The further philosophy developed, the more
divisions philosophers started to make between the areas of topics they studied
and discussed. These divisions mainly have a practical function as their
contents are sometimes closely related to each other. The areas of philosophy
mentioned below are the ones most widely studied nowadays; some of them will be
part of this course, too.
Metaphysics
The big
questions: what is reality? What does it mean to ‘be’? What is time? The name is first used for a
work by Aristotle, meta fusikh - “mèta phusikè” in ancient Greek – “beyond
physics”. In other words: the structure behind the physical world. (But
actually, this was the work that came after his “Physics”, which dealt with the
physical world.)
Ethics
What is right, what is wrong? Ethics is
perhaps the discipline of philosophy you will most often encounter in daily
life, as it can be applied to many, many aspects of daily life.
Social philosophy
What is the best way to rule a country? Do
people need strong leadership in order to live together in harmony? Social
philosophy is often focused on the political aspects of society, but of course
questions about friendship, family and such also belong to this area.
Philosophical anthropology
Another term derived from ancient Greek:
anthropos = man, logos = knowledge. In other words: what is a human being? How
is man different from animals? Or robots?
Logic
Some people still think that philosophy is a
hazy, esoteric discipline that could not be further removed from mathematics.
They could not be more wrong. Underlying all areas of philosophy is a basic
form of logic and argument theory. (The more intricate and sophisticated forms
of logic as a philosophical discipline are incomprehensible to even most people
with a degree in philosophy.)
Philosophy of science
Once upon a time philosophy and science were
one and the same thing. Nowadays philosophy of science is all about the
question of what science is and what is the best method to do scientific
research.
Philosophy of mind
What is consciousness? Are thoughts and
feelings merely brain functions or are they more than that? If you consider
that the word ‘mind’ cannot even be properly translated into Dutch, you already
have a fair idea of how difficult this philosophical discipline can be.
Language philosophy
What is the function of language? Do we
create our reality through language? How do words contribute meaning to
objects? Is meaning dependent on context? Language philosophy is actually more
fun than it may sound.
Cultural philosophy
What is art? Is beauty absolute or all in the
eye of the beholder? This area of philosophy deals with questions related to
culture (what is that?) in the broadest sense.
Activity 4: philosophical disciplines
· Work in pairs.
· Choose 5 out of the 9 areas of philosophy mentioned
above.
· Come up with one philosophical question for each area
you have selected.
· Then hit the Internet. Select one article from an
English language newssource in which you recognize a philosophical ‘problem’. Briefly
summarize the problem, identify the area of philosophy it belongs to and the
question it poses. Briefly present in class.
Possible sources:
-
Magazines
in class
