Scotch College

VCE: Philosophy

Rationale 

The study of philosophy will engage students with the fundamental philosophical problems in three important areas of philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology and ethics.  The emphasis of the course is on ‘doing philosophy’ a well as exploring and probing philosophical viewpoints and arguments from contemporary and historical examples.  Students will also stimulate and enhance their thinking skills as they learn how to properly articulate and structure arguments in the context of philosophy.  The future career applications of philosophy encompass a range of areas from law to science to the humanities.

Structure

Unit 1:  Existence, Knowledge & Reasoning

What is the nature of reality?  How do we learn about the world around us?  Unit 1 aims to introduce students to the basic theories and ideas of metaphysics (the philosophy of existence and reality) and epistemology (philosophy of knowledge).  Students will learn how to create philosophical arguments and debate different viewpoints.  The subject areas are:

•  Metaphysics:  looking at the mind and body, intelligence, the nature of reality, thought and the soul
•  Free will and determinism:  looking at free will and moral responsibility
•  Time:  looking at the nature of time and the possibility of time travel
•  Epistemology:  looking at knowledge, truth, sensory perception and the justification of belief
•  Knowledge, scepticism and the external world:  how can we be sure our perceptions are correct?
•  Introduction to logic and reasoning:  how to construct philosophical arguments

Unit 2:  Ethics & Philosophical Investigation

What is right and wrong?  What is the ‘good life’?  Students will explore theories of morality and assess ethical situations.  There is significant emphasis in this unit on ‘practical ethics’, that is, an exploration of ethics in an active and applicable way.  To do this, personal ethical dilemmas, issues in the media and contemporary ethical debates in society will all be used to highlight the role of morality in our lives.  The subject areas are:

•  Meta-ethics:  looks at the nature of morality and its role in our lives, religion, belief, nature and self-interest
•  Normative ethics:  looks at ethical decision making, virtue ethics, utilitarianism and the role of emotion in moral issues
•  Applied ethics: the application of moral theory to practical contemporary ethical issues
•  One of the following sub-topics in detail:
• o Aesthetics and the philosophy of art
• o Other traditions of thought (Eastern philosophy)
• o The philosophy of religion
• o Political philosophy 
•  Techniques of reasoning:  building upon the foundation of Unit 1 methods of philosophic inquiry

Assessment

Unit 1 & 2: Examination

Essays 

Tests 

Research tasks