Learn what the branches of philosophy are. Identify the major questions of fields of philosophy and discover examples of the main areas of philosophy.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Branches of Philosophy | Overview & Examples
Table of Contents
- What Do the Fields of Philosophy Study?
- What Are the Branches of Philosophy?
- Examples of the Main Branches of Philosophy
- Lesson Summary
- FAQs
- Activities
Philosophy Writing Activity
Compare and Contrast Essay
For this assignment, you will choose two branches of philosophy to compare and contrast. First, decide which two of the following branches you would like to explore: epistemology, metaphysics, logic, aesthetics, and ethics. Next, create a Venn diagram to help organize your ideas. To create a Venn diagram, draw two large circles that significantly overlap in the middle. In this middle section, write about the similarities these two branches share. In the outer sections, note the major differences between the two branches. For example, if you were writing about epistemology and metaphysics, you could write that epistemology focuses on how people acquire knowledge, while metaphysics is more concerned about abstract concepts, such as the nature of reality. Make sure that you have at least 3-4 notes in each section of the Venn diagram. Once your diagram is complete, it is time to develop a thesis statement. In your thesis statement, you want to express the main idea of the essay clearly and concisely. Here is an example that could be used for this essay: While epistemology and metaphysics have a few inherent similarities, these two branches have several significant differences. Now that you have a thesis statement, use the outline below to help organize and structure your essay. After you have written your essay, make sure to proofread and edit before publishing or turning-in.
I. Introduction
- Hook/Attention-Getter
- Introduce philosophy and the main branches.
- Thesis Statement
II. Body Paragraphs
- Similarities
- Discuss the similarities between the two branches of philosophy.
- Use specific examples and details to support your ideas.
- Differences
- Discuss the major differences between the two branches of philosophy.
- Use specific examples and details to support your ideas.
III. Conclusion
- Summarize your main points.
- Re-state your thesis statement.
- Provide a final statement that adds closure to your essay.
What are the major branches of philosophy, and define each branch?
The major branches of philosophy are epistemology, which studies knowledge; metaphysics, which studies reality and being; logic, which studies argumentation and reason; axiology, which studies valuation within aesthetics and ethics; and political philosophy, which studies government.
What type of field is philosophy?
Philosophy is a field that involves critical thinking, so philosophy plays a role in all fields. Philosophy helped to develop and even create some fields. For example, science developed out of natural philosophy. Physics, the cosmos and nature, was studied as natural philosophy.
Table of Contents
- What Do the Fields of Philosophy Study?
- What Are the Branches of Philosophy?
- Examples of the Main Branches of Philosophy
- Lesson Summary
It is no exaggeration to say that philosophy applies to everything as we know it. Philosophy is organized into separate branches; we will survey each unit in this lesson. Although philosophy deals with various concepts, let's begin by defining philosophy and its importance. Merriam-Webster defines philosophy as "a set of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life." The origin of the word Philosophy comes from two Latin words - Philo, meaning "love," and Sophia, "wisdom." Consider the question that children often ask: why? This inherent love of wisdom, a need to understand, extends to everything in life. It is why philosophy addresses a litany of topics and concepts organized under the branches of philosophy.
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Even though some branches of philosophy break down slightly differently, the major components are universally recognized. Philosophy covers a wide and ever-evolving range of topics to address our ever-changing world. Naturally, there is some fluidity in categorizing philosophical branches and the subcategories of these branches. In general, the components of philosophy break down into these five branches. We will discuss each in this lesson:
- Epistemology
- Metaphysics
- Logic
- Axiology (Aesthetics & Ethics)
- Political Philosophy
It should be stated that these branches tend to be applied or thought of in combination when discussing philosophy. In other words, philosophers are not necessarily exclusive to any single component of philosophical thinking. Philosophical critical thinking often involves thoughts and concepts across several philosophical branches. Finally, the units of philosophy are not ranked in any particular order, so there is no hierarchy or status when surveying the components.
Epistemology
Epistemology addresses philosophical questions about knowledge; it is the study of and seeks to answer how we gain knowledge and establish concepts like truth. For instance, can we ever know anything, or is knowledge relative? Is truth subjective or objective? Do we decide what is true or is the truth, regardless of whether we accept it or not? Epistemology examines whether we are born knowing certain things or are we a blank slate, a "tabula rasa," according to the philosopher John Locke, and progressively gain knowledge. Another critical problem in epistemology is knowledge related to perception, specifically optics. Can we trust what we see, take it as truth, and gain understanding from it?
Metaphysics
Metaphysics addresses philosophical questions about being and reality; it examines who we are and our place in existence. Metaphysics seeks to answer questions about a material world. For example, is there an afterlife, and do we exist beyond our physical forms? A fundamental question of concern in metaphysics is the concept of the soul. Therefore, questions about the existence of God, or a higher being, and how that shapes our soul into a purposeful reality come under metaphysics. Special topics in metaphysics also include human nature, identity, and the meaning of life.
