1. Philosophy is the science that investigates critical and rationally the main values
and issues related to Man and World. To study the Man and the World in its
different perspectives philosophy has been divided into different branches over
time.
In this paper, we intend to enumerate some of them explaining their usefulness.
Metaphysics
Metaphysics has as main field of study the essence of world, the human being
and reality.
This branch of philosophy has is own branches as, for example, ontology which
studies the disposition of everything in World and relations between them.
Metaphysics try to answer question as: How was everything created?
In my opinion….
Everything was created by God, so I have almost the same ideas
of St. Augustine. I believe in God and I have some influence of protestant way
of thinking.
Ethics
Ethics is the study of morality, definition of good, bad, justice, helping us to
establish rules to live in society.
Morality and Ethics have not the same meaning. Ethics thinks about the
consequences of morality. I mean, morality creates rules and Ethics tries to find
and explain the effect of these rules in our life.
Is not necessary to be philosopher to think about Ethics, everybody thinks about
the main question of Ethics (How should I behave in this situation?) and we find
the reply in our life in society, in our relationships. If somebody is alone Ethics’
existence does not make sense anymore.
In my opinion….
I think that we should behave according our conscience about
good and bad, trying to build a better world. Once more, my way of thinking is
near to St. Augustine’s.

2. Aesthetics
Aesthetics studies the appreciation of beauty, creation of art, the connection
that each one of us unconsciously makes between the reality and our feelings
to create our perception of reality. Each one has a different reality based on his
emotions and previous experiences.
The definition of Aesthetics has changed over time. Plato studied Aesthetics
with logic, the grade of beauty was evaluated based on a supreme grade of
beauty coming from morality. In medieval age, with Socrates and Aristhoteles,
this idea was left and the beauty depends on the Man who is appreciating and
his experiences.
In my opinion…
In Portuguese, we have an idiomatic expression that says: “The
beauty is in the eyes of the Man who is watching the thing” and this is my idea
the grade of beauty depends on the Man. Socrates had a similar opinion about
it this issue.
Epistemology
Epistemology concerns the problems with real knowledge, wanting to create
walls between knowable and unknowable world, belief and knowledge, general
truth or personal truth.
Plato contributed to Epistemology telling us that knowledge is a true and
justified belief. Considering this sentence, can the Man achieve the real
knowledge? This is one of many questions of Epistemology.
In my opinion….
We will never achieve the real knowledge, because real knowledge belongs to
God. Human being just achieves a part of it when God allow it. St. Aquinas
believed "that for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs divine
help, that the intellect may be moved by God to its act.". However, he believed
that human beings have the natural capacity to know many things without
special divine revelation.
.

3. Anthropology
Anthropology look at Man divided between two parts. One of these parts is
native, is born with us, the other part of us is built with our growth into our
society, with our experiences.
What we do is a result of our previous experiences and our genome.
This branch of philosophy tries to respond questions as: Is this kind of
behaviour determined before our birth or an effect of our life with these people
around us in this place?
There are different theories about level of determinism in human being, taking
into account that it means how much more determined is the human being less
influence have his experiences on his future.
In my opinion….
…We are not totally determined by the environment or by our
genome but we have influence of both in our behaviour. Almost all philosophers
have the same idea about it, although for each one our grade of determinism is
different.
Conclusion
Although they may look very different, the boundary between the different
branches of philosophy is more imaginary than real because the most of
philosophical questions belongs to several fields of study. This separation is
only to help us, to be easier to study philosophy.