DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

Introduction:

Philosophy is the earliest and the most original discipline.  It is one of the oldest and the most respected provinces of knowledge.  Philosophy is a systematic and thorough attempt to relate the universe and human life ot each other in a meaningful way.  It is ‘Open Mindedness’ which, according to Dr. Prem Nath, ‘is cultivated through the rigorous discipline of the mind’. Philosophical open-mindedness is philosophical wisdom which implies an understanding of the universe, in terms of human experience, in the true perspective.  In the words of Dr.Prem Nath philosophy represents “the efforts to combine into an integrated system all knowledge and all experiences both individual and racial.

Meaning of Philosophy:-

A) Derivative Meaning of Philosophy:-

The term ‘Philosophy’ has been derived form the two Greek words ‘Philos’ and ‘Sophia’ means love and ‘Sophia’ means Wisdom’. So, the term ‘Philosophy’ means ‘love of wisdom’. But love of wisdom does not necessarily make one a true Philosopher.  It implies understanding; it means finding meaning and relationship among ideas.  Plato, the great Greek Philosopher will have us believe, “He who has a taste for every sort of knowledge and who is curious to learn and is never satisfied may justly be called a Philosopher”.

B) Views of Scholars:-

1. Atistotle’s View:-

“Philosophy is a science which investigates the nature of being as it is in itself”.

2. Plato’s View:-

“Philosophy aims at a knowledge of the eternal nature of things”.

3. Views of Cisero:-

Cisero called it as “The mother of all arts”.

4. Views of Coleridge:-

Coleridge defined Philosophy as the “Science of Sciences”.

5. Views of Kant:-

“Philosophy is the science and criticism of cognition”.

C) INDIAN APPROACH TO PHILOSOPHY:-

Most of the Indian Philosophers consider ‘Darshan’ as the symbol of visual knowledge which means to gain such a knowledge which can be obtained through eyes, such a knowledge alone can be real or true.

In the western school of thought emphasis has been laid on the relationship and science, but the Indian Philosophers have called Philosophy (Darshan) as a lamp of all disciplines.

On the basis of all these view points,we can say that Philosophy is an attitude towards life and universe where an effort is made to search truth on the basis of logical inquiry.  It may further be said that Philosophy is a living force.  Its concept is dynamic.

D) OTHER VIEWS:-

1. Philosophy is a way of life:-

Philosophy has always been considered as a way of life. According to Schopehour.  “Every man is a born metaphysician”.

Aldous Huxley has rightly remarked “Men live in accordance with their Philosophy of life, their conception of the world”.

2. Philosophy is a Search for truth:-

In fact, Philosophy is a search for truth and reality.  It is “a Search for a comprehensive view of nature, and attempt at a universal explanation of nature of things”.

3. Philosophy is an attempt to answer the ultimate questions of life:-

It is search for knowledge and wisdom.  It is rather the study of realities. general principles and the pursuit of excellence.  Philosophy is a way of looking at things. at nature and at man-his origin and goal.  In other words, Philosophy is the attempt to think in the most general and systematic way about everything is the universe, about the whole of reality.

DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY:-

o   Metaphysics

o   Epistemology

o   Axiology

METAPHYSICS (NATURE OF REALITY)

Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy which deals with the nature for reality, what is the nature of reality of this universe.  Is the materilostics world true or the spiritual world? what is the source or origin of this world? It also studies the origin, nature and destiny of man.  Actually such doubts and questions are the creators of  Philosophy.

The term Metaphysics has been derived from the union of two words. ‘Meta’ and ‘Physics’. Meta means beyond and physics means physical science.  which means that whatever is beyond physical science, comes under the domain of metaphysics while observing the nature whatever events are to be seen. their elucidation is made through physical science.  But whatever are the basic and ultimate problems of life and universe and the answer to which are beyond the realms of physical science, these questions come in the domain of metaphysic.

Metaphysics is the study of reality, existence or essence.  It studies the origin, nature and destiny of man.  Its subject matter is to know about soul, body, god and nature and the individuals try to answer these questions on the basis of logical thinking.  It has the following constituents.

a) Theology:-

Under this, Philosophy studies about the existence of God. His nature etc.

b) Ontology:-

It is the study of ultimate reality the nature of existence.

c) Cosmology:-

Under this, problems connected with the origin and imposition of the creation (cosmos) are studies. In other words, it studies the mysteries of the world.

d) Cosmogony:-

It is concerned with the theory of the origin and development of the universe the creation of the world.

e) Philosophy of Self:-

It is mainly concerned with the Philosophical interpretations of the self.  The first question before man is: who am I? This led to other questions.

f) Eschatology:-

It is any system of doctrines concerning last or final matters as death or the after life.