Logic
Logic addresses philosophical questions about reason and argumentation; it attempts to formulate systems for making reasoned arguments that can create and check views. Precisely formal logic tries to universalize how we form beliefs and check those arguments for validity and truth. Sound reasoning and argumentation versus fallacy or faulty logic are also points of emphasis within the philosophical branch of logic. Fallacies are arguments or conclusions premised on flawed logic or problematic reasoning. For example, making conclusions based on stereotypes or generalizations would be fallacious thinking since we cannot logically conclude that the actions or behaviors of a few are those of an entire group. Therefore, logic analyzes how we construct reasoning arguments and draw fallacy-free conclusions.
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is one component of Axiology; it addresses philosophical questions about beauty and art. Aesthetics investigates how we define beauty or taste, appreciate art, and recognize connections between forms found in nature and mathematics to artistic expressions across the arts. Aesthetics examines valuations about what is good, as exemplified by definitions of beauty. Furthermore, how do we define art, its purpose, and who makes those decisions? Is art subjective or objective? In other words, is art what each individual says is art, or is art what meets specific criteria and, thereby, becomes art? Other notable topics in aesthetics are composition in the arts and cultural ideas about physical attractiveness and fashion.
Ethics
Ethics is the second component of Axiology. It addresses philosophical questions about right and wrong, morality, and valuations of ethical standards by individuals or cultures. Ethics examines moral justifications for actions or inactions and how we come to understand and advocate what is right and wrong. In addition, ethics includes concepts relating to justice, more specifically, how we define justice and administer justice fairly. Fundamental problems discussed in ethics are consequential versus non-consequential theories of ethics. For example, should we justify actions based on the result or consequence, or are actions justified based on rules or standards no matter the result or non-consequence. In other words, are right and wrong circumstantial and situationally dependent? Ethics further breaks down into particular disciplines based on professions like business and medical ethics. Bioethics is a very specialized subset of ethics. It addressed the challenges of what being human is and the right and wrong of altering our humanness and controlling life and death.
Political Philosophy
Political philosophy addresses philosophical questions about the state, laws, for those governing, and those governed. It examines justifications for a state's authority, our recognition of that authority, and the operation of functioning societies governed by law both nationally and internationally. Further, political philosophy includes discussions about war theories that seek to justify war declarations and ideas about pacifism, civil disobedience, Marxism, and anarchism. Some challenges within political philosophy discussion are what form of government is best, what form of economic system is best, and what laws are necessary and justified. Other topics and interests in political philosophy examine civic responsibility, social contracts, and representative democracy.
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A fundamental principle in philosophy is doing philosophy, so practical applications of philosophy are essential to any branch of philosophy. Therefore, practical examples will help solidify an understanding of each branch.
Epistemology
Investigative journalists and crime detectives gather evidence based on witness statements and professional expertise. Scientific processes can determine and recreate what happened to approximate the truth. These professions operate on gaining knowledge or facts and investigating what is true or not.
Metaphysics
Currently, the abortion debate has reignited across the United States. When we think about our reality and being (metaphysics), we consider life and when it begins. Moreover, at what point does a soul come into existence, if at all? Debates about abortion and personhood call into question our understanding of existence, self, and God (metaphysics).
Logic
The United States legal system and courts operate on formal logic. Causality and lines of argument based on sound reasoning set the rules for allowable arguments. In other words, lawyers use logic to argue their cases with reason; otherwise, anyone at any time can say anything in a court of law.
Axiology (Aesthetics)
In today's digital world, creating music has come under scrutiny. Music generating programs/auto-tune have drawn the ire of traditional musicians, some of which claim that music comes from the soul and not an algorithm or artificial intelligence. However, technological advances are challenging conventional aesthetic notions of music as an art form.
Axiology (Ethics)
A current hot-button issue is the ethical implications of COVID vaccinations. For example, is it right or wrong to mandate vaccinations? Is it right or wrong to be vaccinated for the benefit of others? In other words, our current national discussion around vaccination mandates is ethics in practice.
Political Philosophy
Current debates about voters' rights and voter suppression display political philosophy in-process. Significant questions about the United States electoral college system for presidential elections continue to be a point of contention. Furthermore, the evergreen debate between socialism versus capitalism enters the debates and campaigns of political candidates. Political philosophy even extends to cable television news channels advocating and challenging a variety of political philosophies.
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The branches of philosophy are widespread and deal with many aspects of life. Philosophy, or the love of wisdom, gives us a better understanding of all our intellectual and spiritual pursuits of knowledge. To organize all the fields of philosophical pursuit, we have branches tied to particular scopes of philosophical topics, problems, and interests.
To help conceptualize the branches of philosophy, it helps associate keywords or phrases to better differentiate the branches from one another. The major branches of philosophy are epistemology (knowledge & truth), metaphysics (reality & being), logic (argumentation & reason), axiology (aesthetics & ethics), and political philosophy (the state & government).
