The three main branches of philosophy
Humans have a natural inclination towards reflecting on their own lives and different aspects of it, unlike other beings. These questions have been a matter of reflection and discussion since ancient times, and they allowed to define the purpose of a good life or the basic principles that describe the knowledge, which is the fundamental philosophical questions. Part I of this paper will define the notion of “philosophy’ and discuss the three main branches of it.
Philosophy is a term describing both an academic subject and a field of study, both focusing on the same premises. The literal translation of this term is the “love of wisdom,” which outlines the basic premise of this subject (“Why Philosophy?”). This subject allows people to reflect on the essential aspects of their lives, the world around them, and their connection to it since, according to Sandford, it “embraces difficult questions and investigates fundamental concepts” (Why Philosophy?” 1). Thus, this branch of study encourages people to think about the fundamental aspects of their lives and search for answers through reflections.
Philosophy is based on asking questions and reflecting on the answers that can help one understand the world better. The basic questions that are the basis of the philosophical reflections have been the subject of exploration for the philosophers since the establishment of this subject, which is why when studying, it is essential to examine the ideas of the well-known philosophers such as Plato, Socrates, Epictetus, and others and why there are different divisions of this subject. The three branches of philosophy studied in class are epistemology, metaphysics, and axiology. To illustrate the differences between the three branches of philosophy, one can examine how Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Epictetus would find the answers to some fundamental questions.
The question “What is knowledge?” is associated with epistemology, a study of the nature of knowledge. Thinkers who reflected on the ideas of this philosophy branch attempted to define the notion of knowledge and determine how one can know if something is true. For instance, Plato argues that knowledge is the truth, and one can justify something as knowledge by citing the evidence that shows the truthfulness of their ideas (Why Philosophy?”). Moreover, both Plato and Aristotle agreed that proving something as knowledge requires one to use the universal truths recognized by others.
“What is reality made of?” is the basic question that philosophers who focused on the exploration of metaphysics reflect upon. This branch of philosophy focuses on two fundamental areas, the origins of the universe and the things that surround people. For example, Plato cited the idea that every object in the universe has a specific form that exists in reality. “What is a good life and how out I live it?” is the underlying question that auxologists have focused on (Why Philosophy?”). Epictetus focused the majority of his work on answering this question on defining the good values that led to a good life and founded the ideas of stoics. Under his approach, a person should act virtuously, do what is right, and do not focus on the other’s appraisal of their actions to have a good life.
In summary, philosophy is the academic subject and discipline that is based upon understanding the life and nature of things around people. The three primary branches of this subject are axiology, epistemology, and metaphysics. The first one is concerned with values and leading a doo life, the second helps define the premises of knowledge, and the third is the study of the universe and objects in it.
The philosophical mindset
Although the fundaments of philosophical thought have been established in Ancient Greece, the use of this subject’s approach to finding answers can be applied by anyone in their everyday life. Hence, philosophy helps one subject idea to a critical evaluation to find the true meaning and answers. Part II of this paper is the reflection on the notion of philosophical mindset and the application of philosophical ideas in real life.
To think philosophically, one has to ask questions and doubt each idea that they come up with until they come up with a solution that is true. The ancient philosophers manifested this idea by writing dialogs, where they discussed the varied approaches to answering fundamental questions and uncovered the truth. Hence, by asking the correct questions and reflecting on the answers to them, one can subject their own views to a critical evaluation and find alternative answers.
The ideas of Ancient Greek philosophers have affected my own views of life and reality. For example, the stoic philosophy correlated with the many popular concepts promoted through social media on how to live life, such as not focusing on the opinions of others, acting ethically, and adhering to your values. However, the approach that is advocated through self-help books or articles does not reflect on the ideas it promotes in-depth and therefore does not allow to fully grasp the nature of the answers, unlike the works by ancient philosophers. Hence, by studying this subject, I learned to ask questions, subject ideas to a critical evaluation, and I have learned the underlying principles of some popular concepts about life.
Hence, when I approach the fundamental philosophical questions, such as “What is knowledge?,” “What is reality?,” “What is the good life?” I utilize both my own critical thinking and the answers that the ancient philosophers have provided. In this reflection, I will focus on the issue of good life since it has been an important question for me in recent years, and I have tried to answer it before learning about philosophy and the views of the ancient philosophers.
My approach to answering the question regarding the good life is based on the person’s values, which helps explain why the definition of such life varies for different people. For example, some may consider their family their ultimate value, and their decisions will be based on this idea. However, for another person, personal development and career will be more valuable, and the actions of these two individuals will differ dramatically. In each case, they will have a good life, although their decisions and views will be distinctive. Therefore, if one wants to have a good life, they have to define their values first to know which aspects of life they have to focus on, since modern lifestyle is fast pathed, and people have many activities and responsibilities. Still, the time we have to address these is limited, which is why focusing only on the important things is essential. In summary, this part of the paper is focused on a self-reflection and personal ideas of philosophy and philosophical mindset.
Work Cited
“Why Philosophy?” Stanford. Web.