Main Philosophical Directions

Three Fundamental Philosophical Problems

Throughout the historical evolution of philosophy, a multitude of attempts have arisen to resolve the fundamental issues of human knowledge. Consequently, within the broader development of philosophy, each problem possesses its own unique history, which, while closely linked to the general progression of thought, retains a degree of independence; this distinctness reveals the foundations that gradually led to various resolutions of philosophical dilemmas. In the history of these individual lines of thought, a discernible pattern emerges, governing all of them: every development manifests as a process of progressive differentiation. In the initial stages, viewpoints often merge together; as they evolve, their distinctions become increasingly clear, ultimately culminating in well-defined oppositions. Hence, it follows that the more one-sided the development of a particular direction is, the more challenging it becomes for impartial investigation to navigate it; thus, earlier oppositions are typically resolved by subsequent directions, which often reveal a certain degree of relative truth in the preceding perspectives.

Consequently, the evolution of the primary strands of philosophical thought is intertwined with three fundamental problems: the epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical. Among these, the resolution of the epistemological problem serves as a prerequisite for addressing the other two. Until the origins, reliability, and limits of knowledge are firmly established, engaging with metaphysical tasks resembles a voyage across the sea without a rudder or sails, and the discussion of ethical issues lacks a reliable foundation. However, the metaphysical problem occupies a central position among the ones we have identified. All overarching questions that do not fall within the realm of epistemology ultimately lead to metaphysics, which provides them with a distinctive illumination. In this sense, even ethical perspectives are established in relation to metaphysics; investigations in other fields, such as natural philosophy, aesthetics, and the philosophy of religion, are even more profoundly shaped by metaphysical viewpoints, as metaphysics outlines the path for inquiry in these domains—whether in relation to epistemology, as seen in natural philosophy, or ethics, as occurs in aesthetics, the philosophy of religion, law, and history. In contrast to all these disciplines, epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics emerge as the three principal components of philosophy. Epistemology examines humanity as a knowing being; ethics investigates humanity as a desiring and acting entity; while metaphysics occupies a central position by relating these two aspects of human nature: the overall worldview, the objective of metaphysical striving, is defined by both theoretical and practical demands. From this, a trajectory for our further investigation is delineated: the history of the development of epistemological directions will form the foundation, followed by the history of the development of metaphysical directions, which will ultimately lead to the history of the development of ethical directions.