Philosophy: what it is, origin, importance, branches, what it is for

Reduce the philosophy a single concept seems quite difficult. It is a considered discipline “the mother of all sciences” which studies and analyzes various theoretical and practical problems through all its forms. These topics of study concern knowledge, reason, mind, and existence, among many others.

The term “philosophy” comes from Greek philosophy (φιλοσοφία), whose literal translation is “Love of Wisdom”. Philosophia is composed of –philos (φίλος), meaning “friend” or “lover”, and –sophía (σοφία), meaning “wisdom”.

In turn, it is defined by Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) as “a set of knowledge that aims to establish, in a rational way, the most general principles that organize and guide the knowledge of reality, as well as the meaning of human action”.

The philosophy emerged many years ago, but its first evidence dates back to ancient Greecemore precisely around the 6th century BC C. This period is also known as ancient philosophy, and is one of the four historical divisions it has along with medieval, modern and contemporary philosophy.

Among the main exponents of ancient philosophy (from the 6th century BC to the 5th century AD) we remember Heraclitus, Parmenides, Socrates, Plato and Aristotlewhile the most important of medieval philosophy (5th to 16th century AD) are Augustine of Hippo, Boethius, Thomas Aquinas and Anselm of Canterbury, among others.

In this sense, the modern philosophy It is one that covers the period from the 17th to the 18th century, and whose principal philosophers were René Descartes, David Hume, Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Leibnitz, and Immanuel Kant. Finally, contemporary philosophy refers to the period from the 20th century to the present, with the works of Hegel and Nietzsche the most popular.

The philosophical currents, their ramifications and the main exponents

Philosophical currents are divided into different groups of philosophers who define, explain and defend shared opinions and characteristics.

According to a report published by National Geographic magazine, “a philosophical current is a set of ideas and theories that share fundamental principles about an aspect of knowledge, the world or man.”

This report highlights the “most important philosophical currents according to the time in which they developed”:

• Existentialism: its exponents were Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger and Jean-Paul Sartre, among others.
• Realism: Its main representatives were Plato, Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, among others.
• Idealism: the representatives were Plato, Friedrich Hegel and Immanuel Kant.
• Rationalism: Some influential rationalists were Christian Wolff, René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, and Gottfried Leibniz.
• Empiricism: Empiricism can be traced back to ancient Greece, but it is in modernity that it manifests itself. Some representatives: John Locke and David Hume.

For its part, the online encyclopedia “Concepto” explains that the branches of philosophy are divided according to their object of study. Based on this, the main ones are:

• Metaphysics. He studies being, reality, existence and being.
• Logic. Study the reason.
• Ethics. Study moral problems.
• Aesthetic. He studies beauty and art.
• Political philosophy. Study human relationships in society.
• Philosophy of language. Studying language as a phenomenon.
• Epistemology. Studying knowledge for science.
• epistemology. Study knowledge in general.
• Philosophy of law. Study laws and justice
• Philosophy of animality. Study animals and nonviolent ways of relating to them.