LibGuides: Philosophy: Branches of Philosophy

Branches of Philosophy

Topic Page: Aesthetics
The branch of philosophy that is concerned with the nature of art and the criteria of artistic judgment.
Deconstruction: Topic Page
In linguistics, philosophy, and literary theory, the exposure and undermining of the metaphysical assumptions involved in systematic attempts to ground knowledge, especially in academic disciplines such as structuralism and semiotics.
Dialectical Materialism: Topic Page
Official philosophy of Communism, based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, as elaborated by G. V. Plekhanov, V. I. Lenin, and Joseph Stalin.
Epistemology: Topic Page
[Gr.,=knowledge or science], the branch of philosophy that is directed toward theories of the sources, nature, and limits of knowledge.
Ethics: Topic Page
In philosophy, the study and evaluation of human conduct in the light of moral principles.
Existentialism: Topic Page
Any of several philosophic systems, all centered on the individual and his relationship to the universe or to God.
Humanism
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Philosophical and literary movement in which man and his capabilities are the central concern. The term was originally restricted to a point of view prevalent among thinkers in the Renaissance.
Idealism: Topic Page
The attitude that places special value on ideas and ideals as products of the mind, in comparison with the world as perceived through the senses.

Logic: Topic Page
The systematic study of valid inference. A distinction is drawn between logical validity and truth.
Logical Positivism: Topic Page
Also known as logical or scientific empiricism, modern school of philosophy that attempted to introduce the methodology and precision of mathematics and the natural sciences into the field of philosophy.
Materialism: Topic Page
In philosophy, a widely held system of thought that explains the nature of the world as entirely dependent on matter, the fundamental and final reality beyond which nothing need be sought.
Metaphysics: Topic Page
Branch of philosophy concerned with the ultimate nature of existence.
Nihilism
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Derived from the Latin nihil, “nothing,” nihilism in ethical discourse is generally defined as the absolute denial or negation of values.
Phenomenology
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Modern school of philosophy founded by Edmund Husserl. Its influence extended throughout Europe and was particularly important to the early development of existentialism.
Pragmatism: Topic Page
Method of philosophy in which the truth of a proposition is measured by its correspondence with experimental results and by its practical outcome.
Rationalism: Topic Page
In philosophy, a theory that holds that reason alone, unaided by experience, can arrive at basic truth regarding the world.

Feminist Philosophies A-Z by Nancy Arden McHugh
A concise alphabetical guide to the key terms, issues, theoretical approaches, projects and thinkers in feminist philosophy.
Philosophy of Science A-Z by Stathis Psillos
Gives concise, accurate and illuminating accounts of key positions, concepts, arguments and figures in the philosophy of science.
Political Philosophy A-Z by Jon Pike
A comprehensive, up to date and concise guide to one of the most important branches of philosophy.
Great Thinkers A-Z
Brings together short, accessible snapshots of the people who have shaped Western thought from the ancient Greeks to today. The snapshots, written by the world's leading experts, describe a major thinker's life and work with suggestions for further reading on each one