Branches of philosophy

What is real? Are we able to perceive and understand reality and

everything in it?

1. Metaphysics is the study of the nature of reality or what sorts of

things are real; it also seeks basic criteria or first principles
for determining what sorts of things are real. It can address such
topics as space and time, determinism and free will, God, mind and
matter, identity and change, and more. Questions can range from
"Why do I exist?" and "What is the meaning of life?" to "Does the
world exist outside of the mind?"
The first major question that philosophers look into is the
question of reality. Reality refers to the state of existence of
things independent of human consciousness. So, reality
physical things that we see, feel, taste, and smell, as well as
tthings that we cannot easily perceive and comprehend.

- Ontology concerns itself with what exists, and can range from asking
what does it mean for a thing to exist, to asking "what exists," to
seeking to identify and establish relationships between existent
things. It focuses on the classification if existing things.
- How do we know what we know? Are the things that we
know true?

- Metaphysics
- nature of the world, why do things exist, what made up things we see,
etc. Arguably, that’s what metaphysics is mostly about.
- Of course, metaphysics has expanded to include more questions, such
as the issue of existential quantifier, part of the philosophy of science,
causality, and determinism. There’s even meta-metaphysics that
investigates the nature of metaphysical study, such as the treatment
of metaphysical questions, how to properly separate ‘being’ and
‘exist’, and what makes metaphysical studies possible.

- Aristotle calls it "first philosophy" (or sometimes just "wisdom"), and

says it is the subject that deals with "first causes and the principles
of things".
- It asks questions like: "What is the nature of reality?", "How does the
world exist, and what is its origin or source of creation?", "Does the
world exist outside the mind?", "How can the incorporeal mind affect
the physical body?", "If things exist, what is their objective nature?",
"Is there a God (or many gods, or no god at all)?"

2. Epistemology, put simply, is the study of knowledge. In particular,

epistemology focuses on how we come to acquire knowledge and what
types of limits there are to our knowledge. In other words, how do we
know what is true?
- You might believe something that is appealing to you, but it's quite
another thing to feel that you are justified in believing this.
Epistemology deals with how we know that what we believe is true
and justified.
- Perhaps you believe that there is some intuition inside you that
tells you that you are human, that you are not just a programmed
computer. You might also point to your experience of the world,
giving different examples of where you have more in common with
a person than a machine. Most likely you would mention both your
intuition and your experience to help you justify why you think you
are human.

- A different branch of philosophy deals with a related question:

What is real? The study of reality is known as metaphysics. It
focuses on determining what, if anything, can be said to be real.

3. Ethics, also called moral philosophy, the discipline concerned

with what is morally good and bad and morally right and wrong. The
term is also applied to any system or theory of moral values or
principles.
- How should we live? Shall we aim at happiness or at
knowledge, virtue, or the creation of beautiful objects? If we choose
happiness, will it be our own or the happiness of all? And what of the
more particular questions that face us: is it right to be dishonest in a
good cause? Can we justify living in opulence while elsewhere in the
world people are starving? Is going to war justified in cases where it is
likely that innocent people will be killed? Is it wrong to clone a human
being or to destroy human embryos in medical research? What are
 our obligations, if any, to the generations of humans who will come
after us and to the nonhuman animals with whom we share the
planet?
- Ethics deals with such questions at all levels. Its subject consists of
the fundamental issues of practical decision making, and its major
concerns include the nature of ultimate value and the standards by
which human actions can be judged right or wrong.

4. Political philosophy is the study of fundamental questions about

the state, government, politics, liberty, justice and the
enforcement of a legal code by authority. 
5. Aesthetics is a core design principle that defines a design’s pleasing
qualities. In visual terms, aesthetics includes factors such as balance,
color, movement, pattern, scale, shape and visual weight. Designers
use aesthetics to complement their designs’ usability, and so enhance
functionality with attractive layouts.
- a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of
beauty, especially in art.
- the branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of beauty
and artistic taste.

ABSOLUTE means adjective. free from imperfection; complete; perfect

Question: "Is there such a thing as absolute truth / universal

truth?"

Answer: In order to understand absolute or universal truth, we must

begin by defining truth. Truth, according to the dictionary, is “conformity to
fact or actuality; a statement proven to be or accepted as true.” Some people
would say that there is no true reality, only perceptions and opinions.
Others would argue that there must be some absolute reality or truth.

problem with the denial of absolute truth/universal truth is that it fails to

live up to what we know to be true in our own consciences, our own
experiences, and what we see in the real world. If there is no such thing as
absolute truth, then there is nothing ultimately right or wrong about
anything. What might be “right” for you does not mean it is “right” for me.
While on the surface this type of relativism seems to be appealing, what it
means is that everybody sets his own rules to live by and does what he
thinks is right. Inevitably, one person’s sense of right will soon clash with
another’s. What happens if it is “right” for me to ignore traffic lights, even
when they are red? I put many lives at risk. Or I might think it is right to
steal from you, and you might think it is not right. Clearly, our standards of
right and wrong are in conflict. If there is no absolute truth, no standard of
right and wrong that we are all accountable to, then we can never be sure of
anything. People would be free to do whatever they want—murder, rape,
steal, lie, cheat, etc., and no one could say those things would be wrong.
There could be no government, no laws, and no justice, because one could
not even say that the majority of the people have the right to make and
enforce standards upon the minority. A world without absolutes would be
the most horrible world imaginable.

philosophizing
the practice of talking or thinking about important subjects imprecisely or boringly, sometimes instead of
doing something practical

- question of certainty. Certainty refers to perfect knowledge that is free from error of doubt. A
central concept in the question of certainty is truth. although we cannot be perfectly certain
about al things. Philosophers use methods to reach conclusions with certain degrees of
certainty of truth in them.