The poster above set out nicely a certain map of philosophy. I'll add a more traditional one below, based on Aristotle, which was followed in ancient and medieval times.
First, there is the division between theoretical and practical philosophy.
Theoretical philosophy aims for knowledge for its own sake. Its end is in itself, and it seeks to know the whole. As Socrates states in Plato's Republic, the philosopher loves the whole of wisdom (475b): “Won’t we also then assert that the philosopher is a desirer of wisdom, not of one part and not another, but of all of it?”
Practical philosophy, however, seeks to know for the sake of action. Its end is action.
Practical philosophy breaks into two further categories, politics and ethics.
Politics is the exploration of the art of ruling and of the common good in any community. What is the purpose of human life as it is lived socially? How is this communal life best organized? How can it best foster the virtue of its members?
Ethics is an exploration of the human end . . . how do we reach happiness? What is virtue, and how does it relate to attaining happiness? How do we become virtuous? What sort of life leads to happiness? Aristotle thinks that the best practical life is one that engages in theoretical philosophy . . . a life of contemplation. So, practical philosophy will lead to theoretical philosophy, since knowing is the ultimate aim of man. To bring in politics, in what sort of society can this sort of theoretical philosophy take place? What social order allows humans to reach their actualization as rational beings?
Now, theoretical philosophy has many categories. The noblest is metaphysics, which is the science of being as being. Basically, it examines the fundamental nature of reality . . . What are the different meanings that we mean when we say that something is?
There is also physics. Until the 19th century, physics and the other natural sciences were called natural philosophy, or physics. Hence, chemistry and biology would be a part of physics. This philosophical discipline seeks to understand the natural world. What is motion? What happens in generation and decay? What is life, and what are the various kinds of life? What is causality? What are the various types of causality?
There is also epistemology, or an examination of how we know. What do we know? How do we know? How do we know that we know? What is the difference between knowledge and opinion? What are the conditions that allow us to know what we know?
One may include logic in philosophy, though it is a tool. Thus, logic was considered an art rather than a science, since it was not pursued for its own sake. What is a logically valid and sound argument?
I hope that this helps.
2006-11-03 20:02:11
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answer #1
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answered by AA 2
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2016-09-01 06:45:33
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answer #2
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answered by buch 4
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Philosophy drives persons to search for better answers and better understandings.
Three important branches of Philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology.
Metaphysics is an area of philosophy that deals with questions about the nature of ultimate reality. Literally metaphysics means "beyond the physical". It deals with questions such as, What is reality, What is existence?
Metaphysics is the attempt to find coherence in the whole realm of thought and experience.
The questions in metaphysics, especially those about humanity and the universe, are extremely relevant to teachers and students.
Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that examines questions about how and what we know. What knowledge is true, and how does knowledge take place? Is knowing a special sort of mental act? Does knowing make any difference to the object that is known?
Epistemological questions deal with the essence of knowledge.
Deals with areas such as: scientific inquiry, intuition, senses and feelings, inductive logic, deductive logic.
Axiology is an area of philosophy that deals with the nature of values.
It includes such questions as "what is good?" and "What is value?"
This study of values is divided into ethics (moral values and conduct) and aesthetics (values in the realm of beauty and art
2006-11-03 10:42:51
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answer #3
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answered by rosieC 7
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