Philosophy AS/A2

Philosophy AS/A2
Philosophy will show you how to think about some of life's most important questions in a new and challenging way. You will explore and discuss ideas, examine beliefs and seek the value in viewpoints other than your own. Philosophy is a stimulating and challenging course that will give you a new and exciting outlook on life. No previous knowledge of Philosophy is required to study the subject at A Level, but an enquiring mind is!

We use a variety of learning methods, predominantly discussion and the presentation of arguments. You should enjoy reading and exchanging ideas in discussion. The ability to argue a case, in speech and writing, is essential.

The AS course in philosophy, for example, raises issues connected to knowledge, the existence of God and whether or not we really exist!

David Hume one of the many Philosophers you will learn about.

What will I study on this course?
AS Level
Unit 1:
Reason and Experience
How do we know what we know? We encounter the world through our senses (sight, hearing etc.); but does what we sense inform us about what we think? Isnt it possible to conceive of some things that I could never confront through my senses? We experience the world as something more or less understood, but does recognising what we see, taste, touch, hear or smell involve nothing more than submitting ourselves to stimuli?

The Idea of God
Reflecting on the nature of a supreme being has generated a range of divine attributes. Can we make sense of them? The idea that a maximally perfect being exists necessarily is expressed in the distinctive ontological argument for the existence of God. Is the argument successful and how should we treat it? But is the idea of God really an idea that reaches out to something beyond, and distinct from, the familiar? Perhaps God is merely the product of mundane social and psychological processes

Unit 2:
Knowledge of the External World
How do we know that everything we see in the world is actually true and does it even exist? This unit explores in greater detail the epistemological account of knowledge that is empiricism that we explored in Unit 1 Reason and Experience. It raises questions concerning the nature and extent of human experience. Material covered in this theme complements issues raised in the textual study of Humes An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding in Unit 4.

God and the World
For some, that the world is as it is suffices to justify their belief in God. For others, the existence of God is incompatible with the world as they find it. Do facts about this world make Gods existence more or less plausible? What kinds of arguments support our conclusions and what are their limitations? How do we decide on the right way to describe the world and from what perspective? If the evidence cannot determine whether the existence of God is more or less likely, then should we see the disagreement as merely a reflection of different personal feelings, attitude and commitments?

A2 Level
Unit 3 Key Themes
Philosophy of Mind
Philosophy of Religion

Unit 4 Philosophical Problems
A study of David Humes An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

How is this course assessed?
AS Philosophy is 100% exam assessed. In the first year youll sit two papers; one covering what you learned in Unit 1 taken in January, the other Part 2 (taken in June). Each 90 minute paper will account for 50% of your marks for the year. A2 Philosophy is 100% exam assessed as well. Youll have two papers again, but this time the paper covering Key themes accounts for 60% of your marks for the year, whilst Philosophical problems accounts for 40%.



Exam Board:

The examination board for this A level is AQA