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What Is Philosophy
What Is Philosophy
In this post, I will briefly sketch the definition of philosophy as well as its major branches. Specifically,
it will address the question: What is Philosophy?
Philosophy, particularly Western philosophy, comes from the two Greek words philia, which means
“love” and sophia, “wisdom”. Thus, etymologically speaking, philosophy means the love of wisdom.
As is well known, love in this context is understood as a strong desire for a particular object; while
wisdom is understood as a correct application of knowledge. Thus, philosophy as the love of
wisdom, at least in this context, could refer to the strong desire of the human person to possess
knowledge and apply it correctly. It’s not a coincidence, therefore, that most philosophers in the
Ancient World, particularly in Greece, India, and China were sages or wise men. Think for example
of Socrates, Gautama Buddha, Confucius, and Lao Tzu.
In other words, philosophy is concerned with the reason and principles that account for everything
that exists. Thus, some of the basic questions in philosophy are:
These are just some of the questions that philosophy attempted to address. And in doing so,
philosophy uses reason as a tool, which can be expressed in many forms, such as the ability to
reflect, question, articulate one’s thought, and analyze certain phenomenon or event. In short,
philosophy attempts to understand things in a critical and logical manner.
It is important to note, however, that philosophers do not agree on a single definition of philosophy.
In fact, philosophers differ in their basic understanding of philosophy. For example, Karl Jaspers, a
famous German existential philosopher, understands philosophy as a discipline in which
questions are more important than answers because answers themselves will, in turn,
become questions.
Metaphysics comes from the two Greek words meta, which means “beyond” or “after” and physika,
“physical” or “nature”. Hence, etymologically speaking, metaphysics means the study of things
beyond the physical, that is, concepts or things that cannot be experienced, such as the concepts of
God, freedom, and soul.
Metaphysics is commonly understood as the foundation of philosophy. In fact, Aristotle calls it the
“first philosophy”. Originally, the Greek word metaphysika, which literally means “after physics”,
actually designated that part of Aristotle’s works, which came after those chapters that dealt with
physics. However, it was misappropriated later by the Medieval commentators on classical texts as
that which is beyond the physical. Thus, over time, metaphysics has been understood as the study
of that which exists beyond the physical.
Metaphysics is subdivided into two, namely, General Metaphysics and Special Metaphysics. General
Metaphysics is also referred to as Ontology. Under Special Metaphysics, we have Cosmology,
Psychology or Anthropology, and Natural Theology or Theodicy.
Ontology is derived from the two Greek words onto, which means “being” or “that which is”, that is,
everything that exists; and logos, which means “knowledge” or “study”. (Note, however, that the
term logos in ancient Greek scholarship have different connotations. For example, Heraclitus, a
Greek philosopher of the late 6 thcentury BCE, understands Logos as reason or the underlying
principle of all that is.) Ontology, therefore, is the specific branch of philosophy that studies beings in
their ultimate causes, reasons, and principles through the aid of reason alone. In other words,
Ontology studies the first principles or the essence of all things.
What is being?
Why do things exist, rather than not exist at all?
What is the meaning and nature of reality?
What is the underlying principle of all that exist?
Is there nothing?
Please note that my concern here is just to describe very schematically the four major branches of
philosophy. If you want to know more about the nature and dynamics of Ontology per se, see John
Rickaby, S.J. General Metaphysics. https://www3.nd.edu/~maritain/jmc/etext/gm.htm.
Cosmology, from the Ancient Greek words kosmos, which means the “world” and logos, meaning
“study”, is the specific sub-branch of philosophy that studies the world (or universe), including its
origin, dynamics, and characteristics, as well as the laws that govern its order.
Theodicy (Natural theology) is derived from the Greek word theos, which means God. The word
theodicy was coined by the famous 18th century German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in his
1710 work titled Théodicée. Broadly construed, theodicy is the study of God. But specifically,
theodicy is concerned with the justification of the goodness of God in the face of the existence of evil
in the world.
Is there God?
What and who is God, if He exists at all?
How do we prove the existence of God?
If God exists, how do we justify the existence of evil and suffering in the world?
Does a belief in God really necessary?
Epistemology comes from the two Greek words episteme, which means knowledge, and logos
which means study. It is formally defined as the study of the nature and scope of knowledge and
justified belief. Specifically, it analyzes the nature of knowledge and how it relates to similar notions,
such as truth, belief, and justification.
What is knowledge?
What do we know?
How is knowledge acquired?
What is the structures and limits of knowledge?
What makes justified beliefs justified?
Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos, which originally means custom or habit. Broadly
construed, ethics is the morality of human actions. Ethics, therefore, is concerned with questions of
how human persons ought to act, and the search for a definition of a right conduct and the good life.
It is important to note that ethics is not the same with morality. This is because ethics denotes the
theory of right action and the greater good, while morality indicates practice, that is, the rightness or
wrongness of a human action.
What is a right conduct as that which causes the realization of the greatest good?
How do we determine a right conduct? In other words, what makes a right
conduct right?
What is a good life and can we attain it?
What is the difference between human act and actions that are based on
instinct?
What do people think is right?
Introduction to the Five Branches of Philosophy
Philosophy can be divided into five branches which address the following
questions: