Many people have found themselves questioning the reason for their existence, how they relate to the environment, whether they have free will and whether there are standards for right or wrong. While these philosophical imaginations have not always brought answers, they have allowed thinkers to come up with critical stances that have shaped the behavior of societies. Because philosophers have not been able to agree on the standard ways of life, the world of philosophy is filled with opposing views of the same thing. However, unlike science, philosophy relies only on thoughts and arguments rather than on reliable evidence. As a result, philosophical inquiries have led to the birth of various branches within the discipline, including metaphysics, ethics, logic, philosophy of religion, and epistemology. This paper will, therefore, highlight the philosophical thoughts in these branches and the central questions that different philosophers sought to answer.
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with studying the fundamental nature of reality and seeks to answer complex questions attempting to explain reality. Metaphysics has been the primary area of philosophical imagination and is the branch of philosophy that people think of when thinking about philosophy. This branch of philosophy was created by the realization that human beings are just a small part of a vast universe, which led to questioning human existence. Metaphysics is mainly viewed as the pursuit of wisdom because it seeks answers that cannot be provided by science metaphysics has a big question that different thinkers have sought to answer. Some big metaphysical questions include; what is the meaning of life, does God exist, do we have free will, and what is consciousness, among others?
One of the philosophers whose thoughts are viewed as foundational in this branch of philosophy is Aristotle. His philosophy on the true meaning of life has influenced the lives of many generations that lived in his time and the generations that came after him. Aristotle argued that a meaningful life is driven by reason rather than the mere pursuit of pleasure, material possessions, or honorable social status in society (Irwin, 2012). He considered a life lived by pursuing bodily pleasures, status, or material wealth to be essential and would not bring any meaningful fulfillment because it was devoid of virtue. He argued that using reason and being virtuous allowed people to attain the state of eudaimonia, which he described as a happy and good life (Irwin, 2012). Therefore, Aristotle argued that people’s reason for existence is to seek a fulfilling life characterized by reason and virtues such as courage. For instance. Aristotle argued that it is only through logic that one can do what is virtuous by avoiding the extremes of a situation.
While courage is a virtue that a person desiring a fulfilling life should possess, the excess of this virtue is rashness, while its deficiency is cowardice. Aristotle argued that people should purpose to use reason to know when they are being courageous and when they are being cowardly or rash. Courage is when one can sustain the risk of their decisions, and cowardice is when one tries to avoid the situation completely. However, acting without considering the possible consequences is rash and devoid of reason. Aristotle, therefore argued that living a fulfilling life was devoid of overindulgence but moderation using reason and acting virtuously (Lear, 2009). Aristotle’s philosophical argument, thus, focused on answering the question about the real meaning of life as he tried to mold a philosophical model of a richer and more fulfilling life to be led by reason and virtue.
Another influential philosopher in metaphysics is Immanuel Kant. He has continued to influence even modern philosophy through his critical philosophy, which included the critique of pure reason, practical reason, and the power of judgment. Immanuel Kant believed that humans have the power to think logically and make reason-based judgments before acting. He, therefore, argued that everything could be criticized using logic, including religion and laws of the land, which he said had, for a long time, tried to exempt themselves from logical criticism. He said that attempts by these institutions to avoid logical analysis only attracted suspicion and, therefore, would not command unfeigned respect because that would only come if they allowed being criticized freely and publicly (Sire, 2009).
Immanuel Kant thus maintained that for people to be enlightened, they must think for themselves by following logical paths and not allowing others to think for them. He believed that a few independent thinkers would gradually inspire a broad movement of cultural enlightenment, which would eventually cause reforms in governmental laws and bring more freedom of action. He also philosophized that space and time are merely subjective forms of human understanding and do not exist if removed from human intuition because they are not things in themselves. Kant’s answer to whether God exists is seen in his hope that the freedom to criticize should not lead to adverse effects such as mass skepticism or atheism. His answer to whether humans have consciousness is seen in his argument against the imposition of thoughts onto people by religious and governmental institutions.
Epistemology
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with acquiring knowledge by seeking to discover what is known and how it is known. Epistemology is, therefore, concerned with studying self-knowledge, knowledge and religion, knowledge and probability, and knowledge and morality. To answer epistemological questions, therefore, there is a need to examine beliefs, truths, reason, evidence, and reliability. In other words, answering epistemological questions requires taking into account all the possible paths to knowledge, including introspection, perception, memory, testimony, and intuition. However, since what is perceived as knowledge can be subjective, epistemology is characterized by philosophical skepticism, which calls for justification for a belief to qualify as knowledge. However, there are various schools of thought in epistemology, including empiricism, rationalism, skepticism, pragmatism, epistemic relativism, and epistemic constructivism. Empiricism is the philosophical thought that knowledge is acquired through perceptual observation, while pragmatism is the thought that knowledge is acquired through experience. On the other hand, rationalism is the argument that reason or logic is the primary determinant of what constitutes knowledge. Moreover, skepticism is the philosophical standpoint that questions whether knowledge of certain subjects is possible.
An essential figure in the field of epistemology is French Philosopher Rene Descartes, who argued that human beings had innate sources of knowledge bestowed by God and true knowledge could be derived through the effective use of reason. He argued that having innate sources of knowledge did not make one knowledgeable unless he used them well. His epistemological philosophy is based on skepticism, as he urged people to doubt everything and not believe anything to be true based on trust or faith. He set a standard for what had to be achieved by any piece of knowledge to be considered truth. He argued that knowledge could only be considered true if there was evidence to back it up. Descartes, therefore, answers the question of what knowledge is and how to acquire knowledge by introducing the methodological concept of doubt as an approach to scrutinizing knowledge. He argued that for humans to ascertain what is knowledge and what is not, they have to tentatively doubt everything to help them discover which beliefs are correct and which ones are not using evidence. He answered the central epistemological questions about the nature of knowledge by positing that knowledge has to achieve a certain evidential standard (Bird, 2013). He also answered the question about the source of knowledge by positing that knowledge comes from reasonable skepticism.
