Branch of philosophy
The modern division of philosophy into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy[1][2] has its origin in Aristotle's categories of natural philosophy and moral philosophy.[3] The one has theory for its object, and the other practice.[1]
Overview
In Denmark,[4] Finland,[5] Germany,[6] Netherlands,[7] Sweden,[8] and United States[9] courses in theoretical and practical philosophy are taught separately, and are separate degrees. Other countries may use a similar scheme—some Scottish universities, for example, divide philosophy into logic, metaphysics, and ethics—but in most universities around the world philosophy is taught as a single subject. There is also a unified philosophy subject in some Swedish universities, such as Södertörns Högskola.
Theoretical philosophy is sometimes confused with analytic philosophy, but the latter is a philosophical movement, embracing certain ideas and methods but dealing with all philosophical subject matters, while the former is a way of sorting philosophical questions into two different categories in the context of a curriculum.
