A LEVEL PHILOSOPHYWORKBOOK FOR NEW YEAR 12S

benjamin.jones@kedst.ac.uk

Classroom: DD1.11

Office: DD1.06

CONTENTS

Introduction to the course: The admin stuff..........................................................................................................2

Introduction to Philosophy....................................................................................................................................5

Socrates- the father of Western Philosophy (And What Philosophy Is).............................................................5

Plato: Socrates’ student (On What Philosophy Might Be For)...........................................................................6

Aristotle: Student of Plato (and how to Philosophise).......................................................................................7

Going further: Inductive and Abduction (Inductive and Abductive Reasoning).................................................8

Getting Prepared: What You Will Need When You Start.....................................................................................10

The Necessities................................................................................................................................................10

Recommended................................................................................................................................................10

You as a Student and Us as a Department.......................................................................................................11

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INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE: THE ADMIN STUFF

WELCOME TO PHILOSOPHY!

If you’re reading this, you have signed up to do A level Philosophy and will be working your way through this booklet in order to introduce you to some of the basics required to get started on the course. In this section you will be introduced to some of the basic concepts and skills that you will develop over the course (no one is expected to know how to do philosophy yet, so don’t panic if this is brand new). However, before that we should get you looking at the layout of the course and the specification.

TASK 1: KNOW YOUR SPEC.

1) Go to the AQA Philosophy website and bookmark it so you can come back to it whenever you need to

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/philosophy/as-and-a-level/philosophy-7172

2) Now download the specification from this page or follow the link below.

https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/philosophy/specifications/AQA-7172-SP-2017.PDF

3) Go to page 7-8 of the specification (“Specification at a glance”). Answer the following questions:

a. How many exam papers are in the whole A level?

b. How long is each exam?

c. How many sections are there on each exam?

d. How many questions are in each section?

e. What are the four sections of the subject content called?

f. Which sections of subject content are on paper 1?

g. Which sections of subject content are on paper 2?

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4) Go to page 9-10 of the specification (“Subject Content”). Read it through fully.

5) Use the internet to look up the following terms and give a brief definition. You may wish to use more than one source. Try to use sources related to philosophy, as some of these terms have uses outside of the subject.If synonyms are possible, they are added in brackets. (You can double check these words against the synonyms to see if you got the right usage) If the term is part of a longer phrase, the context is given in brackets too. This should help you find the right use of the word.

Proposition (or assertion, claim)

Antecedent

Consequent

Analytic (analytic proposition)

Synthetic (synthetic proposition)

A priori

A posteriori

Necessary (necessary truth)

Contingent (contingent truth)

Consitent

Inconsistent

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Objective

Subjective

Tautology

Dilemma

Paradox

Proof

Prove

True

False

Justification

6) Read the content on pages 10-17. Make a note of any names or arguments/theories you recognise.

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INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

SOCRATES- THE FATHER OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY (AND WHAT PHILOSOPHY IS)

Socrates (c. 470-399 BC) was not the first philosopher in the world, and not even the first philosopher in the Western world. However, he often gets referred to as the Father of Western Philosophy because his key concerns and methods changed the way people did philosophy. Philosophers had not necessarily thought about some of the issues he tackled- such as the nature of truth and knowledge- and had not used reasoning in quite the way that he did. Most of what we do today is a continuation of Socrates’ work, even though things have changed a lot. Even philosophers who aren’t recognisably Socratic are influenced by his methods or are seeking to actively reject his work. This makes him one of our most influential figures.

TASK 2: The life and works of Socrates. Watch the video on Socrates: The Father of Western Philosophy, and answer the following questions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyIKayNXTPY

1) What does philosopher mean?

2) What is “love” according to Socrates and Diotima? (And how does that change the translation of “philosopher”)

3) What is Socrates’ biggest contribution to philosophy and what is it used for?

