WHAT DOES PHILOSOPHY STUDY? (OBJECT OF STUDY) - PHILOSOPHY - 2025

The philosophy studied knowledge in all its forms. In this way, it deals with fundamental problems related to existence, thought, values, mind and language. Philosophy thinks about the way we think.

The object of study of philosophy are the fundamental and general problems related to the mind, values, reason, knowledge and existence.

The word philosophy originated in Ancient Greece and means "love of knowledge." For this reason, the Greeks considered that the term philosophy alluded to the constant search for knowledge in itself, including all areas of speculative thought, such as religion, art and science.

You may be interested The definition of philosophy according to Aristotle.

What does philosophy study?

Philosophy carefully analyzes the fundamental nature of the world, the foundations of human thought and knowledge, and the evolution of human behavior.

For this reason, it raises questions of an abstract nature in order to reflect on its subjects of study. Philosophy seldom relies on experimentation and tends to rely primarily on reflection of phenomena.

School of Athens. Rafael Sanzio.

Sometimes the philosophy has been labeled frivolous and unproductive. However, over the centuries, it has produced some of the most original and important thoughts of humanity, contributing to the development of politics, mathematics, science and literature.

Although the subject of study of philosophy is not the meaning of life, the universe and everything that surrounds us, many philosophers consider it vitally important that each person review these topics.

According to them, life only deserves to be lived when it is questioned and analyzed in depth. In this way, learning processes are more effective and we can think more clearly about a wide range of issues and situations.

Philosophy is a wide field, difficult to define and understand completely. Its partition into disciplines or logical sections is complex.

This is because there are numerous lines of thought, opinions, and geographic differences. However, most of the topics covered by philosophy can be grouped into four main branches: logic, epistemology, metaphysics, and axiology.

Branches of philosophy

Logic

Logic is the attempt to codify the rules of rational thought. Logical thinkers explore the structure of arguments to preserve the truth or allow optimal extraction of knowledge from evidence.

Logic is one of the primary tools used by philosophers in their inquiries. The precision of logic helps them tactfully deal with problems arising from the complex nature of language.

Epistemology

Epistemology is the study of knowledge itself. This branch of philosophy asks itself questions that allow us to establish to what extent what we know counts as deep knowledge of a subject, and even questions whether those propositions that we take for true really are.

Epistemology questions everything we know or think we know.

Metaphysics

Metaphysics is the study of the nature of things. Metaphysicians ask questions about the existence, appearance and rationale of all the elements that make up the world.

Philosophers within this branch reason about issues such as free will, the physical and abstract nature of objects, the way the brain is capable of generating ideas, and whether or not there is a god.

Axiology

Axiology is an umbrella term that encompasses multiple topics of study whose nature lies in different values.

These different values ​​include aesthetics, social philosophy, political philosophy, and, most prominently, ethics.

Esthetic

Aesthetics studies the nature of elements such as art and beauty. In this way he analyzes the elements that make up art, the proposal and the meaning behind it.

It also analyzes the elements that make up art, since it does not take for granted that it is only about painting or music, questioning whether a beautiful solution proposed by engineering can also be considered as art.

This branch of axiology questions the meaning, rationale, nature and purpose of art, sometimes from the artist's point of view.

Ethics

The study of ethics is fundamental to philosophy, since it helps determine the nature of everything that is considered good and bad.

Ethics asks theoretical questions about the foundation of morality, in such a way that what should be understood as good and bad is questioned. It also asks simpler questions about moral conduct on particular topics like animal abuse.

Ethics is the branch of study that determines what should be the course of action to be followed by man. In this way, it helps to answer questions such as what should I do ?, taking into account what is established as morally good or bad according to the standards of the culture.

More fundamentally, ethics is the method by which we categorize our values ​​and seek to follow them.

Questioning if we follow them because they are for our happiness and personal satisfaction or if we do it for other reasons.

Schools of philosophy

Solipsism

This school indicates that only "me" exists. In this way, you cannot be sure about the existence of anything other than yourself.

Solipsism emphasizes subjective reality that does not allow us to know with certainty if the elements that are around us really exist.

Determinism

Determinism indicates that everything is determined from beginning to end by forces that we cannot control.

Utilitarianism

This ethical doctrine ensures that an action is only justifiable for its usefulness.

Epicureanism

This school was raised by the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who argued that the only reason for existence is pleasure and the complete absence of pain and fear.

Positivism

Positivism considers that only what is supported by evidence can be believed.

Absurd

It indicates that the human being will always fail in the search for the meaning of the universe, since such meaning does not exist. The absurdity says that even if things have meaning, the search for it is not essential.

You may be interested in knowing more about this section in The 14 Most Important Philosophical Currents and their Representatives.