A philosophy is a rationale or justification that people provide in relation to a given phenomenon. The justification could be sociological, psychological, political, metaphysical, ethical, religious or even axiological in nature. This paper majorly discusses the central disciplines of philosophy. Specifically, it endeavors to discuss the disciplines of metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of religion and ethics. Each of these branches will be discussed in terms of the central philosophical questions that it seeks to address or find answers to. Lastly, there will be a discussion about two philosophers who subscribe to each of the aforementioned branches of philosophy with citation of their arguments. A viable conclusion will then be drawn from the discussion.
Key Words: philosophy, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and philosophy of religion.
Central Disciplines of PhilosophyMetaphysics
According to Koons and Pikavance (2015) and Heidegger (2014), metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that concerns itself with the puzzle and wonder of existence. This branch of philosophy also concerns itself with the reason for the existence of things in the universe and their main features and the interrelations between things that exist in the universe. Metaphysics deals with the first cause of things to exist and their principles of existence. Besides, this branch attempts to study the subject of reality in a holistic manner. This branch of philosophy attempts to study the existence of things in the world to fit in as they do.
According to Heidegger (2014) and Sire (2009), metaphysics is concerned with the existing relationship between things that are whole and their constituent parts. Other concerns of this branch of philosophy are the attributive qualities of things existing in the world. Specifically, this branch seeks to identify the special characteristics that distinguish one item from another as they exist in the world today. Lastly, this branch also attempts to elaborate the cause and effect relationship between items within a given relation as they exist in the world. It is, therefore, philosophically correct to say that this branch is concerned with matters beyond the physical identity. Some of the philosophical questions that metaphysics as a branch of philosophy attempts to answer are: Is space or space-time really an existent aspect? What really gives time its sense of direction; from earlier to later? Do dimensionless points constitute space? Is there a supreme being behind the existence of things in the world? What is the real difference between merely possible facts and the real facts about existing things? Does the world really exist outside the human mind?
The first question seeks an elaboration of whether space and time really exist or they remain imaginary aspects in the human mind. The second question regarding time seeks an explanation of how time is determined. Therefore, different philosophers can give scientific explanations of how time is measured using different time zones in the world. The third question seeks an elucidation as to whether space exists beyond the human mind. It also seeks to establish whether the existence of space is a philosophical premise that needs justification or a mere speculation by scientists. The last three questions are about the subject of existence. The philosophy of ontology gives possible answers to these questions. Different philosophers make attempts to give explanations to the various phenomena as they exist in the world today (Koons " Picavance, 2015; Heidegger, 2014; Taylor " Seago, 1963; Sire, 2009).
Additionally, it is of the essence to mention the fact that metaphysics is considered as the founding branch of philosophy. The Greek philosopher Aristotle attempted to explain the constituent branches of metaphysics. Thus, metaphysics is split into the sub-branches of ontology, cosmology, natural theology, and universal science. The sub-branch of ontology concerns itself with the issues of existence or being. It also concerns itself with physical and mental matters, their characteristic properties. This sub-branch of metaphysics attempts to explain the nature of change (Lowe, 2002).
On the other hand, the sub-branch of natural theology is majorly concerned with the existence of God, the nature and existence of religion, the divine deities and spiritual issues. This sub-branch of metaphysics attempts to explain the questions related to the creation and existence of supreme-beings. The sub-branch of universal science is majorly concerned with the principles of logic and reasoning. It also deals with the law of contradiction. Cosmology is a constituent branch of metaphysics that has a keen interest in analyzing phenomena in the universe in terms of space and time. This infers that cosmology is specifically concerned with matters of origin regarding the universe (Lowe, 2002). Lastly, there are several philosophers who subscribe to the philosophy of metaphysics. These philosophers include Aristotle, Immanuel Kunt, Martin Heidegger and Plato (Koons " Pikavance, 2015).
