Main Branches of Philosophy

 In classical and modern philosophy, the three main branches are:

1. Metaphysics

2. Epistemology

3. Axiology (often expressed through Ethics and Aesthetics)

Some traditions also treat Logic as a fourth major branch. Below is a detailed scholastic explanation suitable for teaching in an Arts and Humanities course.

1. Metaphysics (Theory of Reality)

Definition

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the ultimate nature of reality, existence, and being.

The term comes from Aristotle’s works placed “after the Physics” (meta ta physika). In Metaphysics, Aristotle describes it as the study of:

“Being qua being” (being as being).

Central Questions

• What is reality?

• What does it mean to exist?

• Is there God?

• Do humans have free will?

• What is the nature of mind and matter?

Major Subfields

• Ontology – Study of being (Heidegger’s Being and Time)

• Cosmology – Nature of the universe

• Philosophical Theology – Arguments about God (Aquinas’ Summa Theologica)

• Philosophy of Mind – Mind-body problem (Descartes’ Meditations)

Key Thinkers

• Plato – Theory of Forms (ultimate reality is non-material)

• Aristotle – Substance and causation

• Descartes – Dualism (mind and body distinct)

• Spinoza – Monism (one substance)

• Heidegger – Question of Being

Metaphysics attempts to explain the structure of reality itself.

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2. Epistemology (Theory of Knowledge)

Definition

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge — its nature, sources, limits, and validity.

The word comes from Greek episteme (knowledge) and logos (study).

John Locke in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding describes the task as examining:

“The original, certainty, and extent of human knowledge.”

Central Questions

• What is knowledge?

• How do we know what we know?

• Can we be certain about anything?

• What is the difference between belief and knowledge?

Major Theories

1. Rationalism (Descartes, Leibniz)
   Knowledge comes primarily through reason.

2. Empiricism (Locke, Berkeley, Hume)
   Knowledge comes from experience and senses.

3. Kantian Synthesis
   Kant in Critique of Pure Reason argued that knowledge arises from both sensory experience and mental structures.

4. Skepticism
   Questions the possibility of certain knowledge (Hume).

Contemporary Issues

• Justified True Belief (Plato’s Theaetetus)

• Gettier problem

• Scientific knowledge

• Postmodern critiques (Foucault)

Epistemology determines the validity and reliability of human understanding.

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3. Axiology (Theory of Values)

Definition

Axiology is the philosophical study of values, including moral and aesthetic values.

It comes from Greek axios (worth or value).

Axiology is generally divided into:

A. Ethics (Moral Philosophy)

Concerned with right and wrong, good and evil.

Central Questions:

• What is the good life?

• What is moral duty?

• Are moral values objective or subjective?

Major Theories:

• Virtue Ethics – Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics)

• Deontology – Kant (Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals)

• Utilitarianism – Bentham & Mill (Utilitarianism)

• Existential Ethics – Sartre

Ethics guides individual and social conduct.

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B. Aesthetics (Philosophy of Art and Beauty)

Concerned with beauty, art, and taste.

Central Questions:

• What is beauty?

• What makes art valuable?

• Is beauty subjective or objective?

Major Thinkers:

• Plato – Art as imitation (mimesis)

• Aristotle – Catharsis in tragedy

• Kant – Critique of Judgment

• Hegel – Art as expression of Absolute Spirit

Aesthetics connects philosophy with literature, culture, and the arts.

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(Optional Fourth Branch) Logic

Some traditions consider Logic a separate major branch.

Definition

Logic studies the principles of correct reasoning and valid argument.

Aristotle’s Organon laid the foundation of formal logic.

Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead advanced symbolic logic in Principia Mathematica.

Logic provides the tools for philosophical analysis.

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Summary Table

Branch	Main Focus	Key Question
Metaphysics	Reality & existence	What is real?
Epistemology	Knowledge	How do we know?
Axiology	Values	What is good or beautiful?
Logic	Reasoning	What is valid reasoning?

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