The debate between philosophers on the nature of reality goes back to the days of the philosophers Thomas Jefferson Richardson. They both had philosophical views that went against common sense at the time. For example, in his Letter to Mr. Van Tracy, Thomas Jefferson said “I never could think of any subject, when I have not conversed with a metaphysical adviser.” The dispute between metaphysics and common sense has been going on ever since. The most popular question is between the philosopher’s realism and rationalism, metaphysical or non-metaphysical.
Most of what is taught in the schools of philosophy are the four main branches of Philosophy. A good description of these branches is, they are known as realism, nominalism, naturalism, and anti-naturalism. Modern philosophers would classify all philosophy under these branches. In modern times some philosophers have become associated with one or more of these branches. Some philosophers you will find associated with more than one of these branches, but these philosophers are not really part of a philosophy.
Realism is Philosophy as it is taught in the Schools of Philosophy. It is the view that everything is made out of nothing, and that there is no such thing as reality. When something happens, this philosophy says that it is an accident. When something does not happen this philosophy says that it is a function of what the philosopher intended.
Nominalism is a branch of philosophy that denies that there is an entity known as reality. This is also related to monism, which denies that there is any reality apart from the physical world. Neo platterism is related to metaphysics as well. It is the view that matter is composed of parts, atoms, and molecules, which cannot be reduced to basic parts and atoms, and that it is impossible for science to tell the present from the past or the future.
An attempt was made by philosophers like Aristotle to represent reality. Others were less ambitious and tried to explain things in simpler terms. Descartes attempted to represent reality in his famous statement that reason is man’s only means of knowing anything. Rawls relates the idea of philosophy to the real world, saying that there are certain concepts that are necessary for making sense of the universe. These concepts can be derived from experience.
Epistemology is Philosophy as it deals with knowledge. It studies how to arrive at knowledge. The other three branches of philosophy are necessary for understanding this. Plantinga believes there are four main branches, but he does not name them. In addition, he says that there are five distinct sciences that together make up philosophy.
Planting a believes there are six important philosophical theories. These are naturalism, nominalism, realism, nominalism plus super realism. There are also some important philosophies of education. Philosophy of science and philosophy of medicine are part of the science-ethics mix.
Philosophical views on education appear to be divided into two types. One is metaphysical and the other is instrumental to educating people. Those who believe in metaphysical philosophies would include metaphysics of education, aesthetics, education, and personal philosophy, while those who believe in instrumental philosophies would include cognitive science, politics, psychology, and sociology.
Two other philosophers of interest are Dewey and Leibniz. Dewey is considered the father of deductive argument and logic. He used a form of inductive reasoning. Leibniz is known for his monistic theory of language and reason. Together these two philosophers form the foundations for modern philosophy.
Philosophically, there are three main branches of philosophy; metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Epistemology is the field of study that investigates the physical universe and its laws. Metaphysical philosophy is concerned with knowing the truth or falsity of statements about the physical universe.
There are two types of inductive reasoning. Pratwick called it “deduction” and urged that we should learn how to use inductive reasoning to reach truths about the world. Maclaurin named it “deductive argument” and suggested that we should be willing to accept that there are logical consequences for our actions.