INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
SVDPA eCLASSROOM
KINDS OF PHILOSOPHY
Five General Types
Accordingly, the various kinds of philosophy can be classified into five general types;
namely;
1. The Thematic Types
- Under this classification are the kinds of philosophy that are distinguished from one another
according to the topic or issues being addressed.
- Under this group are what are called “branches of philosophy” and what we shall call
“disciplinal philosophies.”; the branches of philosophy are classified according to the major
topics of philosophical investigations; and they are what are usually referred to when we
speak of areas of philosophy.
Branches of Philosophy
• Logic – reasoning; the distinction between correct and incorrect forms of reasoning.
• Epistemology – knowledge; the kinds, sources, and conditions of knowledge.
• Metaphysics – reality, existence; whether reality consists of physical objects only, of
nonphysical objects only, or of both physical and nonphysical objects.
• Ethics – morality; the appropriate moral principles, meaning of moral judgements.
• Aesthetics – beauty; criteria for judgements about beauty.
• Social and Political Philosophy – the state; legitimizing the state, limits of the state’s
political power, social and distributive justice.
• Philosophy of Science – science; difference between scientific and non-scientific
statements, induction.
• Philosophy of religion – religious beliefs; meaning of religious statements, existence of
God, problem of evil.
• Philosophy of language – meaning of linguistic expressions; meaning of proper names,
definite descriptions, and psychological statements.
• Philosophy of Mind – mind; whether the mind is physical or not, properties of the mind,
possibility of artificial intelligence.
Disciplinal philosophies, on the other hand, are classified according to the disciplines or
areas of learning whose foundations are being examined. Among others, we have
philosophy of literature, philosophy of education, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of
law, philosophy of artificial intelligence, philosophy of history, philosophy of the social
sciences, philosophy of psychology, philosophy of biology, philosophy of music, philosophy
of sports and philosophy of economics.
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2. The Positional Types
- Under this classification are the kinds of philosophy that are distinguished from one another
according to the solution that is being proposed for a certain issue.
- Correspond to what we are called philosophical schools of thought or philosophical views.
Some of the names of these positional types directly indicate what the positions are;
Good examples are;
• MATERIALISM – which claims that reality consists only of material objects.
• DUALISM – which claims that reality has a dual nature, consisting of both material
and nonmaterial objects.
Some of the names, however, are patterned after their originators or the philosophers who
advance the philosophical views.
Good examples are;
• EPICUREANISM
• PLATONISM
• CARTESIANISM
• CONFUCIANISM
• THOMISM
• CARTESIANISM
Branches of Philosophy
• Metaphysics – Materialism, Idealism, Dualism, Monism, Pluralism
• Epistemology – Rationalism, Empiricism, Critical Philosophy, Pragmatism
• Ethics (Normative) – Consequentialism, Deontology, Virtue Ethics
• Social and Political Philosophy – Socialism, Liberalism, Capitalism, Social
Contractarianism
• Logic – intentional logic, Existentional logic, aristotelian logic, mathematical logic
• Philosophy of religion – atheism, theism (Monotheism, Polytheism, Pantheism,
Panantheism), Religious Pluralism.
• Aesthetics – Platonic aesthetics, human aesthetics, kantian aesthetics, postmodern
aesthetics, feminist aesthetics.
• Philosophy of language – ideal-language philosophy, ordinary- language philosophy,
referential theory of meaning, use theory of meaning, speech act theory.
• Philosophy of mind – dualism, materialism, epiphenomenalism, physicalism,
functionalism, computationalism, biological naturalism.
• Philosophy of science – realism, instrumentalism, Falsificationism, Constructivism,
inductivism, reductionism, coherentism.
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3. The Methodological Types
- Under this classification are the kinds of philosophy that are distinguished from one another
according to method used to resolve a certain issue.
- They correspond to what are sometimes called philosophical movements, approaches, and
traditions. Some influential methodological types of philosophy, along with some of their
associated methods of linguistic analysis, logical analysis, and conceptual analysis;
Phenomenology – which uses the methods of bracketing of presuppositions or
suspension of judgements and direct experiential analysis.
Hermeneutics – which uses different forms of textual analysis as methods of
interpretation.
Marxism – which uses the methods of historical and dialectical materialism.
Existentialism – which uses method of existential analysis or analysis that relates the
question of life’s meaning.
Feminism – which uses the method of gender analysis or analysis that considers the
issue of gender inequality;
Postmodernism – which uses the methods of deconstruction and power analysis (or
analysis of power structures).
4. The Regional Types
- At the most general level, the regional (or geographical) types of philosophy are often
divided into two major kinds:
Western philosophy
Eastern philosophy
Under each of these two major kinds are what can be called “NATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES”
referring to philosophical activities happening in particular countries or nations. Examples of the
national philosophies in the west are German philosophy, French philosophy, Greek Philosophy,
British philosophy, and American philosophy, while example of national philosophies in the East
are Indian Philosophy, Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, and our very own, Filipino
philosophy.
The regional types generally refer to philosophical activities that occur or that flourish in
particular regions. But some attach to regional types of philosophies some other characteristics believed
to be unique to each of these philosophies, which are brought about by cultural, religious, and
nationalistic or ideological considerations or sentiments.
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5. The Historical Types
- The history of philosophy, especially in the west, is conveniently divided into four periods;
namely,
The ANCIENT period
The MEDIEVAL period
The MODERN period
The CONTEMPORARY period.
The delineations among there periods are mere approximations, most especially the one
between the Modern and Contemporary periods for as time moves forward what may now
be regarded as contemporary will surely not anymore be at some period in the future.
Nonetheless, there is at present a general consensus as to what philosophies are more or
less included in each of these four periods.
