Scotch College

History Year 10 — 2012

Philosophy [Semester Unit]

Rationale

This course has been designed to introduce students to the study of Philosophy. The course encourages the direct engagement of students with different ideas and explores their implications for societies, our perceptions of the world and the way we live our lives.

Student Outcomes

• encourage the active engagement with, manipulation of, debate on and invention of different ideas
• improve and hone research and presentation and communication skills
• develop students’ clarity of written language
• stimulate effective argument and clear articulation of a point of view
• clarify and extend students’ conceptual knowledge in relation to real examples and implications

Course Content

A brief introduction to the study and value of Philosophy.

Isms and Ologies; The Impact of Ideas: The emphasis of this unit is to explore how political theories, ides of the social and ideologies directly influence and affect our lives. The unit will begin by researching historical examples of different political ideologies and how they have affected people in the past. The importance of ideology and the role of modern ideology in Australia will also be examined.

Beauty and Meaning; The Philosophy of Art: Though the unit is an introduction to the philosophy of art, this unit encompasses a wide‐range of sub‐topics concerning the value of beauty, advertising, fashion and the need to look good as a reflection of wider ideas of what is beautiful (and perhaps therefore considered good) and the difference between superficiality and deeper meaning. Students will also begin investigation into the value of art, the subjective experience of art, how art, architecture and sculpture reflect ideas of historical societies and basic symbolic analysis.

A Guide to Happiness; Topics in Philosophy: Using Alain de Botton’s popular book ‘The Consolations of Philosophy’, students will explore the ides and implications of these ideas of major philosophers through the Western tradition of philosophy. The aim for this unit is to focus on philosophy as a discipline that can counsel or consol us through life and exploring the value of philosophy as a tool for increasing happiness. There are six major philosophers to be covered in this unit, each with specific assessment outcomes though creativity, effective argumentation and close reading of different philosophic texts are key overarching aims of this unit.

The Deep Stuff; The Meaning of Life: The aim of this unit is to allow students to construct their own personal philosophies that answer some of the most interesting and deep questions of existence like ‘why is there something rather than nothing?’ and ‘what is the purpose of life’. The emphasis on this unit is on the clear articulation of a point of view and the exploration of a broad range of different philosophical answers to the ultimate questions of existence.

Assessment

Examination

Participation in Class Discussions

Essays

Writing Tasks

Research Tasks

Class Tests