The theoretical Branches of
Philosophy
theoretical Branches of
Philosophy
Metaphysics
 Metaphysics is the study
of origins.
 Asks why we are here and
what is our purpose in life.
 Study of time.
 The study of the nature of
beings or reality in
GENERAL in its very
essence such as life after
death, heaven, hell,
purgatory, Satan, God
Epistemology: The Theory of
Knowledge
 This is the branch that
deals with where
knowledge comes from.
 Asks how do we obtain
knowledge.
 Gk: Episteme = knowledge
 Also asks about the
relation of knowing to the
known object, whether
known objects can exist
independently of their
being known, whether
there are different ways of
knowing, and whether
there are limits to
knowing
Theodicy
 Studies of nature, being
goodness, and justice of
God, God-man relations,
and other doctrines
related to divinity
 THEOS= GOD
 DIKE = justice and right
Ontology
 Regarded as a branch of
Metaphysics
 It studies the essential
characteristics of a
particular existing things,
of ultimate being , of
existence, and the status,
order and structure of
reality.
 Onta = the really existing
thing; The theory of
being ; What is being in
itself.

Cosmology
 theory of the world or
universe
 its concerns include the
origin of the universe, its
structure, the elements
which constitute it , its
characteristics, and the
order and law which
underlie its existence.
 cosmos = world
 the study of the universe
as a rational and orderly
system.
The practical Branches of
Philosophy
Practical Branches of Philosophy
Axiology
 Is the branch of
philosophy that studies
the nature origin and
Significance of Values.
 GK: Axios = “worthy”
 What is the person , thing
or event that makes them
valuable or desirable?
 Is value in the quality of an
object or an act?
 What is the person, thing
orevent that makes them
valuable or desirable?
 Is value in the quality of an
object or an act , or is it in
the mind
Religion
 This Branch deals with
why people believe in a
higher power and an
afterlife.
 Meaning of life
 Rituals and how people
should act.
Examlples of Religion
• Dualism
• Christianity, Judaism,
Islam
• Monotheism
• Polytheism
• Buddhism
• Hinduism
Ethics
 This branch deals mainly
with morality.
 It helps people determine
what is right and wrong
and how we can achieve
the “good life”.
 • Conservatism
• Liberalism
• Marxism
• Social Darwinism
The Good Life • Communism
• This is where a person has • Socialism
balance between happiness • Capitalism
and virtue.
Science
Aesthetics  The philosophy of Science
 The Study of what makes describes the way in which
Beauty. science changes the
world.
 Art and its significance.
Examples of How Science has
 What shapes the opinion Changed the World
of beauty.
 Evolution has changed the
Beauty way in which people have
• Beauty is perceived as viewed origins
being relative to most.
 Theory of Relativity has
• Some would argue that dramatically changed
there is universality in beauty physics
and that we all feel the same
emotion when observing good  The internet has changed
art. the way people exchange
information.
Politics
 Study of how people Logic
interact with each other.  The use of reason in
argument.
 What is the purpose of
government.  Critical thinking and
problem solving.
 Why people need other
people.  How to apply evidence to
an argument
Political Philosophies

Distinguishing Opinion and
Facts
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
TRUTH, REALITY AND FACTS
TRUTH
 In metaphysics and the
philosophy of language,
the property of sentences,
assertions, beliefs,
thoughts, or propositions
that are said, in ordinary
discourse, to agree with
the facts or to state what is
the case
REALITY
 a substance that actually
exists in an external world.
To be is real is to exist
without the need to be
proven to exist.
FACTS
 Facts may be understood
as information, which
makes a true sentence true:
"A fact is, traditionally, the
worldly correlate of a true
proposition, a state of
affairs whose obtaining
makes that proposition
true."
FACTS
 "A fact is, traditionally, the
worldly correlate of a true
proposition, a state of
affairs whose obtaining
makes that proposition
true."
EXAMPLES
 You Need Oxygen to
Survive.
 The Capital of Mexico is
Mexico City.
 People Keep Dogs as Pets.
 Valentine's Day Is on
February 14th.
 More Than 70% of Earth's
Surface is Ocean.
 The Union Won the
American Civil War.
OPINIONS
 An opinion is an
expression of a person’s
feelings that cannot be
proven. Opinions can be
based on facts or emotions
and sometimes they are
meant to deliberately
mislead others. Therefore,
it is important to be aware
of the author’s purpose
and choice of language.