Epistemology
Epistemology is a branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge, truths and justified beliefs. Epistemology also concerns itself with the acquisition of knowledge and skepticism about the different forms of knowledge. This infers that the kind of knowledge espoused by epistemology is propositional knowledge. Further, this branch of philosophy seeks to unveil the creation and dissemination of particular areas of knowledge-inquiry. This branch of philosophy attempts to answer several questions: What is knowledge? How can one acquire knowledge? What is the structure of knowledge? What are the limits of knowledge? What is the qualification for justified beliefs? What makes certain beliefs justified? What is the principle of justification? (Cunninghum " Fitzgerald, 1996).
In consideration of these philosophical questions, the first question seeks a broad definition of knowledge. In a broader way, this particular question unveils the subject of knowing, the extent of knowledge and when an individual can be termed as knowledgeable. Further, this branch makes attempts to explain the various means of acquiring knowledge. This is highlighted by the second philosophical question. The third question is keen on the compartmentalization of knowledge. This specific question makes a proposition that knowledge is structured in dimensions which need more elaboration. Therefore, philosophers subscribing to epistemology make attempts to provide explanations to this proposition. The fourth question makes a proposition of the limits of knowledge. Some philosophers argue that knowledge is limitless. More philosophers still seek to justify this proposition further. The last three questions are concerned with proof of existing facts and beliefs. These questions seek to explain how a fact or belief can be considered true in today’s world (Cunninghum " Fitzgerald, 1996).
According to epistemology, knowledge is defined as the understanding or awareness of certain aspects or items in the realm of reality. Thus, it can be inferred that knowledge is a justified belief of what is considered true. This also means that knowledge comprises three key aspects: truth, belief, and justification. Knowledge can be acquired through empirical or non-empirical means. Empirical acquisition of knowledge involves the use of reasoning. On the other hand, non-empirical acquisition of knowledge goes beyond reasoning. It also involves the description of the item in content. It may involve the issues of color, shape or even location. Additionally, knowledge can also be acquired by intuition (Cunninghum " Fitzgerald, 1996; Herman, 1986).
There are four main theories that guide the acquisition of knowledge. These theories are empiricism, rationalism, representationalism, and constructivism. The theory of empiricism postulates that knowledge is acquired by experience based on the perception of our five senses. It is important to mention the fact that innate ideas are not considered as a mode of knowledge acquisition. On the other hand, rationalism refers to knowledge that is acquired through studying certain concepts. Representationalism theory of knowledge acquisition believes that the world does not exist as seen in the conscious but as a virtual reality. The last theory of knowledge is the constructivism theory. According to this theory, all existing knowledge is constructed (Cunninghum " Fitzgerald, 1996).
Giddins (2011) argues that social epistemology is a branch of epistemology that concerns itself with belief-forming agents and their response to social sources of evidence as well as the existing social systems. Social sources of evidence include testimonies given by individuals and justification by legal systems that exist in the social world. This branch of epistemology also concerns itself with the handling of disagreements among people of the same bracket in a logical way. This infers that social epistemology remains relevant in contemporary society since it appreciates the contemporary view of the phenomenon. All the justification of this branch of epistemology is made in the pursuit of truth.
One of the philosophers who subscribe to epistemology is Plato. The evidence for his subscription is cited in his acknowledgment of divisive nature of labor as a way of making production easier. Another philosopher who subscribes to epistemology is Aristotle. He makes an attempt to distinguish between truth and false (Giddins, 2011; Cunninghum " Fitzgerald, 1996).
Philosophy of Religion
The philosophy of religion is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with demystifying the facts associated with certain philosophical questions about theology. Some of the philosophical questions that this branch of philosophy seeks to demystify include: Is there a God? Does God really exist?Why does God permit suffering?What happens to a person at Death? What is a religion? Are prayers and petitions sensical? In elaboration of the aforementioned philosophical questions, the first question is searching for answers regarding the existence of a supreme being, God. The philosophy of natural religion makes attempts to give an explanation to these questions. Theologians make attempts to give an explanation to these propositions. Other issues of concern in this particular branch of philosophy are definitions of what can be considered as religious dialectal, the existence of miracles, prayers, evil and the relationship between religion and other disciplines (Steven " Zachary, 2006; Planttiga, 2000; Brown, 1984).
