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. Philosophy progresses according to various methods of rational inquiry.
Philosophy is accurately described as both the first science and the "Queen of the Sciences". Until the late 19th century, what is now called "science" was subsumed under Natural Philosophy.
Philosophy in the West has its origins in Ancient Greece, but there is an important divide between Analytic philosophy (or "Anglophone philosophy") and Continental philosophy. This divide can be traced back to the late 19th century and a split in focus between Gottlob Frege and the intellectual descendants of Friedrich Hegel.
The main branches of philosophy are Metaphysics, which is (broadly speaking) the study of what-is; Ethics, the study of correct action; Logic, the rules (both formal and informal) of reason; and Epistemology, the study of knowledge. Notable sub-branches include Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of language, Political Philosophy, and Philosophy of mind.
Branches of Analytic Philosophy
Broadly speaking, 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.
Brief History
Philosophy in the West begins with Thales of Miletus, who was the first astronomer in recorded history to accurately predict a solar eclipse. The Milesian School founded by Thales included Anaxagoras, Anaximander, and Anaximenes. Closely related is the work of Heraclitus of Ephesus. Around the time of Heraclitus, Parmenides of Elea, with his pupil Zeno, raised some serious objections to the project of Milesian philosophy. These objections laid the groundwork for Socrates and his pupil Plato, as well as the Atomists, Democritus and Leucippus.