Branches

# Epistemology

The study of everything concerned with the theory of knowledge. Epistemology studies the nature of knowledge, the rationality of belief, and justification. Much of the debate in epistemology centers on four areas:

1. the philosophical analysis of the nature of knowledge and how it relates to such concepts as truth, belief, and justification,
2. various problems of skepticism,
3. the sources and scope of knowledge and justified belief,
4. the criteria for knowledge and justification.

See Wikipedia Article Epistemology for further information and references

# Ontology

Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, becoming, existence or reality as well as the basic categories of being and their relations. Traditionally listed as a part of the major branch of philosophy known as metaphysics, ontology often deals with questions concerning what entities exist or may be said to exist and how such entities may be grouped, related within a hierarchy, and subdivided according to similarities and differences.

See Wikipedia Article Ontology for further information and references

Both Ontology and Epistemology are very well explained especially with regard to their practical implications (here in a PhD dissertation) in the lecture How to get clear about method, methodology, epistemology and ontology, once and for all by David James

# Phenomenology

In its most basic form, phenomenology attempts to create conditions for the objective study of topics usually regarded as subjective: consciousness and the content of conscious experiences such as judgments, perceptions, and emotions. Although phenomenology seeks to be scientific, it does not attempt to study consciousness from the perspective of clinical psychology or neurology. Instead, it seeks through systematic reflection to determine the essential properties and structures of experience.

There are several assumptions behind phenomenology that help explain its foundations:

1. It rejects the concept of objective research. Phenomenologists prefer grouping assumptions through a process called phenomenological epoche.
2. Phenomenology believes that analyzing daily human behavior can provide one with a greater understanding of nature.
3. Persons should be explored. This is because persons can be understood through the unique ways they reflect the society they live in.
4. Phenomenologists prefer to gather “capta,” or conscious experience, rather than traditional data.
5. Phenomenology is considered to be oriented on discovery, and therefore phenomenologists gather research using methods that are far less restricting than in other sciences.[4]

See Wikipedia Article Phenomenology for further information and references

# Axiology

Axiology is the philosophical study of value. It is either the collective term for ethics and aesthetics — philosophical fields that depend crucially on notions of worth — or the foundation for these fields, and thus similar to value theory and meta-ethics. Axiology studies mainly two kinds of values: **ethics** and **aesthetics**. Ethics investigates the concepts of "right" and "good" in individual and social conduct. Aesthetics studies the concepts of "beauty" and "harmony."

See Wikipedia Article Axiology for further information and references

# Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics is the theory and methodology of interpretation. Modern hermeneutics includes both verbal and non-verbal communication as well as semiotics, presuppositions, and pre-understandings.Hermeneutic, as a singular noun, refers to some particular method of interpretation.

See Wikipedia Article Hermeneutic for further information and references

# Pragmatism

An American school of thought that emphasized the extent to which all knowledge was rooted in practical experience and communication. Pragmatists postulated that there were a multitude of different ways to encounter and understand any specific object in the world, which of the ways a person ultimately chooses depends on the task within which the person encounters the object and on way others this person is connected with feel about the object. This results in a view of the world as free from any objective realities depending on the context, the culture and even the scientific method used to analyze an object, the study of one and the same situation might yield very different results.

# References

1. ↑  Calhoun, Craig et.al., *Contemporary Sociological Theory*, p. 7