The word Philosophy is derived from two Greek words “philo-“meaning “love” and “-sophos” meaning wisdom, is literally defined as “the love of wisdom”,Greek colony of Miletus,of Plato and his pupil Aristotle, Metaphysics,• Epistemology, Teleology, Axiology (Value Theory), kantian ethics, situation ethics, politics, aesthetics, applied ethicsm, 1960s

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Philosophy
The word Philosophy is derived from two Greek words “philo-“meaning “love” and
“-sophos” meaning wisdom, is literally defined as “the love of wisdom”. When
someone studies philosophy they want to know the meaning of life. It is the study of
the most basic and profound matters of human existence.
Philosophy, in the West, began in the Greek colony of Miletus. Greek
philosophy was to reach its heights in the works of Platoand his pupil Aristotle.But
if tradition is accurate, we can thank the mathematician and mystic
Pythagoras(famed for his Pythagorean Theorem) for being the first to call himself
not a sage, but rather a lover of wisdom; that is, a philosopher.
Branches of Philosophy:
 Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that considers the physical
universe and the nature of ultimate reality. The Study of Existence
(named from Aristotle’s work on the subject). Far from being a definitive
term in Aristotle’s day, the word ‘metaphysics’ was given to the book by
his editor who placed it after his work ‘Physics’. In Greek, ‘meta’ simply
means ‘after’ and the title originally reflected that it came after the book
Physics. Metaphysics addresses issues related to reality vs. appearance;
it attempts to answer such questions as: What is really real? What am I? Who Am I? Are we free
or determined?
 Epistemology
The Study of Knowledge (rationalism vs empiricism). It is derived from the
Greek ‘episteme’ meaning ‘knowledge’ and ‘logos’ meaning ‘word’.
Epistemology asks how we know what we know, what exactly is ‘knowledge’
and why do we have it. Plato attempts to answer these questions by claiming
we do not ‘learn’ but, rather, ‘remember’ what was learned in a previous
existence. Epistemology is debate between whether knowledge is:
Plato
Aristotle
Who am I?

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1. Priori:
A priori is a term applied to knowledge considered to be true without being based on previous
observation or empirical evidence. For example, the proposition that all bachelors are unmarried
is a priori. We do not need any evidence or experience to know that all bachelors are unmarried.
2. Posteriori:
Posterior makes references to experience from the latter. For example, the proposition that “it is
raining outside now” is a posteriori. We need to have personal experience, which is see the rain
our self, or empirical evidence, which is someone else saw the rain, to know that it is raining
outside.
Epistemology addresses issues related to knowledge vs. mere opinion. It attempts to answer
questions as: What is Knowledge? What are the conditions that make knowledge possible? How
do you know that you know? Is knowledge even attainable?
 Teleology:
Teleology, from the Greek word telos, meaning “purpose” or “end” is the study of goals, ends,
purposes, and destinies–if they exist, but few philosophers believe they do. Humans and other
organisms have purposes and goals that drive their behavior. Teleological arguments that there is
a God’s will which gives purpose to our life. If there is a design, there must be a designer. For
example, Artifacts, like knives and televisions, seem to have purposes built into them—by humans.
Goals and purposes seem inherently psychological. Many philosophers figure that only conscious
beings and their creations can have teleology.
 Axiology (Value Theory)
Axiology is the branch of philosophy that considers the study of principles and values. In general,
the area studies such as ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics all fall under the field of
axiology.

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 Ethics
The Study of Behavior/Action derived from the Greek ‘ta ethika’ meaning
‘on character,’ which was popularized by Aristotle in his Nichomachean
Ethics that he wrote for his son, Nichomachus, as a guide to living well. It is
often called moral philosophy. It addresses the question, how one should live,
and upon what basis to make decisions, what is the good life? What is the
best way to conduct my life? What is evil? What is wrong? What is right?
Meta-ethics is concerned with morality, judgment of moral right or wrong and good or bad. Meta-
ethics is not concerned with finding what is right or wrong rather understanding what is right or
wrong. For example, meta-ethics does not focus on lying
being right or wrong but focus on clarifying the meaning
of lying being right or wrong.
Normative ethics addresses the question “what should
one do? Or what should one be?” Normative ethics is
concerned with finding out which actions are right or
wrong and which character traits are good or bad. Normative ethics means what is considered norm
by people. It is not focused on what people actually do rather what people should do.
Some ethical theories are teleological (relativist) i.e. right or wrong based on outcome (happiness,
pleasure etc.) and others are deontological (absolutist) i.e. following a set of rules and duties which
are considered right irrespective of our feelings.
Ethics are mostly a mixture of relativist and absolutist theories except Kantian ethics which are
completely teleological and Situation ethics which are completely deontological.
1. Kantian ethics:
Kant says that we should act according to the universal laws. These laws are absolute and we do
not need experience to verify them. (Known as Priori) The consequences of our actions are
irrelevant whether they are right or wrong. For example, some evil actions might have goodness
in it and some heroic actions might have bad outcomes but absolutist ethics want us to do what is
right irrespective of consequences.

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Natural laws are often described as deontological because they are absolute
and we must follow them even if not following them might actually lead to
goodness. For example, using birth control pills is considered wrong even
though not using them might lead to STDs and unwanted pregnancies.
Aquinas’ Natural law is based on fulfilling the shared human-purpose given to
us by God.
2. Situation ethics:
Situation ethics focuses on right and wrong based on situation. For
example, abortion is universally wrong but there are certain situations
where abortion is allowed i.e. fetus might have some defect or might
lead to birth complexities etc. In situation ethics, right and wrong is not
absolute rather decided on the basis of situation. Sometimes you need
to ignore the rules to do the right thing. Relativist ethics allows us to
follow whatever has the best consequences.
 Politics
The Study of Governance derived from the Greek ‘Polis’ meaning ‘city’.
Politikos in Greek meant ‘that which has to do with the city’. Far from simply
being concerned with running a government, however, Politikos also has to do
with how to be a good citizen and neighbor, and what one should contribute to
one’s community. This branch, like all the others, was first definitively examined
and popularized in the work by Aristotle. How does one know what is right? What is justice? Is
justice possible for everyone? Can there be a justice that is unjust for some?
 Aesthetics
The Study of Art derived from the Greek ‘aisthetikos’ meaning
‘sense/sentience’. Aesthetics concerns itself with the study of beauty, perception
of beauty, culture, and even nature, asking the fundamental questions; “What
makes something that is beautiful or meaningful ‘beautiful’ or ‘meaningful?”
Both Plato and Aristotle give answers to this question, attempting to standardize
Is Justice same for
everyone?
Protagoras

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objectively what is ‘beautiful’ while the famous Sophist Protagoras argued that if one believes
something to be ‘beautiful’ then it is beautiful, and that all judgements are entirely subjective. This
field focuses on question; is there value in the beautiful? What is beauty? What is aesthetic value?
Can aesthetic value be objectively measured?
 Applied Ethics: (late 1960’s-)
Applied ethics is a branch of ethics devoted to the treatment of moral problems, practices, and
policies in personal life, professions, technology, and government. Deals with difficult moral
questions and controversial moral issues that people actually face in their lives. For example,
Whether or not we are morally obligated to help the less fortunate (especially those in other
nations), Whether or not abortion is morally wrong, the death penalty etc.
Applied ethics help improve the organizational and social issues at both national and global level.it
includes, technological ethics (hacking vs privacy), decision ethics, professional ethics, clinical
ethics (to improve basic health needs) etc.