Branches of Philosophy

Main branches of philosophy

Traditionally, there are five main branches of philosophy. They are:
1. Metaphysics, which deals with the fundamental questions of reality.
2. Epistemology, which deals with our concept of knowledge, how we learn and what we can know.
3. Logic, which studies the rules of valid reasoning and argumentation
4. Ethics, or moral philosophy, which is concerned with human values and how individuals should act.
5. Aesthetics or esthetics, which deals with the notion of beauty and the philosophy of art.
Other areas of philosophy
These five major branches of philosophy do not, however, exist in isolation. There are many other topics in philosophy
which deal with one or more of these branches. For example:
 Philosophy of education
 Philosophy of language
 Philosophy of mind
 Philosophy of religion
 Philosophy of science
 Political philosophy
There also exist other divisions in philosophy that focus on different philosophical traditions or schools, rather than the
branches of philosophical study. For example, there is a general divide between western philosophy, which puts its
origins in ancient Greece, and eastern philosophy.
Contemporary western philosophy can further be divided into two main areas or branches: Analytic philosophy focuses
on understanding and applying the logical, linguistic and scientific areas of philosophy, while so-called continental
philosophy has a greater value on subjective experience. This division is somewhat difficult to maintain, but is
nevertheless still used in talk about philosophy.
Meanwhile, “eastern philosophy” can be divided into the philosophies of specific areas, such as Arab philosophy, Asian
philosophy, Indian philosophy, Hindu philosophy, Chinese philosophy and so on. These areas have some overlap, of
course. Some eastern traditions are rooted more firmly in religious ideas.
Divisions in philosophy focused on area are often confused or misnomers. There are prominent analytic philosophers
who lived in continental Europe. There are philosophers in Asia who are working on branches of so-called “western
philosophy”. The labels tend to reference early origins of traditions, rather than the current geography of the
philosophical landscape.

History of Western Philosophy

Ancient and Medieval Philosophy

Speculation and Dispute: The Presocratics ]|[ Socrates
Plato: Soul and Forms ]|[ Society and Virtue ]|[ Education and Justice ]|[ Love
Aristotle: Logic and Physics ]|[ Reality and Knowledge ]|[ Ethics ]|[ Politics
Hellenistic Thought: Cosmos and Morality
Philosophy and Religion: Augustine ]|[ Scholasticism ]|[ Arab and Jewish Thought
Late Scholasticism: Bonaventure and Aquinas ]|[ Scotus and Ockham

Early Modern Philosophy

The Renaissance: Humanism and Science ]|[ Machiavelli ]|[ Hobbes
Descartes: Method ]|[ Doubt and Existence ]|[ Mind and Body ]|[ Cartesianism
Variations: Spinoza and Unity ]|[ Leibniz and Plurality
Locke: Origin of Ideas ]|[ Human Knowledge ]|[ Government
Extensions: Moralists and Bayle ]|[ Berkeley and Immaterialism
Hume: Mitigated Skepticism ]|[ Self and Morality ]|[ Religion

Recent Modern Philosophy

The Enlightenment: British ]|[ Continental
Kant: Synthetic A Priori ]|[ Experience and Reality ]|[ The Moral Law
Absolute Idealism: Fichte and Hegel ]|[ Later Idealists
Social Concerns: Bentham and Mill ]|[ Marx and Engels
Other Reactions: Kierkegaard ]|[ Nietzsche
Pragmatism: Peirce ]|[ James ]|[ Dewey, Mead, & Addams

Contemporary Philosophy
Beginnings: Logic and Mathematics ]|[ Phenomenology
Philosophical Analysis: Moore ]|[ Russell
Alternatives: Realism ]|[ Logical Positivism
Linguistic Analysis: Wittgenstein ]|[ Ryle and Austin ]|[ American Analysis
Existentialism: Heidegger ]|[ Sartre ]|[ de Beauvoir
Postmodernism: Critical Theory ]|[ Deconstruction
Feminism: Theory ]|[ Ethics ]|[ MacKinnon

Reference:
http://www.philosophy-index.com/philosophy/branches/
http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/