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Philosophy

Philosophy is, quite simply, the study of human reasoning and man’s conception of him/her self and the surrounding world. The subject Philosophy in Sweden is by tradition subdivided into theoretical and practical philosophy. Theoretical philosophy primarily treats questions regarding construction of the world, and studies the knowledge process and logic reasoning. Practical philosophy primarily deals with questions about what the world should be like, and studies for example ethical and aesthetical issues.

Central areas within theoretical philosophy are (i) logics and argumentation theory treating deduction and proof, (ii) gnoseology and theory of science processing questions about the character of knowledge, and its relation to science as such, (iii) linguistic philosophy studying the relation between language and world, and (iv) ontology and metaphysics treating issues on the nature of reality.

Central areas within practical philosophy are (i) value theory which treats norms and evaluation, (ii) normative ethics studying ethical theories and reasoning surrounding ethical problems, (iii) esthetics dealing with issues concerning art, (iv) social philosophy which treats normative and epistemological questions regarding society, and (v) philosophy of religion treating religion as a phenomenon and what religions are about.

The study of philosophy also offers training in critical reasoning and argumentation and may well be complementary to other educations as it in many respects makes the foundation of western knowledge tradition.