EXAMPLES
 She looks sad.
 My history teacher hates
me.
 The movie was boring.
 To solve traffic, it is better
to invest in subways and
trains than in road
widening programs.
 Wine tastes better than
beer.
 The TV shows in ABS-
CBN are more entertaining
than the shows of other
channels.
OPINION
 Opinion, on the other
hand, can be true or not. It
is something that can be
proven or not. This is just
a collection of thoughts
and ideas. Meaning,
opinion is just an option
whether you will accept it
or not. One of the concrete
examples of opinion is
“The Author’s Idea about
Philosophy.” The content
of that article consists of
opinions and speculations
about philosophy. Unlike
fact, opinion is not a
collection of truths but of
ideas without a minimal or
no basis. It means that the
person giving an opinion is
just throwing his idea and
way of thinking whether it
may be true or not.
“The truth is like a lion. You
don’t have to defend it. Let it
loose. It will defend itself”
Importance Of Distinguishing
the Truth from Opinion
 Serve as a guide in making
an intelligent decision
especially on financial
matters and investing.
 Assist in making solid
conclusion on something
that requires personal
judgment.
 Help in making factual
reports specific to an
incident or happening
where knowing what really
happened is crucial.
EPISTEMOLOGY
 Determining what truth is
and what is opinion can be
difficult
 the boundaries between
them are a subject of
philosophical debate
  nature of knowledge and
the limits of what human
can know
COMPARISON OPINION &
TRUTHS
“The point of philosophy is to
start with something as simple as
to seem not worth stating, and to
end with something so
paradoxical that no one believe
it.”
-Bertrand Russell-
Philosophy is the realization
that:
A. Wisdom comes from Truth
B. Truth comes from reality
KNOWLEDGE
 It is a mere information
and a mere study. Example
of these are the
 lessons that you are getting
and the information that is
being sent to you.
WISDOM
 Wisdom can only be
gained through a personal
quest to acquire it. One has
to take a leap and enter
another realm.

Criteria in Evaluating Opinions
SOURCE
Reputation of The Source
 is defined as the estimation
in which a person or thing
is held, especially by the
community or the public in
general
Audience Whom it was intended
for
 Who or which person or
group is the target of the
opinion and whether it is
intended to influence
them.
Whether Authentic Documents
were provided as proof
 This is also crucial in the
evaluation as it will show
whether sufficient specific
supporting details were
submitted.
RELIABILITY
 defined as the ability to be
relied on or depended on,
as for accuracy, honesty
and achievement.
 it is the quality of being
trustworthy or of
performing consistently
well.
 Question how reliable the
person is in giving the
opinion.
 Assess how long the
person has spent studying
the topic or item which is
the subject of the opinion
 What is the experience of
the one giving the opinion
in relation to the subject
matter?
PURPOSE
 Intention
 Convince or persuade
BIAS
 is a tendency to learn to a
certain direction, often to
the detriment of an open
mind
 Did the one who gave the
opinion exhibited
partiality, preference, or
prejudice for or against an
idea or person.
 those who are biased tend
to believe what they want
to believe, refusing to take
into consideration other’s
opinion.
 Being biased means the
lack of neutral viewpoint.

