An Overview of the Branches of Philosophy essays

An Overview of the Branches of Philosophy essays Generally speaking, philosophy the critical examination of the grounds for fundamental beliefs and an analysis of the basic concepts employed in the expression of such beliefs. Philosophical inquiry is a central element in the intellectual history of many historical civilizations. The word is from the Greek (by way of Latin, philosophia) and means "love of wisdom" (Martinich provides a brief definition and description of three approaches to philosophical investigation: metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology (including its two branches, aesthetics and ethics). Metaphysics. This branch of philosophy deals with the ultimate nature of human existence, largely as an extension of the Metaphysics of Aristotle. This collection of treatises placed after the Physics [Gr. metaphysics =after physics ] treated what Aristotle termed the First Philosophy. The primary focus of metaphysical speculation is termed "ontology," which is the study of the ultimate nature of being; however, philosophical theology and cosmology are typically considered branches of metaphysics as well (Metaphysics 2000). This branch of philosophy leaves nothing unquestioned and proceeds entirely without assumptions; according to Walsh (1963), "The only propositions with which a metaphysician could properly be content were propositions whose truth could not be denied, or whose truth was seen to be involved in their own attempted denial" (11). Epistemology. This field of philosophy is defined as the study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. The term comes from the Greek episteme ("knowledge") and logos ("reason"), and accordingly the field is sometimes called the theory of knowledge (Martinich Axiology. This branch of philosophy is concerned with "values" and "what is good" (Morris 1961:219). "If axiological issues underlie ethical ...