Branches of philosophy

The philosophy is a science that focuses its studies or study reflections thoughts on various topics such as morale, experience, the existence of man and society, among others.

Several branches emerge from this great science and each of them will be explained below.

What is philosophy?

The philosophy is a doctrine that uses a set of arguments logical and methodical about certain abstract concepts such as the existence, morality, ethics and truth based on science, as well as the characteristics, causes and effects of certain natural things as are the universe and human beings.

The word philosophy comes from the Greek words Filein which means to love and Sofia which translates into wisdom . It is the love of knowing, knowledge and the passion to learn and understand. It is about finding the questions to the questions that arise from fundamental problems and using rational arguments .

In general, the philosopher conducts his research in a non-empirical way, that is, based on conceptual analysis, thought experiments, speculation.

Philosophy is a very old science. Its origins date back to classical Greece around the 6th century BC and it is considered a movement led by Thales of Miletus to which important thinkers who have marked history with their knowledge were later incorporated.

This science arose as a result of the different questions that man made about everything that surrounded him. It is here that they began to search for rational thoughts in a time where everything was based on myth and legend.

Among the great philosophers who have marked history we can find:

– Socrates : he is considered the wisest philosopher of the Greeks.

– Aristotle : thinker who constantly seek the last essence of the human being.

– Plato: he was the first philosopher to study the human body as something separate from the soul.

-Pitágoras: He was a great philosopher and mathematical thinker.

– Thales of Miletus: he is considered the first philosopher of Western culture and one of the seven wise men of Greece. Important contributions on mathematics, physics, astronomy, etc. are attributed to him.

Branches of philosophy

Throughout history this science has grown and different branches have derived from it.

Metaphysics

Its name comes from the Greek word composed of two terms: meta (beyond, after) and the term physika (physical), which means beyond the physical.

This branch of philosophy bases its study on the nature, components, structures and principles that underpin reality. This branch includes the study and investigation of certain fundamental concepts such as being, existence, entity, property, space and time.

The study of metaphysics is classified into two areas:

-The ontology : the main object of study is the being and essence.

-The theology : study focuses on God and essence. Study the divine nature through reason.

Gnoseología

This branch is also known as the theory of knowledge. He focuses his study on the different forms of knowledge, the methodologies with which knowledge is obtained and its limits.

Epistemology

Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that focuses its study on scientific knowledge. This last knowledge is achieved through reflection, the fundamentals and the relationship with the environment itself.

This branch must analyze the coherence of the reasoning that leads to knowledge, which must follow a methodology based on objectives, historical context, limitations, sociological context, among others.

Logic

Logic is the formal science that derives from philosophy. It deals with studying the formal and rational procedures of thought, by means of which conclusions can be obtained starting from premises.

Inference is the object of study of this branch and it is the process that the mind performs to analyze prepositions. Conclusions or results are deduced from premises.

In recent times this science is also considered a branch of mathematics.

ethic

Ethics is defined as the branch of philosophy that is responsible for studying human behavior under the vision of the actions of the individual. What is correct, what is incorrect, happiness, duty, morality, acting correctly, are some of the objects on which he focuses his study.

It often happens that ethics are confused with morals, but the differences must be made clear. When we speak of morality we are referring to acting according to customs, norms, beliefs, values ​​of the conduct of human beings within society. Ethics is the study of this morality, that is, the theoretical explanation of behaviors.

Esthetic

This branch of philosophy deals with studying beauty and beauty, trying to understand their meaning and the different forms of determination.

It is about the study of perception in general. Whether it is beauty and its essence, art and its qualities, the eminent and the ugly, among others.

Political philosophy

Political philosophy is responsible for studying how the relationship between society and the individuals that are part of it should be. Within its study objectives we can find issues related to politics, government, laws, freedom, equality, justice, and so on.

It is a branch that has a great relationship with ethics.

Philosophy of language

It is the branch of philosophy that focuses on the study of the fundamentals of language in general. Study its meaning, interpretation, translation, and what are the limits of the language.

This study does it through non-empirical methods, which makes it different from linguistics.

Philosophy of mind

The philosophy of mind is a branch that bases its study and objective on everything related to the mind of human beings. This involves perceptions, emotions, fantasies, thoughts, dreams, beliefs, among others.

It is also known as the philosophy of the spirit and reflects on how much we can know about our own mind. This branch is close to other sciences such as psychology or cognitive science, but it always remains on the essential and basic questions, not on empirical knowledge.

Philosophy of nature

It is the branch that focuses on studying and analyzing phenomena that are considered natural, starting with movement and then studying the composition of things that make up reality, the cosmos and the human body.

Philosophy of technology

This branch of philosophy is dedicated to studying the nature of technologies and what are their social effects. It was born at the beginning as a means of engineering research and above all based on the analysis and understanding of the techniques of the machines that are used daily to live.

The philosophy of technology allows us to know the practical use that is given to technological artifacts, beyond the theoretical use that they have.