Philosophy Notes:

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?

 Philosophy is the study of ideas and how they relate to one another. It is the field of inquiry into
questions about existence, knowledge, values, and reason. The word comes from the Greek
word philosophia, which means “the love of wisdom.”
 Philosophy is a systematic and critical examination of the central problems and issues
concerning life, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.
 It is the discipline that studies questions such as what is beauty? What is truth? What is
knowledge? What is life? What is the meaning of life? and it is an art form that addresses such
questions.

WHO ARE THE PHILOSOPHERS?

 Philosophers are the main people who have studied these questions and come up with their
own answers. Philosophers are interested in how these questions can be answered and may
attempt to provide answers to these questions through reasoning or intuition.
 Philosophers tend to be concerned with ethics, social justice, and other values that underpin
society.
 One of the most famous philosophers is Socrates. Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher
who lived around 470 BC. He was a famous thinker and one of the founders of Western
philosophy.
 Socrates is most famous for his questioning method of teaching and he was also famous for his
method of elenchus. Elenchus is a form of argument that is used to determine the truth or
falsity of something.
 Another famous work in the field of philosophy is Plato’s Republic, which was written in the 4th
century BC, is a philosophical dialogue that is divided into three parts.
 The first part is called the “Allegory of the Cave” and it describes a group of people who are
chained in a cave with their backs to a wall. They are unable to move their heads or their bodies,
and can only see shadows on the wall in front of them.
 In the second part, Plato argues that justice and goodness are real and that they are based on
reason. In the third part, Plato argues that there is an afterlife where people will be rewarded or
punished for their actions on Earth.
 Philosophy is an ever-changing field of study, which means it is hard to pinpoint exactly when it
began. In fact, philosophy can be traced back to the ancient Greeks who were looking for
answers to the most important questions. They wanted to know what makes humans human
and how they should live their lives.
 Philosophy is the exploration of the fundamental nature of reality, knowledge, and existence. It
is the search for wisdom and understanding. It is the attempt to answer questions about what it
means to be human.

BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
1. AESTHETICS
is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of art, beauty, and taste, with the creation
and appreciation of beauty. In modern Western society, Aesthetics is usually synonymous with
art. However, in ancient Greek and Roman societies, it also included natural philosophy (the
study of nature), music, and even mathematics. Aesthetics is a way of thinking about things and
a way of life. It is also the study of how people perceive beauty in art, nature, society, and
themselves. The term “aesthetics” comes from the Greek adjective meaning “pertaining to the
senses.”
2. EPISTEMOLOGY
is the branch of philosophy that focuses on knowledge and the way in which we gain it.
Epistemology can also be referred to as the study of knowledge. It is considered to be one of the
major divisions of philosophy. Epistemology is also closely related to metaphysics, which is the
study of being. It is primarily concerned with the theory of knowledge and how it relates to what
is true or false, and how to justify our beliefs.
3. ETHICS
is a system of moral principles and values that guides the actions of a person or group. Ethics
can also be referred to as moral philosophy or moral system. Ethics is the study of how human
beings should behave. Ethical issues are not just about what is right and wrong, but also about
what is good and bad. Ethics can be used to help us make decisions on how to act in our daily
lives. Ethics can also be used to help us make decisions about other aspects of our lives like what
we should eat, how we should exercise, and how we should spend our money.
4. LOGIC
is a branch of philosophy that studies and attempts to explain the principles of valid inference
and correct reasoning. Logic deals with the principles of “valid inference” which means that any
argument that can be made from true premises must have a sound conclusion. There are four
types of valid inference: deduction, induction, abduction, and abduction-induction. Logic is also
a field of study that deals with the principles of correct reasoning, which means that arguments
are valid if they are sound and make sense.
5. METAPHYSICS
is the philosophical study of the nature of being and reality, or what is behind what we see.
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that investigates the fundamental nature of the universe
and existence. It examines such questions as: What is reality? How do we understand the
world? What are the limits of human knowledge? It is a broad field that includes ontology,
cosmology, epistemology, and the meaning of life.
6. AXIOLOGY
is the study of values. It is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of good and bad,
right and wrong, valuable and undesirable. The term axiology comes from the Greek word axia,
which means “value.”

WHO IS THE FATHER OF PHILOSOPHY?

WHAT ARE THE 3 MAJOR AREAS OF PHILOSOPHY?

the theory of reality, knowledge, and value. The theory of reality is the study of what exists and what is
possible. Knowledge is the study of what is true and how we know it. Value is the study of what is good
and what makes life worth living.

WHAT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL BRANCH OF PHILOSOPHY?

The most fundamental branch of philosophy is metaphysics. Metaphysics is the study of the
fundamental nature of being and reality. It is concerned with explaining the origin, nature, and ultimate
fate of the universe. One of the biggest questions that metaphysics addresses are what is existence?