For christians, God is believed to exist at all times. He is the creator of the universe and all that is in it. He exists in three forms as the same person. This is the Holy Trinity which consists of God, the Father; God, the Son; God, the Holy Spirit. The existence of God is viewed as monotheism. According to christians, God is omnipresent. This infers he is present everywhere at all times. God is omniscient. Omniscience, in this case, refers to an aspect of all-knowing. Another attribute that christians attach to God is that He is omnipotent meaning that God is very powerful. Lastly, God is described as omnibenevolent inferring that is loving to all and good all. The aforementioned characteristic attributes of God relate to the christian faith (Steven " Zachary, 2006; Williams, 2013).
Some of the Christian philosophers who subscribe to the philosophy of religion are St. Anselm and St. Avincencia. According to these two philosophers, God exists as a supreme being who is perfect and nothing greater exists as compared to His Supremacy. Another philosopher who believes in monotheism is St. Augustine evidenced by his work named, “The Confessions of St. Augustine” (St. Augustine, 2008). Most christians in the world subscribe to the philosophy of religion with specific reference to christianity through the aspect of faith. God is the creator of the universe and controls all that exists in it. For christians, the Bible remains the Holy Book from which justifications about God can be made without any further questions. Thus, a christian will make a justification for any philosophical questions about God using the Bible (Williams, 2013).
Ethics
Ethics also referred to as moral philosophy deals with what is considered right or wrong as per the actions of an individual. Therefore, the actions of an individual can be described as ethically/morally right or wrong. The words ethics and morals are used interchangeably but there exists a slight difference between them. Ethics are described as externally imposed standards to an individual defining that which is right or wrong. The standards could be based on the person's faith, their country’s constitution or even societal expectations. These external standards influence the moral actions of individuals. Therefore, morals can be described as internally imposed standards of that which is considered right or wrong based on the actions of an individual. This infers that ethics make a dictatorship of that which good or bad, right or wrong. Morality is the practice of ethics (Williams, 2012; Blamey " Thompson, 2017).
Williams (2012) further suggests that ethics takes several forms: normative, descriptive, applied and meta-ethics. The normative or prescriptive aspect of ethics is concerned with the way people should act. Normative ethics makes an attempt to develop a set of rules which govern human behavior in different set-ups. This branch of ethics is further divided into three further branches: teleological, deontological and virtue ethics. According to teleological ethics, an action is right or wrong based on the outcome of engaging in the action. According to deontological ethics, an action is right or wrong based on the intention of the doer. Lastly, virtue ethics is concerned with the correct and wrong virtues and consequences associated with the embracing of such values (McNaughton, 1988).
According to MacIntyre (2003), the descriptive dimension of ethics is concerned with what is perceived by people as right or wrong. This specific dimension acknowledges the fact that ethics can differ from one system to another. Therefore, it concerns itself with a comparison of the ethics of different systems. Besides, the applied ethics dimension is concerned with the application of elements in real life by people. Lastly, meta-ethics dimension is concerned with the deeper meaning of the word ‘right’. Therefore, it is in order to note that some of the philosophical questions that this realm of philosophy seeks to answer are: How should people act? What do people consider right or wrong? How do we put moral knowledge into practice? What does ‘right’ mean? These philosophical questions posed in moral philosophy seek the practicability of the aspects of morals and ethics by humans in the world today. Some of the philosophers subscribing to this philosophy are Immanuel Kunt, Socrates, and Aristotle.
Conclusion
From the discussion above, it is evident that the discipline of philosophy is central to the provision of various explanations with regards to different phenomena occurring in the world today. Noteworthy, the branches of epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and the philosophy of religion make a significant contribution towards the explanations of various disciplines in the world today.
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