BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

It is believed at this point that you can explain to somebody how philosophy originated and why it is yet an unfinished business. Let us now look at the branches of philosophy. Philosophy is not just a single subject. It is like a big tree with many branches. That is why in a University, for example, a school or a faculty or a department is created
specifically for philosophy. A study of philosophy reveals that there are two main branches of philosophy namely: practical philosophy and speculative or theoretical philosophy. Practical philosophy is subdivided into Logic and Ethics while the speculative or theoretical philosophy is also subdivided into General Metaphysics and special metaphysics. General Metaphysics is further divided into Ontology or Metaphysics and Epistemology while the Special Metaphysics is further subdivided into Cosmology/Philosophy of Nature, Natural Theology/Theodicy and Aesthetics. We shall explain each of these branches in turns.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

1.  identify with the different branches of philosophy and their specific object of concentration 
2.  to lead the student to adopt a specific field of philosophy. 

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Practical Philosophy

This is subdivided into two namely: Logic and Ethics. Let us look at the divisions in detail.

3.2 Logic

The word Logic is derived from the Greek noun logike which takes it origin from logos meaning word, speech, reason or study. Thus logic has to do with reasoning and the provision of rational justification or reasons for our claims. Logic can be defined as the study of the methods and principles used in distinguishing correct from the incorrect argument. Logic is not the study of human mind. The proper domain of logic is to show how to think and reason correctly, how to reach a true and certain conclusions. Irving Copi (1954) refers to logic as “the science of the laws of thought or the science of reasoning.” According to Patrick Hurley (1988), the aim of logic is to develop a system of methods and principles that we may use as criteria for evaluating the arguments of others and as guides in constructing arguments of our own. Thomas Aquinas opines that Logic is the art which directs the act of reason itself, through which man may proceed in the act of reason itself in an orderly fashion, easily and without error. Logic is practical in that it is a tool used in directing the reasoning mind. Logic concerns itself with the being of reason.

3.3 Ethics

Ethics is a philosophical science of human conduct or the practical science of living right or of good moral living. It is one of the two branches of practical philosophy. It is also called Moral Philosophy or Deontology. Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos meaning custom or character while the word moral comes from the Latin word mos (mores, moralis) meaning custom. The derivation of these words gives us some indication that the subject matter of Ethics or moral philosophy has to do with the study of human customs and human behaviour with a view to the fashioning of character. It may interest us to note that the word character is derived from the Greek word charassein which means to stamp, impress, cut, engrave, thus suggesting that the type of life a man leads is in a way, stamped or engraved upon his very self in such a way as to form his character. Ethics is also referred to as an art of living, which means that each person is, so to say, an artist and the sculpture that he carves by the way he/she lives - his character. Ethics is practical because it directs man’s conduct of life.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1.  How is logic practical? 
2. What are the other names for ethics? 

3.4 Speculative/Theoretical Philosophy

Speculative philosophy is subdivided into general metaphysics and special metaphysics. The general metaphysics is further divided into ontology/metaphysics and epistemology while the special metaphysics is in its turn subdivided into cosmology, natural theology and aesthetics.
We now look at each of them.

3.5 Ontology/Metaphysics

The general name for ontology is metaphysics. Ontology is a combination of two Greek words ontos and logos meaning being and study respectively. Thus ontology is the science of being. On the other hand, it was Andronicus of Rhodes who coined the phrase ta meta ta physika biblia meaning, “after the books on nature”. Andronicus used this phrase to describe Aristotle’s untitled works, when he was classifying and cataloguing Aristotle’s works. He came across the corpus that was neither about physical things, nor about politics, nor about ethics or biology. He referred to them simply as the “Books after the Books on Nature”. Aristotle himself referred to this corpus as the First Philosophy or Theology or simply Wisdom. Thus metaphysics means beyond the natural. The word came to be used in reference to studies that dealt with things that were beyond the physical world, things that are considered to be in existence yet cannot be perceived by the senses. It is also used in reference to the study of the ultimate causes of things. From its etymological derivation, it can be understood in three senses:

1. The BOOKS that were written after the books on nature; 
2. The THINGS that were studied after the things of nature; 
3. The SCIENCE that was done after the science of natural things. 

In modern philosophical usage, metaphysics generally refers to the field of philosophy dealing with questions about the kinds of things that are and their modes of being. Its subject matter include the concept of existence, thing, property, event, distinctions between particulars and universals, individuals, classes, change, causality, nature of relations of mind, matter, space and time.

