Philosophy Branches

Metaphysics is one of the core branches of philosophy and it is among the oldest ones. Metaphysics centers on the study of the most fundamental categories of reality and their relations, such as god, person, thing, event, property, causation. The question typical of this branch is, hence: “What is there, really?”

Ethics is one of the major branches of philosophy and an ethical theory is part and parcel of all philosophies broadly conceived. The aim of ethics has been viewed in different ways: according to some, it is the discernment of right from wrong actions; to others, ethics separates that which is morally good from what is morally bad;...

What do you know, really? And how did you arrive at it? These are the two central questions of epistemology, or "theory of knowledge", one of the most central branches in philosophy along with metaphysics and ethics. Epistemological views have been elaborated in all philosophical traditions. They divide primarily among so-called rationalist and...

Philosophy of biology is that branch of philosophy dealing with the major issues arising from biological sciences, such as the proper understanding of evolutionary processes, the demarcation between living and non-living entities, the nature of species and – more generally – of biological taxa.

Logic is one of the most important and oldest branches of philosophy and its subject matter falls at the core of philosophizing. Logic studies patterns of reasoning dividing them into those that are "valid" and "invalid" with respect to a set of given rules. Classical logic studies those arguments that are valid with respect to some rules as...

Philosophy of language takes central place in contemporary philosophizing and its dealt in quite different manners in the analytic and continental traditions (roughly, the modern-day Anglo-Saxon and German-French philosophical schools respectively). In the analytic tradition, philosophy of language has focused on the characterization of meaning,...

Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy whose importance has extensively grown over the past century, in connection to the raising prestige and influence of disciplines such as physics, chemistry and – most lately – biology in understanding basic questions regarding the world as well as human identity and agency. Although its existence...

Environmental ethics is that branch of philosophy dealing with the major ethical questions regarding the relationships between humans and the environment. This includes issues such as biodiversity, wildlife management, ecological preservation, hunting practices, farming techniques, and food regulations.

An introductory article to the main topics and issues in the Philosophy of Food

The philosophy of hunting is a subfield of the philosophy of food, which deals most importantly with the ethical, environmental, and evolutionary aspects of the practice of hunting. Among its central questions: can hunting ever be regarded as morally good? Which methods for hunting are most ethical? Is hunting for sport rather than for food,...

Logic is the study of correct reasoning, in particular of the principles according to which an inference or a demonstration can be recognized as valid.

Aesthetics studies beauty as found either in art (philosophy of art) or in non artistic objects and events that are subject to aesthetic appreciation such as a landscape.