2.2.

2 Philosophical Approaches:
Systematic Philosophy

Systematic Philosophy deals with the

different branches of philosophy
 Main Divisions & Branches of Systematic
Philosophy
BRANCH/DIVISION FOCUS QUESTIONS
Speculative
1. Metaphysics Study of existence: Why am I here?
the fundamental Where will I go later
questions of reality in life?
2. Epistemology Study of knowledge: How do I know that I
how we know about know?
reality and existence Why do I know about
it?

Practical
3. Logic Study of reasoning Why is it valid?
and argument How do you argue
correctly?
4. Ethics / Moral Study of action How should you act?
Philosophy Is it morally right?
BRANCH/DIVISION FOCUS QUESTIONS
1. Metaphysics Study of existence: Why am I here?
the fundamental Where will I go later
questions of reality in life?

2. Epistemology Study of knowledge: How do I know that I

how we know about know?
reality and existence Why do I know about
it?

3. Logic Study of reasoning Why is it valid?

and argument How do you argue
correctly?
4. Ethics / Moral Study of action How should you act?
Philosophy Is it morally right?

5. Aesthetics / Study of art and What is beauty?

Axiology beauty / Study of Is it an art or
Values pornography?
1. Metaphysics
◙ Etymology: μετά (meta = beyond, over +
φήσικα (physica = physical / nature / being
as such or anything that has existence)
◙ Definition: major branch of philosophy
that deals with existence and the nature of
beings/things that exist.
It deals with first principles of things,
including abstract concepts such as being,
knowing, substance, cause, identity, time,
space, including the concept of nothing.
◙ Queen subject of Philosophy; speculative
in nature
◙ Parmenides of Elea (late 6th or early 5th century BCE):
the Father of Metaphysics
◙ Andronicus of Rhodes (1st Century BCE; he belongs to
Aristotle’s Peripatetic School): invented the term
metaphysics
◙ Material Object of Metaphysics: All reality
- the whole world of reality, whether subjective or objective,
possible or actual, abstract or concrete, immaterial of material,
infinite or finite.
- everything that exists comes within the scope of metaphysical
inquiry: from the smallest puff of dust to the most ineffable
God.
- it includes the study of the concept of Nothing (Φ).
◙ Formal Object of Metaphysics: the being of reality; i.e. the
being of things (“being or beingness”)
2. Epistemology
◙ Etymology: επίστεμε (knowledge) + λογός
(study)
◙ Definition: branch of philosophy which concerns
the theory of knowledge; it is the study of the
nature of knowledge, justification and the
rationality of belief.
As the theory of knowledge its goal of is the truth;
hence it explores the entire scope of human
knowledge, especially the problem of its possibility
◙ Material Object: human knowledge and its sources
◙ Formal Object: the certitude of human knowledge
◙ Epistemology addresses such questions as:
•“What makes justified belief justified?”
•“What does it mean to say that we know something?”
•“How do we know that we know?” “Can we really say we know
something?”
•What is our guarantee that our knowledge is beyond doubt?
•Is man the only creature who knows that he knows?
•What makes a chair a chair?

◙ Rene Descartes (1596-1650): Father of

Epistemology; in his epistemological work on the
“Meditations on First Philosophy”
◙ James Frederick Ferrier (Scottish philosopher:
1808-1864): introduced the term Epistemology
3. Logic
◙ Etymology: Greek - λογίκε (logike) =
pertaining to reason or “treatise on
matters pertaining to thinking” or “reasoning”
◙ Zeno the Stoic: introduced the term Logike
◙ Cicero: derived the term from the Greek
word LOGOS, “the word by which the inward
thought is expressed or reason itself.
◙ Aristotle: the Father or founder of Logic
◙ Organon - the first textbook of logic written
by Aristotle
◙ Definition: Logic is THE SCIENCE AND THE
ART OF CORRECT REASONING.
• “Correct Reasoning” – means “it conforms to
the laws or rules of logic.”
• “Science” – systematized body of knowledge”
• “Art” – gives facility in reasoning and in
making/doing it.
◙ Reasoning in Logic is “Inference”: a
process by which the mind proceeds from one
or more propositions or statements to another
proposition so related to the original
proposition that if they are true it must also be
true.
◙ Material Object of Logic (Subject matter):

