PHILOSOPY
Cultural Dictionary

Philosophy definition

A study that attempts to discover the fundamental principles of the sciences, the arts, and the world that the sciences and arts deal with; the word philosophy is from the Greek for “love of wisdom.” Philosophy has many branches that explore principles of specific areas, such as knowledge ( epistemology), reasoning ( logic), being in general ( metaphysics), beauty ( aesthetics), and human conduct ( ethics).
Different approaches to philosophy are also called philosophies. ( See also epicureanism, existentialism, idealism, materialism, nihilism, pragmatism, stoicism, and utilitarianism.)

Epistemology e·pis·te·mol·o·gy [ih-pis-tuh-mol-uh-jee] Show IPA noun a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge.
Origin:
1855–60; < Greek epistḗm ( ē ) knowledge + -o- + -logy

Related forms e·pis·te·mo·log·i·cal [ih-pis-tuh-muh-loj-i-kuhl] Show IPA , adjective e·pis·te·mol·o·gist, noun

Word Origin & History

epistemology
"theory of knowledge," 1856, coined by Scot. philosopher James F. Ferrier (1808-64) from Gk. episteme "knowledge," from Ionic Gk. epistasthai "know how to do, understand," lit. "overstand," from epi- "over, near" + histasthai "to stand." The scientific (as opposed to philosophical) study of the roots and paths of knowledge is epistemics (1969).

Cultural Dictionary epistemology [(i-pis-tuh- mol -uh-jee)]

The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and origin of knowledge. Epistemology asks the question “How do we know what we know?”

Logic

Word Origin & History

logic mid-14c., "branch of philosophy that treats of forms of thinking," from O.Fr. logique, from L. (ars) logica, from Gk. logike (techne) "reasoning (art)," from fem. of logikos "pertaining to speaking or reasoning," from logos "reason, idea, word" (see logos). Meaning "logical

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary logic <a id="dic_result" href="http://dictionary.reference.com/audio.html/ahsdWAV/L0024200/logic" target="_blank"><img src="http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/speaker.gif" border="0" alt="logic pronunciation" /></a> (lŏj'ĭk) Pronunciation Key The study of the principles of reasoning, especially of the structure of propositions as distinguished from their content and of method and validity in deductive reasoning. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

logic definition

The branch of philosophy dealing with the principles of reasoning. Classical logic, as taught in ancient Greece and Rome, systematized rules for deduction. The modern scientific and philosophical logic of deduction has become closely allied to mathematics, especially in showing how the foundations of mathematics lie in logic.

Metaphysics

World English Dictionary descriptive metaphysics | | — n | | ( functioning as singular ) the philosophical study of the structure of how we think about the world |
Word Origin & History

metaphysics late 14c., "branch of speculation which deals with the first causes of things," from M.L. metaphysica, neut. pl. of Medieval Gk. (ta) metaphysika, from Gk. ta meta ta physika "the (works) after the Physics," title of the 13 treatises which traditionally were arranged after those on physics and natural

Aesthetics aes·thet·ics [es-thet-iks or, esp. British, ees-] Show IPA noun ( used with a singular verb )
1.
the branch of philosophy dealing with such notions as the beautiful, the ugly, the sublime, the comic, etc., as applicable to the fine arts, with a view to establishing the meaning and validity of critical judgments concerning works of art, and the principles underlying or justifying such judgments.
2.
the study of