AS Level Philosophy (PHIL-S)

AS Level Philosophy (PHIL-S)

Course Description
What will I learn from Philosophy?
Are you willing to reconsider many of your most deeply held assumptions? If you are then Philosophy will appeal to you. Philosophy calls for a combination of imagination with rigorous reasoning and consequently will both complement and help you develop skills for a variety of subject combinations. Philosophy trains you to think for yourself. It encourages open-mindedness and helps you mature in your thought and relations with people. Doing Philosophy is not easy but as with doing anything difficult you will develop new skills which will make it easier with practice. Some of the skills Philosophy will teach you are: the ability to spot flaws and arguments; the ability to construct argument; the ability to use your imagination and to communicate your ideas through argument and debate. You will need to read and analyse texts. You will need to be happy with working hard and contributing to discussions in class as well as being self-motivated to work on your own.

What will I learn on this course?
Exam Board - AQA
AS Course
Unit 1- An introduction to Philosophy 1

There are 5 themes available for study. Students must study at least two themes. We will be studying 3 of the following:

· Reason and Experience (compulsory)

· Why should I be governed?

· Persons

· Why should I be moral?

Unit 2- An introduction to Philosophy 2 :

There are 5 themes available for study. Students must study at least two themes. We will be studying at least 2 of the following:

· Knowledge of the external world

· The value of art

· The debate over free will and determinism

· Tolerance

A2 Course
Unit 3- Key Themes in Philosophy :

Students study 2 themes:

· Political Philosophy

· Moral Philosophy

Unit 4 - Philosophical problems:

Candidates explore philosophy though a classic text. Candidates draw on themes already studied and develop and apply materials from AS and A2.

Students will study either:

· Mill On Liberty

· Nietzsche Beyond Good and Evil

What kind of assessments will I have to complete to get my qualification?
AS: 2 x 1.5 hour written papers

Unit 1 : One question on each of the 5 themes; Students must answer two questions. Each question is structured into two parts worth 15 and 30 marks.

Unit 2 : One question on each of the 5 themes; Students must answer two questions. Each question is structured into two parts worth 15 and 30 marks.

A2:
Unit 3 : 2 hour written paper

The question paper consists of five sections: one on each theme. Candidates must answer two questions from two different sections (i.e. on two themes). Each question is worth 50 marks. Total marks available = 100. 60% of A2

Unit 4 : 1.5 hour written paper

Each section contains one compulsory question followed by two essay questions. Candidates must choose one section and answer the compulsory question and one essay question. The compulsory question is worth 15 marks and the essay questions are worth 45 marks. Total marks available = 60. 40% of A2

What could I do with a qualification in this subject?
You can go on to study Philosophy at degree level in its own right or combine it with a variety of other subjects such as Maths, English and French etc. Doing Philosophy can make a significant contribution to any job that requires you to think clearly. Philosophy students go into many careers such as law, journalism, politics, the civil service, and advertising and last, in a very incomplete list, there is education! Look at the list on the back of the leaflet of people who have studied Philosophy and make up you own mind about the variety of possibilities open to you.

Entry Requirements
You should have a lively and enquiring mind, an aptitude for thinking about new ideas logically and a desire to explore them in depth. You should also have an ability to communicate your ideas effectively both in writing and orally. This is a challenging subject and you will need to be committed. This subject is not just about your opinion but an analysis of key philosophical theories and roles.
As you are unlikely to have studied Philosophy at GCSE you will be expected to have achieved a grade B in English Literature and a grade B in English Language.