Mental Operation Language Expression

•Idea or concept Term
•Judgment Proposition
•Reasoning/Inference Syllogism

◙ Formal Object of Logic is “the correctness or

validity of reasoning” (in accordance with the principles
and laws of logic).
5. Aesthetics / Axiology
◙ Etymology: άεσθετίκος (aesthetikos =
sense of perception)
◙ study of the sense of perception: what is
beautiful / what is art
◙ Considered by some philosophers as the fifth
major branch of systematic philosophy
◙ Alexander Baumgarten (1735): first use of the
term aesthetics in his work “Philosophical
Consideration of some Matters Pertaining the
Poem”
◙ Aesthetics is now known as the philosophy of the art &
cinema (e.g. issue on pornography in films)
◙ “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” (William
Shakespeare)
◙ It also studies the nature of art, beauty and taste and
with the creation or appreciation of beauty
◙ Aesthetics studies how artists imagine, create and
perform works of art; how people use, enjoy, and
criticize art; and what happens in their minds when they
look at paintings, listen to music, or read poetry; and
understand what they see and hear.
◙ It also studies how they feel about art, why they like
some works and not others, and how art can affect their
minds, beliefs, and attitudes towards life.
Axiology
■ Axiology: from Greek Axia, “Value, Worth” +
Logia (Study)
■ The term was first used by Paul Lapie in 1902 &
Eduard von Hartman in 1908
■ Similar to Values Theory & Meta-Ethics
■ Deals with values and reasons including the
science of morality which is Ethics and Aesthetic
Philosophy dealing with beauty and its opposite.
■ It encompasses questions on religion, social and
even political aspects
■ Examples of Questions dealt with: Is man a
social being? What is pre-marital sex? What is
abortion? Does God really exist?
Other Branches of Philosophy: Under
Metaphysics

1. Ontology
2. Cosmology
3. Rational Psychology
4. Theodicy
5. Politics (Political Philosophy)
6. Philosophy of Man
7. Metaphilosophy…
1. Ontology
◙ Etymology: όντος (ontos = being in res) + λογός
(logos, logia = study)
◙ Definition: philosophical study of the nature of being,
becoming, existence or reality, as well as the basic
categories of being and their relations.
◙ Jacob Lorhard (German philosopher; 1606): first
recorded use of the word Ontology in his work Ogdoas
Scholastica (ogdoas: eight)
◙ Ontology is generally considered a sub-field of
metaphysics and they are closely related in terms of
subject matter.
But as a rule of thumb, we can say that ontology asks
WHAT questions, while metaphysics asks HOW
questions.
2. Cosmology
◙ Etymology– κόσμος (cosmos =
world/universe + λογός (logos. Logia =
study
◙ Definition: Study of the inanimate things or
universe/world; now known as PHILOSOPHY OF
SCIENCE
◙ Anaximander (610-546 BCE): Father of
Cosmology; he is the first person to recognize
that the earth exists as a solitary body which
does not need to rest on top of anything else;
◙ He is also the founder of Astronomy for his bold
use of non-mythological explanations of
physical processes
◙ It is also a branch of astronomy concerned with
studies of the origin and evolution of the
universe, from the Big Bang to today and on into
the future
◙ Cosmology may be religious / mythological or
physical:
• Religious or Mythological Cosmology is the body of beliefs
based on mythological, religious, and esoteric literature
and traditions of creation myths and eschatology.
• Physical Cosmology is studied by scientists, such as
astronomers and physicist, as well as philosophers, such
as metaphysicians, philosophers of physics, and
philosophers of space and time. Modern Physical
cosmology is dominated by the Big Bang Theory.
3. Rational Psychology
◙ Etymology:ψύχε (psyche = soul, mind) +
λογός (study)
◙ Definition: Study of the mind/soul in order
to understand human behavior; the science of
behavior and mind
◙ Mind/soul: the principle of living things
◙ Introspective: studies the process of the
mind to understand human behavior
◙ It explores behavior and mental processes,
including perception, cognition, attention, emotion,
intelligence, subjective experiences, motivation,
brain functioning and personality
◙ Aristotle (384-322 BCE): the true Father of
Psychology since he is responsible for the
theoretical and philosophical framework that
contributed to psychologists’ earliest beginnings;
he is one of the greates thinkers in Politics,
Psychology and Ethics
◙ Wilhelm Wundt (German, 1832-1920): Father of
Experimental Psychology; Psychology as a science
apart from philosophy and biology.
4. Theodicy
◙ Etymology: θεός + δίκε (Theos=God + Dike
= justice)
◙ Definition: Philosophical study of God:
Justification of His existence + His justice
(vis-à-vis the existence of evil)
◙ Gottfried Leibniz (German, 1710): coined the
term theodicy in his work “Theodicee” - an
attempt to justify God’s existence in the light of
the apparent imperfections in the world
◙ There are three theodicies: St. Augustine, St.
Thomas Aquinas, Leibniz: three forms of evil in
the world – moral, physical, metaphysical
◙ In its most common form, it is an attempt to
answer the question of why a good God
permits the manifestation of evil, thus
resolving the issue of the problem of evil

