The 8 philosophical disciplines: what they are, types, and what they study

Human knowledge, the reason for being, one's own existence, beauty... These are concepts that have been raised throughout the entire history of humanity, through philosophy. Philosophy is an ancient field of study that encompasses different philosophical disciplines.

In this article, in addition to explaining what philosophy is, we will know the 8 philosophical disciplines that we can find within it, depending on what they study. We will know the object of study of each of them and their essential characteristics.

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What do we understand by philosophy?

Philosophy is a very ancient field of study, which has its origins in ancient Greece, where thinkers already wondered questions about life, knowledge and death. Your contributions have allowed the birth of many currents of thought, sciences and theoretical orientations. It is a system of knowledge that straddles theology and science, and is based on reason.

Thus, philosophy encompasses a series of knowledge that seeks to answer questions such as: Where do we come from? What is the meaning of man?, etc. In addition, it is important to highlight that the psychology that we know today was born from philosophy.

That is to say, it tries to answer transcendental questions of the human being, through the exploration of knowledge, reflection and reason. In addition, it also explores other aspects such as ethics, morality, beauty or language, through the questioning of reality.

philosophical disciplines

Philosophy is a very broad field of study that can be divided into smaller fields; it is about its various branches of study, the so-called philosophical disciplines.

Philosophical disciplines are those intellectual activities that show us the forms that philosophy can take, which are many. And it is that since the first philosophers appeared thousands of years ago, there are many areas of reflection and research they have addressed, and some of them are very different from each other, so they can be classified in different categories.

Thus, we can understand the philosophical disciplines as the different starting points from which we can ask ourselves questions and try to answer them depending on the nature of these unknowns. Each of them aims to answer specific questions or problems, and presents some specific characteristics; In addition, its object of study varies.

In this article we will see which are the main philosophical disciplines, and in which themes each of them is submerged.

1. Logic

The first of the philosophical disciplines that we are going to comment on is logic, considered a formal (non-empirical) science. Its name comes from the term "Logos" (in Greek), which means idea, thought or reason. The object of study of logic are the ideas themselves, and seeks to draw conclusions from certain premisesthrough making inferences.

Inferences, for their part, can be of two types: valid or invalid. Logic is what will allow us to determine what type they are. Logic can be applied in various fields or fields of study, such as mathematics or computing, since it can be a very useful tool for solving complex problems. In turn, it maintains a close relationship with what is known as formal sciences, to the point that it becomes blurred with the very concept of science.

2. Esistemology

Epistemology, the second of the philosophical disciplines that we are looking at, studies knowledge itself. Its name originates from the term "Episteme", which means knowledge. This philosophical discipline is in charge of studying all those facts (both psychological, social, historical...) that have led to the attainment of scientific knowledge.

Other terms that have been used to talk about epistemology are the "Philosophy of Science", since its object of study is knowledge, and is also concerned with studying why some sources of scientific knowledge are "valid" and others No.

Thus, epistemology is in charge of studying knowledge itself, but also its typology (content, meaning...) and degree of veracity. It delves into human knowledge itself, searching for its foundations, principles and methods that allow it to be obtained, as well as the limitations of what we can get to know consistently.

3. Axiology

The object of study of axiology are the values. That is, it studies the value that things have, what is meant by value, what is its nature, etc. It delves into its foundations and its essence, and how they relate to the human being. That is why many times axiology is also called the "Philosophy of values".

Etymologically, the word axiology comes from "Axis" (value) and "Logia" (study, science). This word It was first used in 1902 by Paul Lapie, and later by Eduard Von Hartmann, in 1908. This last author was the one who consolidated it as a philosophical discipline, and the one who used it to base his philosophy studies.

In addition, axiology is closely related to another of the philosophical disciplines that we will see in this article: ethics. The latter focuses on the concepts of good and evil.

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4. Ontology

Ontology has as its object of study "being in general", as well as its essence and its properties. Among the philosophical disciplines, it is one of those with a greater metaphysical component. (in fact some experts consider it part of it). Etymologically, the word ontology comes from the Greek “Onthos” (to be) and “Logia” (study, science).

Ontology is also responsible for studying the relationships between entities, and the relationships between acts and the people who perform them.

On the other hand, it also intends analyze the principles that govern one's own being, the general categories of the human being and the classes of entities that exist. An entity is a "thing or being that has a real or imaginary existence"; It is a somewhat abstract, metaphysical concept. Thus, ontology goes beyond physical appearance, and seeks to analyze the most abstract or intangible things or beings.

5. Philosophical Anthropology

Another of the philosophical disciplines, philosophical anthropology, is in charge of studying man as an object and as a subject of philosophical knowledge. Etymologically it also comes from the Greek, specifically from the term "Antrophos", which means man.

Thus, it intends to find out what determines the rational and spiritual condition of people, based on the investigation of the human essence. It seeks to understand the place of the human being in the cosmos, its problems and conflicts, its nature of being, etc. Today anthropology is a university degree.

6. Ethics

Ethics is another of the philosophical disciplines “par excellence”. It is in charge of studying "good and evil" according to some fundamental principlesin relation to human behavior. Etymologically it comes from the term "Ethos", which means custom.

Ethics also studies the relationships between the acts or behaviors of the human being (good or bad) and morality itself. Thus, it is about the philosophical discipline that would regulate social norms and customs within a community, allowing We value behaviors within "ethical" or moral parameters, qualifying them as correct or incorrect, good or bad, etc

It is one of the philosophical disciplines with the most practical use, because it is based on everyday situations, many of which can be experienced by most people, and it tells us about our way of conceptualizing good and evil, the distinction between the moral value of intentions and effects, etc

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7. Esthetic

the aesthetics is in charge of studying beauty, its perception and aesthetic judgments. Etymologically, it comes from the word "Aisthanomai" (to feel the beautiful), although it has also been said that it comes from the Greek "Aisthetikê", which means sensation or perception.

In other words, it could be said that aesthetics is the “Philosophy of Art”. Specifically, it studies the aesthetic experience, the nature of the value of beauty, the order and harmony of things capable of being beautiful. It also analyzes what conditions are necessary to feel or perceive that something is beautiful.

On the other hand, aesthetics is responsible for formulate a series of categories and foundations within the artistic field, in the language of art. This allows philosophy to be introduced into many areas of the Humanities and Art History, among other fields of knowledge with which it maintains a close relationship.

8. gnoseology

The last of the philosophical disciplines, epistemology, comes from the terms "Gnosis" (knowledge) and "logia" (study, science). Epistemology is also called "Theory of Knowledge", and its object of study is the essence, foundations, scope, limitations, elements, origin and evolution of knowledge.

This philosophical discipline allows us to analyze the human experience and the phenomena that we perceive and experience of reality, through different modalities: perception, memory, imagination, thought, etc.

On the other hand, epistemology presents three fundamental premises that it intends to resolve: “knowing what”, “knowing” and “knowing how” of all experience and knowledge.

Bibliographic references:

• Aristotle (2008). Metaphysics. Editorial Alliance.
• Carpio, A. (2004). Principles of philosophy: an introduction to its problems. Buenos Aires: Glaucous.
• Gonzalez, M. J. (1998). Introduction to the Psychology of Thought. Madrid: Trotta.
• Mackie, J. (2000). Ethics: the invention of good and bad. Barcelona: Gedisa.
• Royal Spanish Academy. (2001). Dictionary of the Spanish language [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (22nd ed.). Madrid, Spain.
• Thullier, P. (1993). Philosophy of human and social sciences. Ed. Fontamara, Mexico.