Unique and Special System of Philosophy - Essay Example

Module Philosophy Philosophy is a unique and special system of thought that is grounded on rational investigation and critical thinking. Philosophy seeks to examine and understand principles and truths of knowledge, being, values, reality, reason and conduct. This system of thought can be picked out from others as it utilizes a systematic approach and logical thinking. Philosophy has many field of study, which includes metaphysics, ethics and social philosophy. Metaphysics Metaphysics is a broad sub-field of philosophy and the word means beyond or after physics. The word’s meaning can help in explaining the concept, which mainly seeks to explain the central nature of existence and the universe that is included in it. Even though the concept is not easily outlined, it primarily involves two aspects. Firstly, it involves the general inquiry into the nature of reality, therefore, seeking to find out the principles or precepts applying to all real things. Secondly, metaphysics tries to reveal the things that are ultimately real by providing answers to the experiences of the universe. Basically, metaphysics tries to provide answers for two basic questions; what is ultimately there and what is it like? It endeavors to make clear or help people comprehend the primal beliefs by which they interpret or see the world, for example explaining existence, space, physical objects and their attributes, and time. Metaphysis is divided into three central branches; ontology, cosmology and epistemology. Ontology This is a key subdivision of metaphysics, which mainly pertains to the philosophical and scientific theory of nature, being and the things that exist in the world. According to many philosophers, ontology is a broad concept which encompasses the philosophical study of existence or being, the classes of being and the relations therein. This philosophical field of study covers questions that concern with what entities are in existence, what entities can be perceived to be in existence and how these entities can be classified, arranged in a hierarchy, and categorized according to their resemblances and differences. Some philosophers go beyond to explain that ontology seeks to answer whether there is another reality that exists beyond our understanding. They attempt to understand whether there is a world that exists independently free from our knowledge. In other words, ontology also encompasses topics pertaining to the structure of the universe, the significance of existing in this world and the world beyond us. Ontology has two different positions. The first one asserts that this world exists like a mosaic, which comprises of many substances which exist independently from the human thoughts, knowledge or even experience. The second one states that this real world is intertwined with the human thoughts and experiences, therefore, does not exist individually from our knowledge. Epistemology Epistemology means the study of knowledge or understanding. It is a subdivision of philosophy, which is also denoted as the theory of knowledge. Epistemology branches from the subdivision of philosophy called metaphysics and it pertains to knowledge’s scope and nature. This philosophical field of study seeks to uncover various questions such as what is knowledge, how it can be gained, and the level to which knowledge pertaining to a particular entity or area of study can be gained. Many debates on the field of epistemology arise from the philosophical analytic thinking possessed by different philosophers who have varying opinions on the nature of knowledge and the manner in which it relates to associated notions like truth and justification. Epistemology mainly pertains to propositional knowledge, which is also referred to as ‘knowledge that’. Take the example of a city such as Dubai. It is ‘know that’ that there exists a city like Dubai. However, possessing knowledge and information about Dubai or how to travel to Dubai can be referred to as ‘know how’. In epistemology, these two concepts; know that and know how are very important. Philosophers agree that theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge are two different things that bear different fruits. This gives rise to truth and belief, where a person may hold a belief and perceive it to be true but because it is unknown or unproved, it cannot become the truth. On the other hand, the truth consists of known facts, therefore, cannot be denied. Knowledge is true belief meaning that it can be justified. Knowledge concerns the truth supported by good reasons. Epistemology can be associated with ontology as it assists in explaining ontological elements of our world. By using this field of philosophy, an individual can examine different entities and provide good reasons to prove whether they exist or not, classify them and categorize them according to the similarities and differences. In the light of understanding and acquiring knowledge about different entities, individuals are able to act morally, thus introducing the topic of ethics. Ethics This is a subdivision of philosophy and it is also referred to as moral philosophy. It is a philosophical field of study that is concerned with systemizing, maintaining and advocating for conceptions regarding rightful or wrongful conduct, thereby dealing with morality in the world. Philosophical ethics seeks to find the best manner in which every individual should live and determine the actions that are right or wrong. Ethics is derived from a word that means character, which also means that the subject covers the topic of values concerning human behavior. In ethics, human behavior is assessed according to right or wrong actions, ill or good motives and the consequences of the actions. Ethics is a very broad branch of philosophy, which is also divided into three broad categories. Firstly, there is meta-ethics which seeks to understand the theoretical and metaphysical significance of ethical attributes. In other words, this branch tends to look at psychological issues such as altruism or egoism that prompt us to be moral. It discusses the different approaches concerning morality that are taken by males and females because of their psychological differences. The second branch of ethics is normative ethics, which take a practical approach and address the difference between right and wrong. In distinguishing between right and wrong, normative ethics assume that there is a single ultimate criteria to the process. Normative ethics are divided into duty and virtue ethics. Virtue ethics stress on the process of individuals acquiring good moral due to the characters that they possess. When relating to duty ethics, individuals feel the need to act moray due to certain obligations that they are supposed to fulfill. The third branch is applied ethics which covers the topic of making reasonable judgments when pertaining to controversial moral matters such as homosexuality or abortion. Ethics play a key role in interactions made in the society and to understand the different relationships between people, social philosophy is important. Social Social philosophy is the analysis and interpretation of the society, its social institutions and the social interactions in regard to the ethical values. This subject covers a wide range of topics and issues concerning different entities’ behavior and relations to the social institutions. Social philosophy seeks to understand and interpret social behavior in different forums by answering moral, legal, political and cultural questions. Social philosophy is not limited to the social behavior of humans. However, the main focus is on human beings as they can observe moral rules. The subject focuses mainly on answering philosophical inquiries into the social behavior of entities, especially that of humans. It addresses many subjects such as laws, significance of individuals, social contracts in the society, revolutions, impact of science on living things, roles of our day to day actions, shifting human demographics and the orderly formation of bees among many others. It also attempts to develop a new theoretical framework that explains different human interactions and behavior from care ethics to social ontology. Social philosophy encompasses a very wide range of issues. Read More