B. EPISTEMOLOGY (THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE)

It is the branch of Philosophy which studies the structure, methods and validity of knowledge.  It deals with the theory of problem of knowledge questions discussed are, How do we get knowledge? How does a man know what is real? The other related issues studied under epistemology are human intelligence, Problems concerning his capacity for learning nature of evidence, nature of real and unreal etc.

The naturalists believe in the knowledge gained through senses and the idealists believe in the knowledge gained through spiritual experience.  In short, such questions are discussed under Epistemology and it is important for study.

Different types of knowledge.

v Revealed knowledge.

v Intuitive knowledge.

v Empirical knowledge.

v Rational knowledge.

v Authoritative knowledge.

1. Revealed Knowledge

          This knowledge is generally of the religious type. In order to prove the authenticity of religious epics, it is often said that their revelations and words have really been heard by prophets, but not through the outer ears but through their inner soul.  The Muslims call Quran Shariff, the Christians Bible, the Sikhs Guru Granth sahib and Hindus Vedas as divine revelations. Revelations in religious domain are considered self evident language.  Such type of knowledge is received through religious epics.  This type of knowledge instead of being new is odl, traditionally and universally acceptable. The individuals with religious disposition never have any suspicion about this type of knowledge.  Any type of change in this knowledge is intolerable for the society.

2. Intuitive Knowledge

          The scope of Intuitive knowledge is neither in the experiences of the individual nor in his intelligence.  The relation of this knowledge is also not in his rational intelligence.  This knowledge starts from intuition.  The form of intuition is in its completeness and entirety sensibilities and the human knowledge starts from this sensibility. The processes like analysis, generalizations and differentiation of intelligence come only at the later stage.  The knowledge of having a prior knowledge of the coming event is known as intuition.   This knowledge is innate and natural and its confirmation is not possible through science.

3. Rational Knowledge

          An individual receives only the knowledge of the present through direct experiences. But through logic and experiences we can get information’s about the events of the past, present and future.  In this way logic has been given the importance only after sensory experiences in the area of knowledge.  In fact the help of both sensory experiences and logical thinking is to be taken in order to get knowledge in behaviour and science.  Logic is of two types.  1. Deductive logic and 2. Inductive logic.  We would discuss these two types of logic in detail in the methods of getting knowledge.

4. Emperical Knowledge

          The Knowledge which is based on our experiences, investigations and observation is called Emperical Knowledge.   This knowledge is related to our senses.  The knowledge is the most elementary and important one.  The knowledge is received through the medium of our five senses.  As has already been said that “the senses are the gateways of the knowledge”. Emperical knowledge is direct.

5. Authoritative Knowledge

          If we give a thought, we would come to realize that whatever our knowledge is, majority of it is neither the outcome of our senses nor through the logical thinking done by us as Shahjahan built Tajmahal, the earth moves round the sun.  This knowledge you have got by believing in the statements made by auithorities in the respective field.  Most of the knowledge is attained by believing in the statements made by others.  The other individuals are the authority or specialists of the specific subject.  The knowledge  based on research is also of this type.

C. AXIOLOGY (THEORY OF VALUES)

It discusses the theory of values.  Axiology deals with the questions life: What are the higher values of life? What are the Principles of life?  How do they support the view of reality? The following sub areas are studied under it.

a. Logic:-

Logic is the study of the rules and techniques of reasoning. It is the logic that gives and understanding of scientific method of enquiry through its inductive and deductive methods.  Under this part of Philosophy, “logical thinking, imagination or supposition, its characteristics methods of enquiry etc, are considered”.

b) Ethics:-

It deals with judgment or approval and disapproval. rightness and wrongness, goodness and badness, virtue and vice.  It is also called moral Philosophy.  Precisely, it deals with the principles of conduct which help us judge whether a choice or an action is good or right.

c) Aesthetics:-

It deals with the problems connected with beauty. It analyses beauty and ugliness, their characteristics and standards of measuring the two concepts.

The above disciplines are the main divisions of Philosophy but the scope of philosophy is not limited to these divisions only.  The knowledge of the entire universe, is scope of Philosophy