5 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY 

Healthcare is considered one of the backbones of our society and is integrated into every aspect of our lives. When talking about different areas healthcare, we can use philosophy to better understand the basic principles involved in healthcare. Philosophy can be divided into five different branches: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, politics, and esthetics. These five branches show the different perspectives of healthcare to better understand how the related to one another.

Philosophy and healthcare can be related using the example of female circumcision. While female circumcision is a practice and ritual that is common in many societies, it is viewed on the opposite spectrum here in the United States. The use of philosophy allows an individual to see female circumcision for what it is and from a more unbiased position.

Metaphysics is the study of existence, and asks the question, "What is out there?" There are probably many people in the United States that have not heard of female circumcision, and if it wasn't for the recent media interest on the topic in the last few years I would be one of those people. But it is out there, and the study of philosophy allows that to be known. If philosophy did not exist, there would be no known knowledge of other cultures and more ignorance would exist. By widening our existing knowledge and looking to different cultures, people are able to learn new things outside of the things that exist in their daily lives. Philosophy helps open peoples eyes to what is truly out there.

Epistemology is the study of knowledge, and asks the question, "How do I know about it?" The knowledge of female circumcision exists because of the pure wonders of human nature. Human