3.6 Epistemology

The word epistemology comes from two Greek words episteme and logos meaning knowledge and theory or discourse. It literally means theory of knowledge or theory of knowing or discourse on knowledge. This branch of metaphysics is also called CRITERIOLOGY from the Greek word kriterion meaning criterion or the rule by which one may test knowledge to distinguish truth from falsehood or truth from error. It is sometimes also called criticism which is derived from the Greek word krites meaning a judge. Thus epistemology has the task of judging and evaluating knowledge itself. There are many definitions of epistemology. Here are some examples. The Dictionary of Philosophy defines epistemology as “The branch of philosophy which investigates the origin, structure, methods, and validity of knowledge.” Vaan Steenberghen defines epistemology as “an objective and disinterested inquiry which studies the nature, conditions and value of knowledge without deciding before hand what the result and consequences of its study will be.” It is that branch of philosophy, which is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge. However, whatever definition is given to it, one thing is clear, that it is a philosophical study of knowledge. Epistemology deals with the problems of knowledge in all its aspects. It critically investigates and establishes the very capacity of the mind to know things as they are themselves and thus refuting scepticism and agnosticism. Epistemology upholds the value of metaphysical knowledge against the attacks of empiricism. It demonstrates that what the mind knows is reality existing independently of the knowing mind, as against all forms of idealism or subjectivism. It should be clear that epistemology is not merely an apologetic or defensive science fighting the extremists. On the positive note, epistemology is a metaphysics of knowledge. It considers human knowing in the context of everything that exists.

3.7 Cosmology/Philosophy of Nature

Again, cosmology comes from two Greek words cosmos and logos meaning universe and study or science. It is the science of the material universe. Cosmology is the philosophical study of the inorganic or non-living world and tries to find ultimate causes and explanations to
account for it. Before looking for the ultimate explanations, cosmology takes into considerations the proximate or less profound explanations and findings of the natural sciences, such as Chemistry, Physics, Nuclear Physics, Astronomy, Physical Geography, and Mechanics, among others, about the inorganic world. Nothing observed or proven in the natural sciences is irrelevant in cosmology, and a good explanation in cosmology must be consistent with what has already been proven true in the natural sciences. Cosmology is mostly concerned with the material and the formal causes of inorganic things. It leaves to Ontology to investigate efficient and final causes of the inorganic world, aided by natural theology which is next in the line of our explanation.

3.8 Natural Theology/Theodicy

The word theodicy is a combination of two Greek words: theos which means God and dike which means justice. Literally therefore, theodicy is a defence of the justice or goodness of God in the face of doubts or objections arising from the phenomenon of evil in the world. Theology on the other hand, is derived from two Greek words theos and logos meaning God and study respectively. T herefore, natural theology is the study of God from the natural light of reason as different from revelation. Natural theology therefore, is a philosophical theology. It is different in kind from Sacred Theology. It is the culmination of philosophy. Philosophy, as all knowledge, starts from the data of experience and the principles it apprehends from these data. Philosophy then climbs, as it were, the “ladder of causes” until it comes to realize that the only conceivable explanation of things which exist, when to exist is not part of their very nature, is a Supreme Cause, God. In other words, theodicy is a philosophy of God. Philosophy reaches its climax when it affirms that there is a God. Philosophy perceives God merely as the First Efficient Cause of being. This truth that there is a God is proportionate to the natural capacity of man’s intellect and does not exceed it. This is to say philosophically, that man is capable, by his natural reason, based on insight, of arriving at the conclusion that God exists. This is contrary to what most people erroneously believe or think that philosophers do not believe in God or that philosophers are atheists.

3.9 Aesthetics

This is derived from the Greek word aisthanomai which means “to perceive”. The term “aesthetic” was coined by Baumgarten in his Reflection on Poetry (1735) as a name for one of the two branches of the study of knowledge. In other words, for the study of sensory experience
coupled with feeling, which according to him, provide a different type of knowledge from a distinct abstract ideas studied by logic. Aesthetic is intimately connected with sensory experience and the kind of feelings it arouses. As a branch of philosophy, aesthetic examines the nature of art and the character of our experience of art and of the natural environment. Recognition of aesthetic as a separate branch of philosophy coincided with the development of theories of art in the Eighteenth Century in England and in the Continent. These theories grouped together painting, poetry, sculpture, music and dance as the same kind of thing or the fine arts. Aesthetics is the philosophy of beauty, that is, physical beauty. It studies art forms. It raises such questions as: What is the purpose of art? What is the nature of beauty?

How does one recognize a great work of art? Are there objective standards to beauty? Is there a special object of attention that we call aesthetic object? Is there a distinctive value, aesthetic value, comparable with moral, epistemic and religious values?

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. What are the subdivisions of special metaphysics? 
2. What does theodicy literally mean? 

4.0 CONCLUSION

Surely, now you know the different branches of philosophy. To one who is a philosopher you can ask what his area of specialization is. I believe also that this lecture has aroused some interest in you about a particular aspect of philosophy. The most important thing is that you should not be left in ignorance if and when you hear some of the above terms being mentioned in a conversation or discussion.

5.0 SUMMARY

In the above lecture, we have seen the various divisions of philosophy and their specific objects of interest. We have seen that philosophy has two main branches: practical and speculative. Under practical, we have Logic and Ethics; under speculative, we have two major divisions general and special metaphysics which are again subdivided. Under general metaphysics, we have Ontology and Epistemology whereas under special metaphysics, we have Cosmology, Natural Theology and Aesthetics. Philosophy is indeed interesting.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

 What are the branches of philosophy?
 Write short notes on any two of your choice.