PHILOSOPHY

Definition

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as
existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind and language. Philosophical methods include
questioning, critical discussion, rational argument and systematic presentation.

Branches

Epistemology: The study of knowledge and how we know about reality and existence: the
nature, origin, scope and limits of human knowledge. It investigates the origin, structure,
methods, and integrity of knowledge.

Metaphysics: The study of "first principles" and "being" (ontology). It is the study of the most
general aspects of reality, pertaining to subjects such as existence, substance, identity, the nature
of the mind, free will and what's out there. In other words, it is a study of nature and the nature of
the world in which we live.

Logic: The study of arguments. It is the study of correct reasoning. The task of the logician is to
advance an account of valid and fallacious inference to allow one to distinguish.

Ethics: The study of values in human behavior or the study of moral problems, such as the
rightness and wrongness of actions, the kinds of things which are good or desirable, and whether
actions are blameworthy or praiseworthy.

Aesthetics: The study of value in the arts or the inquiry into feelings, judgments, or standards of
beauty and related concepts. Philosophy of art is concerned with judgments of sense, taste and
emotion.

Other Branches

Philosophy of Education: A minor branch, mainly concerned with what is the correct way to
educate a person. Classic works include Plato's Republic, Locke's Thoughts Concerning
Education, and Rousseau's Emile.

Philosophy of History: Fairly minor branch (not as minor as education), although highly
important to Hegel and those who followed him, most notably Marx. It is the philosophical study
of history, particularly concerned with the question whether history (i.e. the universe and/or
humankind) is progressing towards a specific end? Hegel argued that it was, as did Marx. Classic
works include Vico's New Science, and Hegel and Marx's works.

Philosophy of Language: Ancient branch of philosophy which gained prominence in the last
century under Wittgenstein. Basically concerned with how our languages affect our thought.
Wittgenstein famously asserted that the limits of our languages mark the limits of our thought.
Classic works include Plato's Cratylus, Locke's Essay, and Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-
Philosophicus.

Philosophy of Law: Also called Jurisprudence. Study of law attempting to discern what the best
laws might be, how laws came into being in the first place, attempting to delimit human laws
from natural laws, whether we should always obey the law, and so on. Law isn't often directly
dealt with by philosophers, but much of political philosophy obviously has a bearing on it.

Philosophy of Mathematics: Concerned with issues such as, the nature of the axioms and
symbols (numbers, triangle, operands) of mathematics that we use to understand the world, do
perfect mathematical forms exist in the real world, and so on. Principia Mathematica is almost
certainly the most important work in this field.
Philosophy of Mind: Study of the mind, attempting to ascertain exactly what the mind is, how it
interacts with our body, do other minds exist, how does it work, and so on. Probably the most
popular branch of philosophy right now, it has expanded to include issues of Artificial
Intelligence. Classic works include Plato's Republic and Wittgenstein's Philosophical
Investigations, although every major philosopher has had some opinion at least on what the mind
is and how it works.

Philosophy of Politics: Closely related to ethics, this is a study of government and nations,
particularly how they came about, what makes good governments, what obligations citizens have
towards their government, and so on. Classic works include Plato's Republic, Hobbes' Leviathan,
Locke's Two Treatises, and J.S. Mill's On Liberty.

Philosophy of Religion: Theology is concerned with the study of God, recommending the best
religious practises, how our religion should shape our life, and so on. Philosophy of religion is
concerned with much the same issues, but where Theology uses religious works, like the Bible,
as its authority, philosophy likes to use reason as the ultimate authority.

Philosophy of Science: It is the Study of science concerned with whether scientific knowledge
can be said to be certain, how we obtain it, can science really explain everything, does causation
really exist, can every event in the universe be described in terms of physics and so on. Also
popular in recent times, classic works include Hume's Treatise on Human Nature, Kripke's
Naming and Necessity, Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

PSYCHOLOGY

Definition

Psychology is the study of behavior and mind, including perception, cognition, attention,
emotion, intelligence, motivation, brain functioning and personality. This extends to interaction
between people in groups, such as interpersonal relationships, including psychological resilience,
family resilience, and other areas.

Branches

Abnormal Psychology: It deals with the abnormalities in a persons behavior and psyche. This is
a branch of study which is commonly found in Human Resources Management courses and
Criminal Law courses.

Behavioral Psychology: It's the study of behavioral science such as mental process and human
behavioral patterns. Behavioral Psychology is based on study of the functions of brain cells.

Comparative Psychology: Its concerned with the study of animal behavior. The study of animal
behavior can lead to a deeper and broader understanding of human psychology.

Clinical Psychology: It's a treatment oriented branch of psychology which deals with scientific
ways of handling psychological problems. It's also called counseling psychology. This includes
prevention, understanding and cure of psychological issues by counseling and psychotherapy.

Cognitive Psychology: It deals with the mental processes like thoughts, memory and problem
solving. It basically deals with the perception and problem solving capability of the brain.

Community Psychology: It's the study of the psychological aspects of the individuals in a
community. This is based on characteristics like interdependence, adaptation, diplomacy, and so
on.
Cross-Cultural Psychology: It looks at how human behavior differs among various cultures
throughout the world.

Developmental Psychology: It deals with the changes that occur in a human being over course of
time. It deals with early childhood developmental stages. This helps in identifying the causes,
treatment and effects of any psychological disorders better.

Educational Psychology: It basically focuses on student life. It deals with shyness, learning
disorders, adolescence, sex education in children, and so on. These studies and awareness comes
in handy in the different developmental stages of children.

Evolutionary Psychology: It deals with the study of psychological stimuli in human beings.
psychological stimuli include ability for developing linguistic skills, identifying a persons state
of mind, recognizing a kin from another and so on.

Health Psychology: It focuses on how biology, psychology, behavior and social factors influence
health and illness. It concentrates on promoting health as well as the prevention and treatment of
disease and illness.

Legal Psychology: Similar to cognitive and clinical psychology, it has got a legal point of view.
The legal psychologist assists the crime investigation by assessing the testimonies and statements
of the witnesses and the victims.

Personality Psychology: It deals with the IQ and personality of an individual. Different IQ tests
and personality tests allow individuals to gauge themselves for better understanding. These are
commonly found in interview tests and performance analysis.

Social psychology: It seeks to explain and understand social behavior and looks at diverse topics
including group behavior, social interactions, leadership, nonverbal communication and social
influences on decision-making.