Definition of Philosophy

The term "philosophy" means, "love of wisdom." In a broad sense, philosophy is an activity people
undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their
relationships to the world and to each other. As an academic discipline philosophy is much the same. Those who
study philosophy are perpetually engaged in asking, answering, and arguing for their answers to lifes most basic
questions. To make such a pursuit more systematic academic philosophy is traditionally divided into major areas of
study.
Etymology
The rather vague definition 'love of wisdom' comes from the origin and etymology of the Greek word
'philosophy': philo ("love") and sophia ("wisdom"). Note that the English word 'wisdom', however, is not always an
appropriate rendering of the Greek word 'sophia'.
Essence of Philosophy

The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible
on external things. - Epictetus
The Essence of Philosophy that philosophy will not tell us what reality is, but presupposing the existence of
reality, philosophy finds its job in working out a theoretical model of reality. The paradigmatic importance of
this opening thesis is rather complex, we shall now point out some of the significant elements. Firstly,
philosophy can put its relations to the branches of science in order, since just as a branch of science models
the segment of reality it defines, so philosophy models the whole of reality.

Forming Points of Philosophy

Metaphysics

At its core the study of metaphysics is the study of the nature of reality, of what exists in the world, what
it is like, and how it is ordered. In metaphysics philosophers wrestle with such questions as:
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Is there a God?
What is truth?
What is a person? What makes a person the same through time?
Is the world strictly composed of matter?
Do people have minds? If so, how is the mind related to the body?
Do people have free wills?
What is it for one event to cause another?

Epistemology

Epistemology is the study of knowledge. It is primarily concerned with what we can know about the
world and how we can know it. Typical questions of concern in epistemology are:
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What is knowledge?
Do we know anything at all?
How do we know what we know?
Can we be justified in claiming to know certain things?

Ethics

The study of ethics often concerns what we ought to do and what it would be best to do. In struggling
with this issue, larger questions about what is good and right arise. So, the ethicist attempts to answer such
questions as:
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What is good? What makes actions or people good?

What is right? What makes actions right?
Is morality objective or subjective?
How should I treat others?

Logic

Another important aspect of the study of philosophy is the arguments or reasons given for peoples
answers to these questions. To this end philosophers employ logic to study the nature and structure of
arguments. Logicians ask such questions as:
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What constitutes "good" or "bad" reasoning?

How do we determine whether a given piece of reasoning is good or bad?

Speculative and Practical Philosophy

Speculative philosophy doesn't need to build up from first principles. It is what people feel is right
for them and therefore decide to adopt it. Practical philosophy concerns with resolving arguments from first
principles.
Branches of Speculative Philosophy
a. Epistemology
from Greek meaning "knowledge", and logos, meaning "word") is the branch
of philosophy concerned with the theory of knowledge. Epistemology studies the nature of knowledge, the
rationality of belief, and justification.
b. Metaphysics
is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of existence, being and the world.
Arguably, metaphysics is the foundation of philosophy: Aristotle calls it "first philosophy" (or sometimes
just "wisdom"), and says it is the subject that deals with "first causes and the principles of things".
c. Cosmology
the philosophical study of the origin and nature of the universe. 2. the branch of astronomy
concerned with the evolution and structure of the universe. 3. a particular account of the origin or structure
of the universe: Ptolemaic cosmology.
d. Anthropology
Philosophical anthropology, sometimes called anthropological philosophy, is a discipline dealing
with questions of metaphysics and phenomenology of the human person, and interpersonal relationships.

e. Aesthetics
Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and appreciation of art, beauty
and good taste. It has also been defined as "critical reflection on art, culture and nature". The word
"aesthetics" derives from the Greek "aisthetikos", meaning "of sense perception".
f.

Theodicy
As defined by Alvin Plantinga, theodicy is the "answer to the question of why God permits
evil". Theodicy is defined as a theological construct that attempts to vindicate God in response to the
evidential problem of evil that militates against the existence of an omnipotent and omnibenevolent deity.

g. Rational Psychology
In Christian Wolff's division of metaphysics, rational psychology was one of three disciplines
included under the heading of special metaphysics (the others beingrational cosmology
and rational theology). Immanuel Kant, in his Critique of Pure Reason, criticized the pretensions of rational
psychology.
h. Social Philosophy
Social philosophy is the study of questions about social behavior and interpretations of society
and social institutions in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations.
i.

Political Philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of fundamental questions about the state, government, politics,
liberty, justice and the enforcement of a legal code by authority.

Branches of Practical Philosophy

Ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is the branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and
recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. The term ethics derives from the Ancient Greek word
ethikos, which is derived from the word ethos (habit, "custom"). The branch of
philosophy axiology comprises the sub-branches of ethics and aesthetics, each concerned with values.

Logic
Logic is the branch of study that concerns questions about reference, predication, identity, truth,
quantification, existence, entailment, modality, and necessity.