◙ Some theodicies also address the evidential

problem of evil by attempting “to make the
existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful and
all-good or omnibenevolent God consistent
with the existence of evil or suffering in the
world.
5. Politics (Political Philosophy)
◙ Etymology: πολίς (city)
◙ Definition: study of government and the state
◙ Aristotle (384-322 BCE): Father of Political Science
◙ Niccolo Machiavelli (Italy, 1469-1527): Father of
Modern Politics
◙ Politics as Participation in governance: politics is the
way that people living in groups make decisions.
◙ Politics as “politicking” is about making
agreements between people so that they can live
together in groups such as tribes, cities, or countries;
Politicians are those people who spend a lot of their
time making such agreements& running for political
positions
◙ Generally, it refers to the way that countries
are governed, and to the ways that
governments make rules and laws.
◙ However, It also includes the activities of
governments concerning the political relations
between countries.
◙ Politics can also be seen in other groups, such
as in companies, clubs, schools, and churches.
6. Philosophy of Man
◙ Philosophical inquiry into man and his
dimensions as person and as existent being- in-
the-world: his dignity, truth, freedom, justice,
love, death, relation with others and with the
Absolute
◙ Proponents: the Ancient Greek Philosophers
from Thales to Aristotle
◙ It delves into the origin of human life, the
nature of human life (including man’s desire to
know who and what man is), and the reality of
human existence.
◙ Socrates: his teaching on man indicate that
man is uniquely defined through his ability to
think and question his own existence.

◙ Socrates’ philosophy centers around the

claim that man has the ability to examine
himself through dialogue with others and that
“the unexamined life is not worth living.”
7. Metaphilosophy
◙ Etymology: meta: beyond, over; sometimes
called philosophy of philosophy
◙ "the investigation of the nature of philosophy"
◙ Its subject matter includes the aims of
philosophy, the boundaries of philosophy, and its
methods.
◙ Terry Bynum and Richard Reese (1970):
established Metaphilosophy; but this branch of
philosophy is as old as or can be traced to
Aristotle
◙ Philosophy & Metaphilosophy:
- philosophy characteristically inquires into the
nature of being, the reality of objects, the
possibility of knowledge, the nature of truth,
and so on
- metaphilosophy is the self-reflective
inquiry into the nature, aims, and methods of the
activity that makes these kinds of inquiries, by
asking what is philosophy itself, what sorts of
questions it should ask, how it might pose and
answer them, and what it can achieve in doing
so.