4) Why do you think Socrates is important to us as philosophers? (You can take any part of this video as support)

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PLATO: SOCRATES’ STUDENT (ON WHAT PHILOSOPHY MIGHT BE FOR)

Most of what we know about Socrates comes from his student Plato (c. 428 – 348 BC). Socrates’ pupils were not exactly like those we would see today. As Socrates never wrote anything down and didn’t hold formal lessons, his followers (quite literally) would move around Athens with him and attempt to remember his discussions with members of the public so that they could be copied down later. His most famous student was Plato, who developed his own philosophy outside of Socrates’ work. As mentioned in the previous video, scholars have spent centuries trying to work out which of the dialogues credited to Plato were his own ideas put into the mouth of Socrates and which were the real discussions of Socrates himself.

This distinction isn’t just of historical interest. It shows a key difference in how the philosophy was done. Socrates taught us to examine our lives and reveal our ignorance. Plato used the same methods to try and get us closer to absolute truths and the highest forms of knowledge possible. This is one of the ways in which those examining the Socratic dialogues have tried to divide them: those where the dialogue ends in a state of aporia (or an inability to form a conclusion, a deadlock), and those where conclusions are reached and Socrates explains the right answer. The former are considered those which capture the real Socrates, and the latter are often interpreted as being Plato’s own ideas.

TASK 3: Plato’s philosophy and the role of philosophers. Watch the video on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and answer the questions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RWOpQXTltA

Briefly outline the allegory of the cave, including what you think it is trying to tell us (use the examples from the video about how it has been used to help you).

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ARISTOTLE: STUDENT OF PLATO (AND HOW TO PHILOSOPHISE)

Aristotle (c. 384-322 BC) was trained in Plato’s Academy from about 368 BC until Plato’s death. Plato had set up the school to develop the ideas set out in his own work and train up other philosophers. Aristotle became his most famous and most prolific student, even setting up his own school in Athens named the Lyceum. Aristotle adapted and even rejected many of Plato’s ideas over the course of his life and developed his own philosophical system. Perhaps the most significant part of Aristotle’s work was his attempt to categorise the fundamental rules of argumentation and logic. He decided to produce extensive texts attempting to show all of the different kinds of argument that were possible, show how they functioned, and even name them so that people knew which ones worked and which ones didn’t. This meant that we not only knew that argument forms of particular kinds would always be valid but that different kinds of arguments led to different conclusions and could be used for different means.

One of the things we have to do as philosophers is know how arguments are formed, what form they take, how we analyse them and how to decide whether or not they have done the job that they claim to have done. This begins with Aristotle’s work, but plenty of other philosophers have contributed to that project since.

TASK 4: Philosophical reasoning. Watch the video on How to Argue and answer the questions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RWOpQXTltA

1) Why would we use reason/rationality rather than the other parts of our minds to do philosophy?

2) What is a premise of an argument?

3) What is a conclusion?

4) What is a deductive argument? (I.e. what is the main rule?) Give an example.

5) What is entailment?

6) In what direction does deduction go? (From the __________ to the ___________) What does this mean?

7) Make notes on his explanation of validity, invalidity and truth.

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8) What is a sound argument? (I.e. what is deductive soundness?)

9) What is the advantage of a deductive argument?

10) What are the limitations of deductive arguments?

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GOING FURTHER: INDUCTIVE AND ABDUCTION (INDUCTIVE AND ABDUCTIVE REASONING)

Deductive reasoning isn’t the only way philosophers argue, and it isn’t the only way to give support for a conclusion. Inductive and abductive reasoning can also be used. In fact, they are our most common forms of reasoning in our everyday lives even if you didn’t know it! Part of our job as philosophers is to construct arguments of the right kind for the right purposes, as well as identifying how other philosophers have argued. If a philosopher has argued in one of these ways (or one of the many other ways to argue) then the way we examine and evaluate the argument will change.

TASK 4: One last video. Watch the video on Induction and Abduction and use the following page to make notes explaining what they are. Make sure you note key terms, explanations and how the arguments are used. Examples are always useful!

INDUCTION:

ABDUCTION:

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GETTING PREPARED: WHAT YOU WILL NEED WHEN YOU START

THE NECESSITIES

Something to write with and write in The best thing to bring to lessons is not your best fancy notebook, but definitely get one to

write up your notes in “best” afterwards to make your revision easier. Buy an ordinary pad of A5/A4 to bring to lessons so you can make notes, which will probably

be scruffy. Write down what your teacher is saying in note form, draw quick sketches and diagrams, capture exact quotes where needed, but don’t just copy down the power point and ignore what is being said.

