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   : Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that goes beyond the realms of science. It
is concerned with answering the questions about identity and the world. The name is derived from
the Greek words, Meta which means beyond or after, and Physika which means physics. Aristotle,
one of the most well known philosophers, acknowledged Thales as the first known meta
physician. The main branches of metaphysics are ontology, natural theology and universal
science.

 

: It deals with the definition of knowledge and its scope and limitations. It translates
from Greek to mean 'theory of knowledge'. It questions the meaning of knowledge, how we obtain
knowledge, how much do we know and how do we have this knowledge? Some of the famous
epistemologists are Descartes, Kant and Hume.

    : Aesthetics deals with sense, perception and appreciation of beauty. It broadly

includes everything to do with appreciating of art, culture and nature. It also examines how the
perception of beauty is determined by taste and aesthetic judgment. The practice of defining,
criticizing and appreciating art and art forms is based on aesthetics.

  : It is concerned with questions on morality and values and how they apply to various
situations. It can be divided into the branches of meta-ethics, normative and applied
ethics. Ethics seeks to understand the basis of morals, how they develop and how they are and
should be followed. Famous works on ethics are by philosophers as early as Plato, Aristotle, Kant
and Nietzsche.


 : Among the branches of philosophy, logic is concerned with the various forms of reasoning
and arriving at genuine conclusions. It includes the system of statements and arguments. It is
now divided into mathematical logic and philosophical logic. It tries to avoid the imaginary or
assumptions without real logical proof.


  
 

 : It is concerned with all the things to do with government and the
relationships and obligations of people in a state and their communities. It also includes things
like citizens rights, laws, and justice systems. Plato, Hobbes, Locke and J.S. Mill have defining
works in this branch of philosophy.

 

 
 : It is, as the name suggests, the branch of philosophy, that tries to
understand and explain everything that there is to do, with the mind. It is divided into two major
schools of thought, namely dualism which states that the mind and body are two distinct entities
and monism, which states that the mind and body are not distinct. It has inspired work in many
modern day sciences including computer science, neurosciences and evolutionary biology. It has
helped research on the topics of artificial intelligence and understanding the human brain and
how it effects us.

 

 


: It includes study on topics such as how language originated, its nature
and usage. Here, philosophers first try to understand the nature of language, secondly, how it
helps in communication, thirdly how it relates to the minds of the people communicating and how
it relates to the truth in the world and how it affects our thoughts. Prominent philosophers in this
category are Plato, Wittgenstein and Locke.

 

 


: It deals with the study of education and ways in which it can be
improved. It tries to find the best ways to impart instruction. It tries to understand and explain the
nature and need of education, methods in which it can be done, and what its ideals should be.
The philosophy of education overlaps in the area of study of both the various branches of
philosophy and of education. This has been a topic of interest for philosophers, the world over,
and still generates a lot of debate and interest.
 

 
 
: This is the branch of philosophy which is associated with religion
and God. It tries to understand and rationalize, the relations between value systems and the entity
of God among other things. It is designed to be different from religious philosophy so that it is not
biased by certain faiths and beliefs but looks at religion as a whole.

There are a lot of other different branches of philosophy according to the subject including,
philosophy of science, mathematics, law, history, psychology and anthropology. Philosophy is
also a widely studied subject and philosophers from different parts of the world, have come up
with their own unique ideas and theories. Philosophy can thus be further divided into the western
and eastern schools of philosophy. Philosophy has deeply affected our way of life and modern
culture and values, our government systems and even technology. Philosophy as a subject will
continue to exist as long as man continues to think and ask questions.

By Roshan Valder

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/branches-of-philosophy.html