Philosophy

We study philosophy to nurture and improve our critical thinking and reasoning. Philosophy allows students to question, explore and learn about the world from different perspectives, it gives them the opportunity to consider how people in the past made sense of the world and society when they did not have science to explain things, it is above all a subject that underpins all other subjects, as it address the basics of knowledge, how we aquire and verify it and how this has evolved over time.

Philosophy creates students that are critical, articluate and able to pursue any number of degree or career paths. The skills and ideas we foster in philosophy are as below:

We seek to:

• understand the ways in which philosophers have analysed the core concepts of philosophy, and be able to identify how subtle differences in analyses can have wider impacts on philosophical arguments
• understand the main philosophical arguments within topics, through the works of philosophers, and articulate those arguments in appropriate forms, correctly, clearly and precisely
• understand the philosophical claims which are made within each topic and be able to articulate those claims correctly, clearly and precisely. Students must also articulate how those claims might relate to other topic areas
• understand the ways in which philosophical arguments are developed, issues are raised, and arguments are reformulated in response to those issues
• understand the similarities and differences between the forms of reasoning used in different philosophical content areas, including the similarities and differences between different kinds of knowledge
• generate responses using appropriate philosophical formats, to a range of philosophical questions. These responses must include: articulating definitions; articulating arguments and counter-arguments; and selecting, applying and evaluating appropriate material to generate their own arguments