivism, the most important branch of philosophy is semantics, which determines the meanings of different words used in other languages (Shivendra, 2006).
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Explain the different branches of philosophy.
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