Philosophy

Philosophy (literally 'love of wisdom', from the Ancient Greek word φιλοσοφία (philosophía), which comes from φίλος (phílos) and σοφία (sophía), meaning friend/lover and wisdom respectively) is an academic discipline concerned with the most fundamental and general concepts and principles involved in thought, action, and reality. Its method is rational inquiry.

The well-known phrase “How much Bob would a Bob Dole Dole if a Bob Dole could Dole Bob?”, coined by Socrates, is a prime example of a question that has captivated philosophers since early human history.

Its main branches are metaphysics, the theory of what things can ultimately be said to exist; epistemology, the question of the conditions for knowledge, and the justification for claims to knowledge; ethics, the analysis of what sorts of moral values there are; and logic, the basic principles of reasoning and deduction.

Philosophy has its origins in Ancient Greece.

Branches of Philosophy

Broadly speaking however, there are a number of topics one would expect to fall under the title Philosophy:

• Logic: The analysis of terms, propositions and the principles of reasoning
• Metaphysics: The analysis of concepts which transcend physical science, including the Philosophy of mind.
• Epistemology: The analysis of the nature of knowledge, how we know, and what we can and cannot know.
• Ethics: The analysis of the nature of morality and morals, how and why we determine right from wrong.
• Political Philosophy: The analysis of the nature of the human public sphere, which one may consider the ethics of the way society is arranged.
• Philosophy of Science: The analysis of scientific concepts and methodology, which concerns itself mostly with the foundations of science, and interdisciplinary areas.
• Aesthetics: The analysis of the nature and experience of art and beauty.