ASSUMPTION
 An assumption is an idea
which is accepted as true
and yet no effort is made
to prove or substantiate it.
 it is defined as an idea that
is formed but without any
evidence to back it up.
FORMS OF ASSUMPTION
 People might make the
assumption that you’re
intelligent if you wear eye
glasses, even though that
is not true
 People tend to assume that
because someone is
driving a flashy car, he is
very rich. It turned out
however, that he is just the
driver of the car
 Another dangerous
assumption is in making
investement when we
assume that WHAT you
agreed upon will be
fulfilled by both parties.
There’s a very thin line that
separates truth from opinion. It
depends on the degree of
conviction one has over a claimed
opinion. When this happens,
opinion sometimes, if we are not
careful, can be perceived as truth.
The Human Person and
Embodied Spirit
Tarzan
 The orphaned Tarzan
grows up in the remote
African wilderness, raised
by the gentle gorilla when
a British expedition enters
the jungle; Tarzan
encounters the beautiful
Jane and recognizes that,
like her, he’s human.
Falling in love with Jane,
Tarzan is torn between
embracing civilization and
staying with his gorilla
family, which becomes
threatened by the ruthless
hunter Clayton.
WHAT and WHO of Tarzan
 “Whatness” refers to the
Metaphysical Approach in
identifying a human
person.
 “Who-ness” refers to the
Existential Approach in
identifying a human
person
Tarzan has the what
(metaphysical) of a human person;
but while living with the apes, he
has the “who” (existential) of an
ape

COMPONENTS OF HUMAN
PERSON
· Soul (life giving function)
 it is a life force that makes
us human beings alive.
Though it is not visible but
this component is very
important in human
person.
· Mind (consciousness)
 it gives us the awareness
on the things around us.
Spirit (non-bodily human
component)
 Some of the examples of
spirits are spirit of
gratefulness, spirit of
generosity, spirit of
honesty, etc.
Body (Chasis of the Soul)
 it is our physical
appearance to others.
DIFFERENT
VIEWS/CONCEPTS ABOUT
HUMAN PERSON
UNSPIRITED BODY VIEW
 Human person is
essentially just his/her
body and nothing more. It
refers to us that human
person does not have
spiritual component. There
is no such thing as spirit.
They do not acknowledge
the spiritual realm for
them, they thought that
they’re body are merely
just body.
DISEMBODIED SPIRIT VIEW
 Human person is
essentially just his/her
spirit. It maintains that the
human person has both
body and spirit but claims
that it is the spirit that
essentially defines the
human person. The body is
here seen as a nonessential
component of human
person. The body is
dependent on the spirit
while the spirit is not
dependent on body. Body
cannot survive without
spirit but the spirit will
survive even if there is no
body.
EMBODIED SPIRIT VIEW
 Human person is
essentially the unity of
his/her body and spirit. It
maintains that the human
person has both body and
spirit but claims that the
human person is
essentially the unity of
these two components.
Spirit cannot exist
independently as well as
the body without another
half. Each will not survive
 with the absence of the
other
Jean Paul Sartre
 He understands
transcendence as what
makes it possible and what
limits it. Human capacity
for transcendence is rooted
in the property of human
consciousness called
intentionality.
Other people
Two ways of transcendence of
consciousness
 First, the things that
consciousness is primarily
directed at are outside or
transcendent to
consciousness.
 Second, consciousness is
always transcending itself
because in being
continuously conscious of
things outside of itself, it is
continuously filling in
gaps within itself.
Factors that possibly limits one’s
Transcendence
Natural Environment
 It includes natural laws or
forces such as gravity, and
natural events such as
storms, earthquakes or the
simple natural facts like
the fact that it is raining.
Body
 It refers to the various
characteristics of the body
such as, among others,
genetic make-up, physical
attributes such as height,
weight, complexion, etc.,
nationality, gender, social
class, ethnic race, sickness,
disabilities, age, previous
experiences and
impending death.
 It includes our concrete
relations with them and
their mere perception to
us. Sartre thinks that
whether something limits
our transcendence or not
still depends on our
choice. Something
becomes a limit or an
obstacle to our
transcendence or freedom
only because we have
made certain choices. (e.g.
boulder on the road)
Sartre, thus, conceives of
freedom simply as the
ability to make choices for
oneself regardless of
whether or not one can
perform or put one’s
choices into actions.