I spent four years studying philosophy at the University of Alberta. Whenever strangers, acquaintances, or relatives found out I was studying something as superfluous as philosophy I was asked all encompassing questions like “what is philosophy?” or “what is your philosophy?” When I was younger I am sure that I carried away prattling off about the search for higher truths, pure reasoning… mostly stuff that you couldn’t pin me down on. I was a moving target. School provided me with no logical paradigm of what philosophy was on a whole scale. As far as I could critically reach—the more complicated the text was, then the more ephemeral and cryptic truths it contained. This type of model leads to many conceptual mistakes. It was only when I was out of school that I developed the humility to ask my self these daunting, yet amazingly simple questions. Here is a simple version of what is philosophy.
The five branches of philosophy
Metaphysics; the study of what is real
One of man’s first thoughts must have been something like— what is this? What is that? Do I exist? What is real? What is reality? Metaphysics is where everyone’s favourite philosophical question comes from— if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it still make a sound? Two answers are available here. The first claims yes there is a sound, because the tree is real and exists independent of our minds perception of it. The second answer is more sceptical. Since the only way the sound is validated is through sensory perception; thus the sound does not exist independent of the mind. One school says the world exists independent of our minds the other claims the world only exists because of our minds.
Epistemology: where does knowledge come from? Is it possible to gain real knowledge or is all knowledge tainted by the bias of our minds? Aristotle believed man’s mind was his weapon at deciphering the world. Aristotle believed in science, and that our mind could be used to formulate truths and physical laws. Plato thought the mind was more complicated, that it deceived us and that true knowledge was unattainable. All we could hope for were imperfect recreations and representations of perfect ideas and objects that were based on perfect forms. Because Plato’s metaphysics were otherworldly, the mind in its limited physical relations was of little use in learning the highest truths. Here one has to ask themselves— does knowledge come from mystical experiences, sudden intuition, meditation or does it come from sensory information and rational conception?
Ethics: How aught one act, what is right and what is wrong. Once our first thinker has decided what is real and what is not real, and then come to realize how we gain knowledge and what use knowledge has to a human’s survival, the next logical question is— what is right and what is wrong. How aught one act? Ethics is the first of the normative branches of thinking. What ought to be done. Philosophy 101 treats all of these subjects individually—abortion, death penalty…. Etc. Some philosophers think all human constructs are meaningless (nilhism) and that morals are for the weak. Others believe ethics are duty implied (Christians). The main point to remember here is that what you believe metaphysically and epistemologically will have a large impact on your ethical values.
Politics; Once you have decided how the individual ought to act in a moral context the next great normative question is—how should society be organized? Once again we can have a wide arrange of conclusions. They key is now to investigate the premises on which those conclusions rest. For example a man that believes reality exists independent of us (metaphysics), and that our tool for survival is his mind (epistemology), will certainly advocate for a political system in which a man is free to act upon the conclusions that his minds has come. Communism would not be his cup of tea, because a collective political structure invalidates and individual’s right to act upon his conclusions.
Art: Art is the climax of the philosophical paradigm— why does man create? Plato would claim mystical inspiration. Aristotle would probably believe that men create to understand what they have learned? Once again your prior philosophical premises will determine how you view art.
Objectivists helped simplify what philosophy was for me and I hope this breakdown will do the same for someone else.
The five branches of philosophy
Metaphysics; the study of what is real
One of man’s first thoughts must have been something like— what is this? What is that? Do I exist? What is real? What is reality? Metaphysics is where everyone’s favourite philosophical question comes from— if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it still make a sound? Two answers are available here. The first claims yes there is a sound, because the tree is real and exists independent of our minds perception of it. The second answer is more sceptical. Since the only way the sound is validated is through sensory perception; thus the sound does not exist independent of the mind. One school says the world exists independent of our minds the other claims the world only exists because of our minds.
Epistemology: where does knowledge come from? Is it possible to gain real knowledge or is all knowledge tainted by the bias of our minds? Aristotle believed man’s mind was his weapon at deciphering the world. Aristotle believed in science, and that our mind could be used to formulate truths and physical laws. Plato thought the mind was more complicated, that it deceived us and that true knowledge was unattainable. All we could hope for were imperfect recreations and representations of perfect ideas and objects that were based on perfect forms. Because Plato’s metaphysics were otherworldly, the mind in its limited physical relations was of little use in learning the highest truths. Here one has to ask themselves— does knowledge come from mystical experiences, sudden intuition, meditation or does it come from sensory information and rational conception?
Ethics: How aught one act, what is right and what is wrong. Once our first thinker has decided what is real and what is not real, and then come to realize how we gain knowledge and what use knowledge has to a human’s survival, the next logical question is— what is right and what is wrong. How aught one act? Ethics is the first of the normative branches of thinking. What ought to be done. Philosophy 101 treats all of these subjects individually—abortion, death penalty…. Etc. Some philosophers think all human constructs are meaningless (nilhism) and that morals are for the weak. Others believe ethics are duty implied (Christians). The main point to remember here is that what you believe metaphysically and epistemologically will have a large impact on your ethical values.
Politics; Once you have decided how the individual ought to act in a moral context the next great normative question is—how should society be organized? Once again we can have a wide arrange of conclusions. They key is now to investigate the premises on which those conclusions rest. For example a man that believes reality exists independent of us (metaphysics), and that our tool for survival is his mind (epistemology), will certainly advocate for a political system in which a man is free to act upon the conclusions that his minds has come. Communism would not be his cup of tea, because a collective political structure invalidates and individual’s right to act upon his conclusions.
Art: Art is the climax of the philosophical paradigm— why does man create? Plato would claim mystical inspiration. Aristotle would probably believe that men create to understand what they have learned? Once again your prior philosophical premises will determine how you view art.
Objectivists helped simplify what philosophy was for me and I hope this breakdown will do the same for someone else.
