Branches of Philosophy Terms
philosophy
"love of wisdom"; investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge or values based on logical reasoning
utilitarianism
"the greatest good for the greatest of many"
logos
"to speak"; refers to all of the words a speaker says
skepticism
a doubting or questioning attitude or state of mind
sophism
a plausible, deceptive, but false argument
epistemology
an inquiry into what can be known and how we know it
aesthetics
ask the question "is there such a thing as objective beauty?"
metaphysics
asks the question "What is there?"
aesthetics
branch of philosophy that deals with the nature and expression of beauty, as in fine arts
metaphysics
branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value
ethics
branch of philosophy that studies moral theory, ask "how does one live best?"
ontology
branch of philosophy that studies the nature of being
epistemology
branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge, its presuppositions and foundations its extent and validity
cosmology
branch of philosophy that studies the physical universe considered as a totality of phenomena in time and space
logic
branch of philosophy which sorts out good arguments from bad arguments utilizing reason
mythology
folklore, traditions and beliefs of a people to explain what is mystery
ontology
studies what exist, "is there a god?", "do universals exist?"
philosophy
the academic discipline comprising: logic ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, epistemology, ontology, cosmology
relativism
the belief that only opinions exist
monism
the doctrine that mind and matter are formed from, or reducible to, the same ultimo substance or principle of being
rationalism
the theory that the exercise of reason, rather tan experience, authority, or spiritual revelation, provides the primary basis for knowledge
monism
the view in metaphysics that reality is a unified whole and all existing things can be ascribed to or described by a single concept or system
empiricism
the view that experience, especially of the senses, is the only source of knowledge
dualism
the view that the world consist of or is explicable as two fundamental entities, such as mind and matter