On his part, Immanuel Kant argued that thoughts without contents are empty, implying that knowledge is a combination of thoughts and intuitions. Kant’s attempt to separate knowledge and belief, Kant sees belief to be more important than knowledge. Since he admits that knowledge is prior and superior to beliefs in the epistemic sense, he ends up arguing that belief is more important than knowledge because he thought believing allows the human mind to make sense of the supernatural world (Davison, 2013). He argued that every human hopes their soul is immortal and God exists. He said that this is the basis for morality, so he maintained that belief is more important than knowledge because it promotes justice and virtuousness.
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy concerned with defining beauty, art, and good taste. The main questions in this domain revolve around the definition of art and beauty, what makes art beautiful and what qualifies as good taste. How do we find out if something is beautiful? Can something appear beautiful to everybody? Is beauty something that depends on someone’s perception, or can it be objective? Aesthetics also tries to examine people’s tastes in arts and musical performances and explain them scientifically. In response to the question of whether there is a standard for determining beauty and taste, Immanuel Kant argued that there are no specific standards of beauty because beauty is judged based on feelings of pleasure rather than objectivity. He argues that what is seen as beautiful is that which gives sensations of pleasure rather than objective sensation. He also argued that for beauty to be judged objectively, there should be a threshold of universality to be reached by the object of beauty. For an object to be said to be beautiful, its beauty needs to have that universal validity in the sense that everyone who sees it can perceive it as beautiful.
Kant also posited that taste is judged in the same way as beauty. Even though people’s judgment of beauty is rooted in their subjective feelings, it is also rooted in universal validity because the appreciation of beauty is usually devoid of interest. This means that someone can appreciate the beauty of an object without necessarily desiring the given object or being driven to find a use for it. Immanuel Kant argued that when our desires and wants do not come into play when appreciating beauty, we are likely to be objective in our judgment and our aesthetic appreciation applies universally (Hughes, 2007). He added that that judgment of taste needs to conform with universal thresholds. If one claims they have good taste in the art of music, then everybody who interacts with it must agree that the taste is good. If there is no agreement, it implies the judgment of beauty is subjective and does not conform to universality (Kukla, 2006). Another thinker who contributed to the field of aesthetics was Theodor Adorno. He argued that an artwork’s aesthetic value is independent of any value ascribed to it, including epistemological or ethical values (Cook, 2014). He added that even though a work of art’s beauty is not tied to other attributes, they are the product of the social conditions in which they are created and tend to mirror these social conditions within them.
Ethics
Ethics is the branch of philosophy concerned with morality and values and how they apply to different situations. Ethics addresses questions about how people should live, how they view good conduct, and what constitutes a good life. In other words, ethics teaches what the virtuous life looks like and how humans can lead this virtuous life that involves doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong (Holmes, 2007). Aristotle responded to the question of what a good life is by presenting his idea of the eudaimonia. He argued that a good life does not seek to fulfill superficial needs but proposes deeper satisfaction brought by virtues (Kenny, 2016). Aristotle maintained that by living a virtuous life characterized by courage, justice, and temperance, human beings need to be guided by reason in deciding what is virtuous and avoiding courses of action that do not follow reason (Lear, 2009). He responded to the question of how to live a virtuous life by stating that living virtuously needed the cultivation of good habits through proper upbringing, which enabled people to acquire the appropriate emotional and social skills to deliberately choose a virtuous life. This life seeks to attain the highest good, which is happiness.
In his response to the question of what constitutes a good life and how to live a good life, German philosopher Immanuel Kant seeks to establish a supreme principle of morality. In their definition of morality, Kant argued that the moral value of an action is not determined by its outcome but rather by the motive behind the action. He categorically summarized this by stating that people should only act on principles they would like to become universal (O’Neill, 2013). For example, Kant implied that a person should only steal when hungry and ready to accept that everybody should steal to alleviate their hunger. If a maxim that one wants to act on would be problematic if it becomes a universal law, then that maxim of action should be avoided. In other words, Kant suggested that people should seek to lead moral lives by using reason to judge the moral appropriateness of the courses of action they are contemplating before they take them.
In conclusion, philosophers have not been able to agree on the standard ways of life, thus making the philosophy world filled with opposing views of the same thing. However, unlike science, philosophy relies only on thoughts and arguments rather than on reliable evidence.
References
Bird, G. (2013). The Revolutionary Kant: A Commentary on The Critique of Pure Reason. Open Court.
Cook, D. (2014). Theodor Adorno: Key Concepts. Routledge.
Davison, A. (2013). The Love of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy for Theologians. SCM Press.
Holmes, A. F. (2007). Ethics: Approaching Moral Decisions. InterVarsity Press.
Hughes, F. (2007). Kant’s Aesthetic Epistemology: Form And World. Edinburgh University Press.
Irwin, T. H. (2012). Conceptions of Happiness in the Nicomachean Ethics.
Kenny, A. (2016). The Aristotelian Ethics: A Study of the Relationship Between the Eudemian and Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle. Oxford University Press.
Kukla, R. (Ed.). (2006). Aesthetics and Cognition in Kant’s Critical Philosophy. Cambridge University Press.
Lear, G. R. (2009). Happy Lives and The Highest Good: An Essay on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. Princeton University Press.
O’Neill, O. (2013). Acting On Principle: An Essay on Kantian Ethics. Cambridge University Press.
Sire, J. W. (2009). The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog. InterVarsity Press.
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