Nature and branches of philosophy

Philosophy · Introduction and ancient philosophy. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Philosophy (Greek philosophia, love of wisdom) is the reasoned study of the most general questions: what is real, what can we know, how should we live. It works by argument, by analysing concepts and by testing claims against counter-examples.

It has five main branches. Metaphysics studies reality and being, epistemology studies knowledge, ethics studies right conduct, logic studies correct reasoning, and aesthetics studies beauty and art.

Science answers questions of fact by observation and experiment. Religious doctrine rests on revelation and faith. Philosophy may discuss the same subjects, including God, but it asks that every claim be supported by reasons open to criticism.

Rules to remember

Metaphysics: the nature of reality; ontology is the part that studies being and existence as such
Epistemology: the nature, sources and limits of knowledge
Ethics: moral right and wrong, and the good life
Logic: the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning
Aesthetics: beauty, art and taste
Axiology: the theory of value, covering ethics and aesthetics together
Uses: critical thinking, clear concepts, and examining the assumptions behind science, law and politics

Common mistake

Mixing up metaphysics and epistemology. Ask whether the question is about what exists (metaphysics) or about how we know it (epistemology).

Worked example

A student asks: 'Do human beings have free will, or is every action fixed by earlier causes?' Which branch of philosophy does this belong to?

The question is not about how we know something, so it is not epistemology.
It does not ask what we ought to do, so it is not directly ethics, although the answer matters for moral responsibility.
It asks what human action really is and how it fits into the causal order of the world, which is a question about the nature of reality.

Answer: Metaphysics.

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