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Philosophy

MAJOR AREAS OF PHILOSOPHY

METAPHYSICS: (from the title of one of Aristotle’s books “after” or “beyond” the Physics).

Two sub-areas:

ONTOLOGY: the study of Being - asks philosophical questions such as:
“What is it to be?”;
“What is ultimately real?” or
“What is ultimate reality?”;
“What is it to become real?” and
“How does non-being become being?” ;
“Can non-being become being?”;
“What is change, and if it is possible, how?”;
“Which is the basis of reality - Being or Becoming?”;
“Is there a Supreme Reality (ie. God, The One, Nirvana) and if so, what is its nature?”;
“Are physical objects, Time, Space and the phenomenal world real, and if so, what is their nature?”

COSMOLOGY: the study of the whole - asks philosophical questions such as:
“What is everything made of - or what is the basic stuff of reality?”;
“Has the whole cosmos always existed or did it come into existence?”;
“Did the whole cosmos have a cause?”;
“How does the whole cosmos work?”;
“What are the fundamental laws which govern or describe the whole cosmos?”;
“Does the cosmos have meaning, and if so what?”

EPISTEMOLOGY: the study of knowledge - asks philosophical questions such as:
“What is knowledge?”;
“How does knowledge differ from correct opinion?”;
“Is knowledge really possible?”;
“What are the sources of knowledge?”;
“Can anything known with certainty about reality from pure thought alone?”;
“Can sense experience give us any reliable knowledge about objective reality?”;
“Can knowledge extend beyond our own language to reach objective truths in reality, and if so, how?”

LOGIC - the study of reasoning - asks philosophical questions such as:
“What is truth?”;
“How are some truths related to other truths?”;
“Are there any necessary truths?”;
“Are there any necessary laws of thought?”;
“How can we tell the difference between good reasoning and bad reasoning?”; “What principles govern deductive reasoning?”; “Can there be any principles of inductive reasoning, and if so, what?”; “How is the logic of language related to the logic of numbers?”; “Are there areas of academic or scientific inquiry, or cultures, which have their own exclusive logic - valid for them but not for others?”

AXIOLOGY - the study of values, with its own three sub-areas:

AESTHETICS - values in beauty and art - asks philosophical questions such as
“What is beauty - what is the essence of the beautiful?”;
“What is art?”;
“How can humans tell whether or not something is beautiful or a work of art?”;

ETHICS - the study of moral values - asks philosophical questions such as
“What ought humans to seek as the highest good in life?”;
“What is it we ought to be in order to be a good human being?”;
“What ought we to do in order to right?” - or
“How can we tell the difference between morally right action and morally wrong action?”;
“When is a person morally responsible - blameworthy or praiseworthy - for their actions?”;
“What is the good life for a human being?”

SOCIAL & POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY - the study of social and political values - asks philosophical questions such as:
“What is the good society?”;
“Is the value of a human life found in being an individual or in being a member of a group?”;
“What is social justice?”;
“Is there any rational justification for the existence of government, and if so, what?”;
“What is the best form of government?”

PHILOSOPHY OF ‘ *** ’. - there are many areas of Philosophy which ask philosophical
questions about the subject, which might itself be another academic discipline.

PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE - while linguistics is the study of language, Philosophy of Language asks questions such as"
“How can language connect with thought and reality?”;
“How can words have meaning?”;
“How can words refer to reality?”;
“What is the ‘meaning of meaning’ - or what does it mean to say
“What does it mean to say that?”;
“How does language shape thought?”;
“Can one understand another’s language, and if so, how?”

PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE - asks philosophical questions about science itself and the individual sciences, such as:
“What is a scientific explanation - is there a common essence to them all?”;
“What is a ‘scientific law’?”;
“Is there a ‘scientific method’ - or are there various methods?”;
“Do the methods of science yield ‘knowledge’ - or something else?
“What is a ‘scientific theory’?”;
“Can scientific theories ever be verified, and if so, how?”;
“Can scientific theories ever be falsified, and if so, how?”;
“Are there any universal concepts in science?”

PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION - asks philosophical questions about religion, such as:
“What is the meaning of key concepts such as ‘God’, ‘holy’ and ‘divine’?”
“What is the meaning of religious language?”;
“Can religious claims be verified or falsified by evidence?”;
“What evidence supports religious claims - that there is a God, for example?”