When you get out of class, meet up with others who study philosophy and go over anything you missed in your notes.

Then you can use your class notes, power points downloaded from moodle/google classroom and any additional research to write up full and detailed notes on those lessons.

The stuff you write in class should not aim to be your final version…it doesn’t help!

Binders/folders for handouts, class notes and additional readings. You could buy one binder per year (year 1, year 2) then divide by topic (Epistemology, Moral

Philosophy. God, Mind). You could buy one binder per topic (Epistemology, Moral Philosophy, etc) and divide by sub-

topic (What is Knowledge? Perception, Reason, Limits…) You could also keep dividers for things like additional readings and print-outs of articles, as

well as a section for past questions, essay papers, your returned exams and so on. An “Admin” section is always useful for quick reference.

RECOMMENDED

Textbooks Lacewing Philosophy for AS and A Level (ISBN 978-1-138-69039-4) and Hayward, Jones &

Cardinal AQA A Level Philosophy For Year 1 and AS: Epistemology and Moral Philosophy, often just called “Hodder” for short (ISBN 978-1-5104-0025-2) are the best two.

Lacewing is concise and compact, with sections on the key texts for you to read. “Hodder” has more detail and uses lengthy examples and exercises to walk you through. It’s

bigger and more expensive, but a lot of students prefer it. Don’t confuse them with revision guides. These have minimal content in order to be used as

an aid to memory and a way of checking what you know. They are not substantial enough to use as the first place you go to check your learning.

Coloured pens (but not necessarily highlighters) Using colour coding can help you organise your notes and thus your thoughts.

Index cards (or something similar) An easy way to keep track of the basic terminology and key arguments

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YOU AS A STUDENT AND US AS A DEPARTMENT

Philosophy students to be…

Attentive, not just in the sense of paying attention to people. You need to be a good listener, but also a good reader and someone who sweats the small stuff. The devil is always in the details, so a superficial reading won’t really get you into the level of depth that we need.

Precise, not only in thought but also in writing. As the details matter, you need to make sure you’re saying exactly what you mean and that you’re not being loose, fuzzy or vague with what you’re saying.

Logical, as everything we do is based upon arguments. Our main concern is making sure that the arguments we are given actually work. We don’t get to support things because we grew up with them, nor reject things because they don’t fit with what we believe. We are learning to follow the logic where it takes us, and stop where it can’t go.

Open-minded, because the logic will sometimes take us places that we didn’t expect.

Philosophy students should…

Read, and read a lot. Philosophers do most of their best work in written form, even if youtube has allowed people to produce videos on major thinkers or given them a platform to post lectures. Nonetheless, most of the people we will study existed before the internet.

Write, and write a lot. Your assessment is always in a written form too. If you don’t write then you won’t learn how to write like a philosopher.

Think, and think a lot. Engage with the material. Don’t just sit there rote learning things or expect that you can get a good grade by memorising chunks of a textbook. A good grade appears when students understand the points being made and are able to engage with those arguments as philosophers.

Discuss, and discuss a lot. Philosophers argue with each other. They debate and discuss. This helps them find out when they’re onto something good, but also when they are heading down a blind alley. Find ways to discuss philosophy with other philosophy students. It also helps you to become clearer and more precise in your explanations.

Be independent. Don’t just come straight to a member of staff if you’re stuck. Start by doing it yourself, then check other texts and resources. If that hasn’t worked, ask other students. If you can’t resolve the issue after trying all of those just drop us an e-mail and we can see what we can do!

The Philosophy department offers…

Online Resource Library on moodle for you to find texts, videos and podcasts that can do everything from offer support right up to pushing you further.

Skills and Help page on moodle, featuring videos on specific skills and terminology that you might need quick help with

Book club for those who want to practise close reading and discussion Online lessons set as homework to give focussed accounts of key arguments and theories Support and guidance if you just e-mail your teacher and ask for help.

The Philosophy department looks forward to seeing you in class after the summer. This is an incredibly rewarding course but you will only take out of it what you are willing to put in. Let’s see if we can figure out the answers to these mind-boggling, world-puzzling questions!

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