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Video Transcript
Branches of Philosophy
Janice is chatting with her roommate, Paula, about the field of philosophy. After completing five different introductory courses about different branches of philosophy, Janice has a good grasp of what each branch entails.
Janice explains to Paula, who is not a philosophy student, that although it is not always broken down in this exact way, a common approach to the branches of philosophy is through five categories: ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, logic, and aesthetics.
Epistemology
'Epistemology sounds like the most complicated,' says Paula. 'Tell me about that one first.'
Janice decides to start with an example. She asks Paula to consider a classic problem presented by philosopher Bertrand Russell: 'How do you know that the earth wasn't created five minutes ago and that all of our memories, records, history, and even the Internet didn't just spring into existence that recently?'
Paula laughs, because it sounds like a silly question. 'It's because I remember a time before five minutes ago.'
Janice counters, 'But perhaps it's possible that even those memories were created in your mind five minutes ago. Can you prove somehow that this isn't the case? How do you know that all of these things occurred? Can you really know for sure that everything you think has happened has, in fact, occurred?'
Janice explains that epistemology, put simply, is the study of knowledge. Put in a more comprehensive way, epistemology focuses on how we come to acquire knowledge and what type of limits there are to our knowledge. It even asks the question, 'What is the nature of knowledge?' You can remember this term by thinking of how -ology refers to the 'study of', while episteme- refers to 'knowledge'.
Metaphysics
'What about metaphysics?' Paula says. 'I've heard about this being used to describe really abstract ideas.'
Janice confirms that metaphysics involves some abstract ideas, but she's able to give a solid example, too. Just like for epistemology, when Janice asked about how Paula knew the world existed five minutes ago, she could ask a similar question about how Paula knows that she herself is the same person she was as a child growing up.
'Well, I don't know. I'm just me,' Paula says, no question. 'I have an idea of who I am and that is me, as far back as I remember.'
Janice explains that metaphysics looks more deeply into topics such as this and focuses on determining what, if anything, can be said to be real. The abstract idea of personal identity, for instance, can benefit from this kind of questioning, as can concepts such as time and space.
Logic
Paula says, 'That sounds pretty out there. I thought philosophy was focused on logic, too.'
Janice confirms this: 'Philosophy does aim to use logic to consider these difficult questions.' The idea behind logic is that arguments and claims need to be evaluated closely and weighed to determine whether they involve correct reasoning. In fact, the reason to dig so deeply into topics like personal identity, time, and space is to question our assumptions and assure that our beliefs are valid.
Using logic, a person aims to avoid coming to conclusions without evidence. Logic's role, from this perspective, is to clarify our thought process and improve our arguments.
Aesthetics
As an artist, Paula tries to relate philosophy to her own field. She asks Janice, 'What would a philosopher have to say about art?'
The philosophy of art, also sometimes described as aesthetics, is a branch of its own and relates to our beliefs about art and the nature of beauty. In this branch of philosophy, a person might ask questions about what value art contributes to the world, and whether there really is a demarcation between art itself and reality.
Paula confirms that sometimes people say that her art isn't really 'art' in the traditional sense since it involves machinery, and she asks if this is a question that philosophers could consider.
Janice says, 'You've got the right idea. Aesthetics explores this sense of taste and judgments about what is beautiful and worthwhile.'
Ethics
Paula reflects back to a previous conversation that they had about philosophy, in which Janice told her that philosophy can relate to ethics or knowing what is right and wrong. It can help answer questions about whether it's appropriate to steal, lie, or even kill under certain circumstances.
'Yes, that's ethics,' Janice says. 'Some philosophers have used ethics as an exploration in which actions are praiseworthy and which are not, and whether a particular action is something that society should encourage or discourage. Some may question the categories of 'right' and 'good' and consider what they really mean.'
In the real-life study of philosophy, many of the categories overlap when approached by those in the field. 'These branches,' Janice says, 'are a way to highlight the key areas of concern in philosophy.'
Lesson Summary
Philosophers consider a broad range of areas when they look closely at how we come to conclusions about life. In this lesson, we covered five general branches of philosophy, although there is some overlap. Epistemology is considered the study of knowledge and focuses on how we come to acquire knowledge and what type of limits there are to our knowledge. Metaphysics focuses on determining what, if anything, can be said to be real.
Logic involves the belief that arguments and claims need to be evaluated closely and weighed to determine whether they involve correct reasoning. The intention in logic is typically to clarify our thought process and improve our arguments. Aesthetics relates to our beliefs about art and the nature of beauty, while ethics is an exploration in which actions are praiseworthy and which are not, including the opportunity to question the categories of 'right' and 'good'.
Learning Outcomes
After this lesson, you should be able to list and define the different branches of philosophy: epistemology, metaphysics, logic, aesthetics, and ethics
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Branches of Philosophy | Overview & Examples
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