History of Philosophy Timeline

by Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty

The following timeline was created and designed by Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty to help students get a comprehensive picture of the history of philosophy and, in the case of ancient and medieval philosophy, its relationship to other major events occurring during the same time period.

Jonathan Dolhenty: Divisions of Philosophy

How philosophy is to be divided into sub-disciplines has seemed to fascinate philosophers throughout its history. Four different approaches to the divisioning of philosophy are given as diagrams below:

• The Aristotelian Division
• The Thomistic Division
• The Wolffian Division
• A Modern Revision by Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty

In general, the following non-technical definitions will apply:

• Ontology: The philosophic science of the nature of being "in general"
• Epistemology: The philosophic science dealing with the problem of knowledge
• Psychology: Really "rational" or "philosophical" psychology, dealing with man as a "being"
• Theodicy: The philosophic science of God, First Cause, Creator - sometimes "natural theology"
• Logic: The philosophic science of correct thinking
• Ethics (or Moral Philosophy): The philosophic science dealing with human acts - sometimes "moral philosophy"
• Politics: The philosophic science of man's social end, including the form of state organization
• Axiology: The philosophic science which studies the general nature of "value"
• Aesthetics: The philosophic science which studies art, beauty, artistic value

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