How do we decide if a particular action is right or wrong?

Philosophy

Core theme

What do we mean by consciousness and how does it relate to non-conscious aspects of reality?

Is how we interact with others what makes us human?

What do recent discoveries in neuroscience reveal about what it is to be human? The core theme is compulsory for all students. It consists of an exploration of six closely interrelated key concepts, represented in the following figure 2. Philosophy guide 11

Are we independent beings or is each of us a part or state of something else?

Can beliefs be part of our identity even if they are false?

To what extent does culture shape identity? The self and the Self and non-self • Is there such a thing as the self? other Solipsism and • Can we really know ourselves? Can we really know the intersubjectivity other? Relations to others • Is how we define “the other” part of how we define “the self”?

Ideas of immersion, participation and coordination as being constitutive of self (e.g. Jonardon Ganeri) Consciousness Consciousness, the self • What is consciousness? and the world • What do recent advances in neuroscience tell us about The mind–body problem how the human mind works? The problem of other • Are we composed of mind and body? minds • What, if any, are the relationships between mind and body?

Why do we believe that other people have minds like ours?

Neuroscientific perspectives (e.g. Patricia Churchland, eliminative materialism) Personhood Self-consciousness • What is it to be a person? Agency • The idea of personhood as a matter of degrees (e.g.

Could animals or machines be considered persons? Philosophy guide 13 Key concept Suggested topics of Suggested examples and discussion questions study

What are the implications of classifying an entity as a person?

Is being morally responsible the defining feature of being human?

If moral agency is a necessary feature of personhood, does this mean that infants are not persons? Human nature Individuality and • Do humans have common characteristics that are universality independent of the influence of culture? The nature versus nurture • The view that there is no such thing as human nature debate • How fixed/malleable is human nature?

Is reason a special characteristic that distinguishes humans from machines or other animals? Freedom Freedom and determinism • Is there such a thing as free will? Social conditioning • Are freedom and determinism compatible?

What is the difference between socialization and social conditioning?

Why did existentialists see freedom as the source of existential angst?

Does our freedom depend on the freedom of others?

Being human

Optional themes

Do all works of art arise from the same artistic impulse?

Should art have any religious, moral or political message?

Why should we be concerned with works of art when they might not seem to have utility?

Is art independent of any moral or political purpose?

The presentation of works of art in classical museum contexts The artist and The artist • Is there a difference between an artist and a craftsperson? the artistic The artistic process • Is the notion of “the artist” a Western construct? process (including the impact • The artist as a reflector of existing values or as an agent of of technology) change

Are we all born artists? accountability, conformity and • The artistic process around the world: function, form and censorship) content

Can something be art if no one ever sees it?

How do we define what is beautiful and what is ugly?

To what extent are aesthetic judgements culturally conditioned?

Can we identify works of art outside what a given society

Is art always the product of human activity?

Is there a difference between an artist and a craftsperson?

Is the notion of “the artist” a Western construct?

Aesthetics

What is the relationship between knowledge and certainty?

How important is the continuous development of knowledge for the advancement of humanity?

What role does truth play in constituting knowledge? Philosophy guide 17

How do we assess whether a belief is justified or unjustified?

Theories of justification (e.g. foundationalism and coherentism) Application of Knowledge and power • The relationship between knowledge, control and knowledge Access to knowledge power Knowledge and • Who should control knowledge and how should it be technology disseminated?

Why are certain ways of knowing, such as knowing through meditation or introspection, often dismissed by Western philosophical traditions?

Does technology tend to exacerbate or mitigate against inequalities in access to knowledge?

How do we experience the world around us?

What role does truth play in constituting

What are the necessary and sufficient conditions of

How do we assess whether a belief is justified or

Why are certain ways of knowing, such as knowing

Epistemology

Are moral decisions culturally influenced?

Are there fundamental moral principles that apply in all situations?

Is moral sense natural or cultural? Relative or universal? Subjective or objective?

What is the significance of calling something right or wrong?

Is moral behaviour found only in human beings?

Is ethics more about self-interest or about the

Are some virtues more important than others?

How do people come by their moral values?

Are moral values anything more than individual or

Do moral principles exist? Are they universal or

Is moral sense natural or cultural? Relative or

What is the significance of calling something right or

Ethics

Can we prove the existence of a higher being through reasoning or experience?

What is the nature and scope of religious language?

Is spirituality possible without religion or belief in a higher being?

Could religion be seen as a purely social phenomenon?

Can religious claims be rationally justified?

