This is the Philosophy A outline: What will I study?
The A Level Philosophy course is taught in a thematic way, covering four themes:
- Epistemology
- Ethics (or Moral philosophy)
- Philosophy of Mind (or metaphysics of mind)
- Philosophy of Religion (or ‘metaphysics of God’)
In first year, we start with Epistemology (the study of knowledge) where you will explore topics such as where knowledge comes from and whether we can trust what our senses tell us about the world. The next theme, Ethics, looks into morality and considers a range of different ethical approaches including theories like utilitarianism and deontological ethics as well as applied ethics issues such as eating animals and killing in computer games.
In second year we start Philosophy of Mind which explores the nature of the mind and whether consciousness is something non-physical (like a soul) or instead explainable in purely physical terms. Finally, Philosophy of Religion covers arguments for and against the existence of God as well as questions around the problem of evil and God’s attributes.
Within each of the four philosophical themes studied, you will have a chance to engage with the works of key philosophers who have theories and arguments related to those areas, from the Ancient Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato, to more modern thinkers like Rene Descartes, John Locke, David Hume and Immanuel Kant, all the way to modern thinkers such as Bertrand Russell, AJ Ayer and Daniel Dennett. The Philosophy A Level is a Western Philosophy course but that’s not to say that points about other world philosophies won’t come up in discussions in classes just that the focus in the course material and what you are examined on is very much Western-focused. The Philosophy A Level will help you to understand the evolution of ideas in Western Philosophy and how differing schools of thought and perspectives emerge over time.
Is this course right for me?
Philosophy is a great course for those who want to explore issues in depth and are not afraid to explore ideas and theories that may seem abstract or difficult to grasp at first. While we look at some of the big questions, we also look at many of the ideas that other subjects skip over, like how can you be sure that what you observe in science is real? It is also important that students who study the subject are open to examining theories and ideas that may be different from their own. It’s also crucial that students can think clearly, precisely and with the careful use of logic. This is because we are not looking for people’s opinions or outlandish theories but their arguments built on evidence and argument.
Students often find philosophy very challenging at first and it can be a bit of a shock when they start while being a stimulating subject, it is also a demanding one. But over time students develop the skills to evaluate their own answers and formulate responses. You will learn how to build an argument and to spot logical flaws whilst thinking critically, meaning debate and discussion are key in lessons as a method used to achieve this. There will also be some reading of original texts in philosophy to gain precise understandings of thinker’s ideas.
Where next?
A Level Philosophy students go on to pursue a wide range of careers. The skills developed on the course are useful for the charity sector, environmental work, government careers, policy work, business strategy and management as well as emerging roles in AI (artificial intelligence) and medicine, especially with how these roles may intersect with ethics. Often philosophy is the perfect degree to have for the challenging job that has no specific subject requirement.
Many of our students go on to study philosophy at university and the course sets them up really well for this. For other subject and career routes, Philosophy provides a range of transferrable skills, including: logical and analytical thinking and reasoning, problem solving, written and oral communication, ability to interpret, condense and clarify information, ability to formulate your own opinions and defend them in debate and the ability to interpret and analyse a variety of different information. Useful websites to research careers and wider progression options could include Prospects, All About Careers and The Apprenticeship Guide.