The Major Divisions Of Philosophy

To begin with it should be taken into consideration the circumstances in which humanity found itself in when these sort philosophical musings of ontology became so prevalent among the society of thinkers and intellectuals. With the turbulence and constant change of the late 19th and 20th century it only makes sense that people would begin to wonder what it all really means. With wars, genocide, and poverty contrasted against the unprecedented industrial and technological advances of the time not to mention the exponential growth in some populations, it became easier and easier to lose one 's identity as the world begins to

Metaphysics deals with the nature of reality, it asks the question, “What is really real?” Knight describes an example about how the floor is not really the floor in order for the reader to understand that reality is not as simple as it may seem. These types of questions may cause your head to spin. Metaphysics goes beyond the surface, dives deep into our minds to question what we actually believe. “Metaphysics” translated means beyond physics, which is very suiting. Metaphysics is important and relevant in education because it makes students go beyond the simple facts, it makes students think critically. Essentially it asks students four questions, “How did the universe come into existence?” Is there a God and what powers all exist?” “What

Meta-ethics considers the questions of moral language. Metaethics unlike normative ethics that looks at the act or characteristic of right and wrong, it looks at right and wrong more by implications of what is the nature of good and bad. Metaethics tends to ask the questions of what are the difference

The pursuit of truth: Epistemology provides understanding for the reader to gain insight to the way that humans process and react to truth. Epistemology is the pursuit of intellectual virtue. It wants to provide an evidentiary basis for belief, rather than one of just opinion. Entwistle then brings up another important topic which is Metaphysics. Metaphysics can be defined as the philosophical investigation of the nature, constitution and stature of reality. Philosophical anthropology attempts to validate assumptions made by theologians and psychologists about human nature and behavior (Entwistle, pp119).

The four main branches of philosophy are epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and logic. I will explore epistemology, the study of knowledge. The study of epistemology tries to define knowledge; identify the source of knowledge; the process of acquiring knowledge, and measures the limits of knowledge. Epistemology has intrigued philosophers since the Pre-Socratic era. In the 17th century, a fresh revolutionary outlook known as the Age of Enlightenment many new theories of epistemology began to emerge.

Metaphysics is usually taken to involve both questions of what is existence and what types of things exist; in order to answer either questions, one will find itself using and investigating the concepts of being. Aristotle proposed the first of these investigations which he called ‘first philosophy’, also known as ‘the science of being’ however overtime his writings came to be best known as ‘Metaphysics’ in which he studied being qua being with a central theme of how substance may be defined as a category of being. Kant who is a nominalist criticized both Aristotelian and therefore

Hasker, W. (1983). Metaphysics: Constructing a World View. (1st ed.). Downers Grove: IL: InterVarsity Press.

Object-oriented ontology is a Heidegger-influenced idea of thought that rejects the privileging of human existence over the existence of nonhuman objects. Object-oriented ontology maintains that objects exist independently

Metaphysics is the focus of the nature of existence, reality, and who we are. Metaphysics has new meaning in an age of ever changing and globally interconnectedness. The questions and how we answer them are now first and foremost in whether or not humanity can survive and flourish on this planet in a healthy and civilized

The Ontological argument is an a priori deductive argument. That is, an argument relating to being, that is independent of prior knowledge of the subject and with a conclusion you must accept IF one accepts the preceding premises. St. Anselm of Canterbury presents the Ontological

Outside the realm of philosophical, and religious, study the words substance, and matter, are commonplace definer of a physical material out of which an object of permanence is made of. To the philosophers of the early modern period not only are these terms dissimilar, but also represented radically different ontological theories. The topic of substance is a pillar of philosophy an ontological analysis. The term substance “corresponds to the Greek ousia, which means ‘being’” (Howard, 2013). Substance, in the philosophical sense, became a generic term for anything thought to be the simplest component that constructed reality. Alterations in how philosophers defined substance changed as advancements in science and philosophy forced the

Moreover, metatheroy is a theory concerned with the investigation, analysis and description of theory itself. It also guides researches and development in a profound way and it directs what scientists see or do not see (First hand out, p.1). For instance, Piaget as Miler mentioned, was not the first one who observes babies play, but he saw it from different perspective and different behavior. Therefore, the function of the metatheory is to identify the valid assumptions and predict that certain empirical statements should be true. This stimulates researches to test these empirical statements in order to validate them. Theories in many cases stimulate new observations too (Miller, 2011, p.12). Metatheory illustrates a continuous change; therefore, for theories to be formulated, they need to be continuous as well. Theories and methods are linked to and focused on empirical work. Metatheory and metamethods, on the other hand, focus and investigate theory and methods themselves (First hand out, p.1). Metatheories help us identify scientific concepts. They give us a good basis to know what we will know and how we will know it. As long as theories change, also facts of science do the same. When the scientific community found that metatheory is not useful it will fall from favor (First hand out,

According to the text “Philosophy the power of ideas,” the word metaphysics derives from a set of Aristotle’s writings known as ‘Physics”, stated in the text from the Greek word “physika, which means “the things of nature.”

“Metaphysics encompass the study of what is sometimes termed “ultimate reality”. As such, metaphysics raises questions about reality that go beyond sense experience, beyond ordinary science. Metaphysical questions involve free will, the mind-body relationship, supernatural existence, personal immorality, and the nature of being. Some philosophers question the very possibility of a reality

Philosophy is the careful study if the states of, validity, existence, and conduct. It comes from the Greek word, philosophia, which translates into “the love of wisdom”. Philosophy encompasses a vast range of topics and ever person, place, thing, and idea has its roots embedded in it. For the purpose of this paper, I will be only covering the branches of epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. These branches serve as the building blocks for studying and teaching philosophy. While examining these building blocks, I will argue why philosophy should be studied.