What role does religious tradition/practice play in determining our view on whether human reason is capable of answering questions about the existence of God?

Can the language of finite beings be used to talk about an infinite being?

Is it possible to understand religious experience without having had a religious experience?

What role does religious tradition/practice play in

Can religious statements ever be shown to be true or

Can the language of finite beings be used to talk

Is it possible to understand religious experience

Philosophy of religion

What differentiates science from pseudo-science or non-science?

Are all elements of the universe, including human action, ultimately determined?

Should scientists be held morally responsible for the uses of their inventions?

Are there some questions science will never be able to answer?

Can theories within a single scientific discipline be unified?

Can the different scientific disciplines be unified into a single overarching theory? Science and the self Cognitive science and the • Is it possible to reduce all life processes to concept of the self biochemical reactions?

Does science require commitment to certain values?

How do social values contribute to or undermine the objectivity of science?

Do scientists have particular moral responsibilities to society? Philosophy guide 23

Does science aim at truth? Scientific realism

Are there some questions science will never

Can the different scientific disciplines be

Is it possible to reduce all life processes to

How independent is science from its social

Philosophy of science

Under which conditions can political obligation arise and what is its extent?

Can justice be an ideal as well as a process?

How are laws justified and are there aspects of human life that laws should not attempt to regulate?

Are human rights inalienable and universal?

What obligations does the state have to the individual and the individual have to the state?

Is there an objective standard for justice?

What is the precise relationship between justice, freedom and equality?

What role does/should equality play in theories of justice?

Is strict equality impossible? Liberty and rights Rights, duties and • Are human rights inalienable and universal? responsibilities

Do non-human animals have rights? Do non-living (including human, things have rights? (e.g. Arne Naess) non-human, legal and natural rights) • What is the relationship between legal rights and other rights such as moral rights?

Are there areas of human life that laws should not attempt to regulate?

What obligations does the state have to the individual

Is justice an idea, an ideal or a process?

Why did Friedrich Hayek describe social justice as “an

What is the precise relationship between justice,

What role does/should equality play in theories of

Do non-human animals have rights? Do non-living

What is the relationship between legal rights and

What rights should legal systems recognize?

Are there areas of human life that laws should not

Political philosophy

How should we live together in a society?

What categories are created by the ways that we organize society?

What are the distinct features of family as a social institution?

Are there traditional social institutions that can now be/have been dispensed with?

How have concepts of race been shaped by racism?

Are the constructs of masculinity and femininity inherently oppressive?

How should we organize society? institutions

Why is family often considered the primary social institution?

In what sense, if any, are institutions agents? Equality and Treatment of minority • Groups marginalized on the basis of race, gender, discrimination and marginalized sexual orientation, language or ethnicity groups in society • Treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, minority (including structural nations, indigenous people violence)

What influence do categories of race and gender have Tolerance on human behaviour?

Is tolerance enough or does it fall short of treating minority groups as equal citizens?

How is racial inequality structured and perpetuated?

How should we understand the relationship between different forms of social oppression?

How social discontent contributes to social change and the transformation of social institutions

Is there an essence to gender? self-understanding

What is the relationship between gender, sex, sexual

Why do some thinkers associate the concepts of yin and yang with male and female?

How does sexism intersect with other forms of social oppression?

Is there a difference between community and society?

Why is family often considered the primary social

In what sense, if any, are institutions agents?

What influence do categories of race and gender have

Is tolerance enough or does it fall short of treating

How should we understand the relationship between

How social discontent contributes to social change

What is the nature of gender and gender categories?

Why do some thinkers associate the concepts of yin

How does sexism intersect with other forms of social

Social philosophy

Prescribed text

Alfred Jules Ayer Language, Truth and Logic

Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex, Volume 1 part 1, Volume 2 part 1 and Volume 2 part 4

René Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy

Friedrich Nietzsche The Genealogy of Morals

Martha C. Nussbaum Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach

José Ortega y Gasset The Revolt of the Masses

Charles Taylor The Ethics of Authenticity

Prescribed philosophical text

HL extension

Is technology a means to an end or an end in itself?

What sort of knowledge can philosophy yield?

Is conceptual analysis the primary methodology of philosophy?

Is the main purpose of philosophy to enable us to evaluate critically our own beliefs and attitudes?

How relevant are the findings of other disciplines to philosophical discussions?

Is there now greater openness to different perspectives and methodologies within philosophy?

Can philosophy inform our understanding of who we are and our place in the world?

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