BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY:

1. METAPHYSICS (What is there?)

concerned with the nature of existence, being, and the world

a) Theodicy defends Gods goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil
b) Cosmology the origin and the evolution of the universe
c) Psychology the science of mind, brain, and the behavior
d) Ontology concerned with the nature and relations of being

2. EPISTEMOLOGY (How do we know?)

investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge and
justified belief

a) Rationalism knowledge is not derived from experience, but by intuition

b) Skepticism no beliefs are justified; no one really knows anything
c) Empiricism the role of experience in the formation of ideas

3. LOGIC (What is the reason?)

studies patterns of reasoning and forms of arguments

a) Formal Logic study of inference

b) Informal Logic study of natural language arguments
c) Symbolic Logic study of symbolic abstractions

4. ETHICS (How people ought to act?)

concerned with human conduct and its moral value

a) Meta-Ethics whether or not morality exists and what it consists of

b) Normative Ethics how moral values should be developed
c) Applied Ethics application of ethical theories to real-life situations

5. AESTHETICS (What can life be like?)

nature and appreciation of art, beauty, and good taste

a) Expertise/Virtuosity technical artistic skills are cultivated and admired

b) Criticism judging, appreciating, and interpreting works of art
c) Pleasure - satisfaction of desires and its enjoyment