Branches of philosophy
It should not be a surprise that philosophy is not a single, unified subject. It is readily broken down into a number of specialties, and it isn't unusual for philosophers to be experts in one field but know relatively little about another. After all, philosophy addresses complex issues from all facets of life - being an expert on all of philosophy would entail being an expert on all of the most fundamental questions which life has to offer.
Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that each branch of philosophy is entirely autonomous - there can be quite a bit of overlap between some fields, as a matter of fact. For example, political and legal philosophy often crosses with ethics and morality, while metaphysical questions are common topics in the philosophy of religion. Sometimes even deciding which branch of philosophy a question properly belongs in isn't entirely clear.
Aesthetics
In philosophy, aesthetics is the study of beauty and taste, whether in the form of the comic, the tragic or the sublime. The word derives from the Greek aisthetikos, which means "of sense perception." Aesthetics has traditionally been part of other philosophical pursuits like the investigation of epistemology or ethics. However, it started to come into its own and become a more independent pursuit under Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher who saw aesthetics as a unitary and self-sufficient type of human experience.
Epistemology
Epistemology is the investigation into the grounds and nature of knowledge itself. Epistemological studies are usually focused upon our means for acquiring knowledge, and as a consequence, modern epistemology generally involves a debate between rationalism and empiricism, or the question of whether knowledge can be acquired a priori or a posteriori.
Ethics
Ethics is the formal study of moral standards and conduct. For this reason, the study of ethics is also often called "moral philosophy." What is good? What is evil? How should I behave - and why? How should I balance my needs against the needs of others? These are some of the questions asked in the field of ethics, a branch of philosophy, which has some of the most immediate and obvious consequences for how we live our lives.
Logic and the Philosophy of Language
The two fields Logic and the Philosophy of Language are often treated separately, but they are nevertheless close enough that they are presented together here. Logic is the study of methods of reasoning and argumentation, both proper and improper. The Philosophy of Language, on the other hand, involves the study of how our language interacts with our thinking.
Metaphysics
In Western philosophy, metaphysics has become the study of the fundamental nature of all reality - what is it, why is it, and how are we to understand it. Some only regard metaphysics as the study of "higher" reality or the "invisible" nature behind everything, but that isn't actually true. It is, instead, the study of all of reality, visible and invisible.
Philosophy of Education
The field known as the Philosophy of Education is relatively self-explanatory - it deals with how children should be educated, what they should be educated in and what the ultimate purpose of education should be for society. This is an often-neglected field of philosophy, and when it is addressed, it tends to only be in educational programs designed to train teachers - in this context, it is a part of pedagogy, which is learning how to teach.
Philosophy of History
The Philosophy of History is a relatively minor branch in the field of philosophy, focusing on the study of history, writing about history, how history progresses and what impact history has upon the present day. This is can be referred to as the Critical, Analytical, or Formal Philosophy of History, as well as the Philosophy of Historiography.
Philosophy of Mind
The relatively recent specialty known as Philosophy of Mind deals with questions of consciousness and how it interacts with the body and the outside world. Thus, it asks not only what mental phenomena are and what gives rise to them, but also what relationship they have to the larger physical body and the world around us.
Philosophy of Religion
Sometimes confused with theology, the Philosophy of Religion is the philosophical study of religious beliefs, religious doctrines, religious arguments and religious history. The line between theology and the philosophy of religion isn't always sharp because they share so much in common, but the primary difference is that theology tends to be apologetically in nature, committed to the defence of particular religious positions, whereas Philosophy of Religion is committed to the investigation of religion itself, rather than the truth of any particular religion.
Philosophy of Science
The Philosophy of Science is concerned with, obviously enough, science - specifically, how science operates, what the goals of science should be, what relationship science should have with the rest of society, the differences between science and other activities, etc. Everything that happens in science has some relationship with the Philosophy of Science and is predicated upon some philosophical position, even though that may be rarely evident.
Political and Legal Philosophy
The Philosophy of Politics and the Philosophy of Law are often studied separately, but they are presented here jointly because they both come back to the same thing: the study of force. Politics is the study of political force in the general community, while jurisprudence is the study of how laws can and should be used to achieve political and social goals.
