Overview
What is right and wrong? Does God exist? What is the mind? A-level Philosophy will challenge you to think deeply about some of life's most profound questions, as you investigate and debate them. You'll learn how to be open-minded, think independently and weigh up evidence on both sides of an argument.
Through the exploration of key ideas that have challenged philosophers for centuries, this AQA A-level Philosophy course will introduce you to key ideas from some of the greatest minds to have contributed to Western thinking.
What you'll learn
Epistemology is the study of knowledge itself and is one of the key fields of philosophy. Through set texts by authors such as Descartes and Locke, in this unit, you’ll explore this concept in-depth, focusing on perception as a source of knowledge and ‘truth’, direct and indirect realism, innatism and more.
Through set texts such as ‘The Language of Morals’ by RM Hare and ‘Utilitarianism’ by JS Mill, in unit two of A-level Philosophy, you’ll take a deep dive into moral philosophy. You’ll begin by studying normative ethical theories and utilitarianism, questioning whether there is indeed an objective way to determine right and wrong.
Moving on, you’ll examine Kantian deontological ethics, a normative moral theory which bases its judgements on the notion of moral duty. Moving on, you’ll study applied ethics and meta-ethics, looking at various real-life situations such as lying and eating meat from animals.
Moving on, you’ll take a look at the concept and nature of ‘God’, questing what is meant by the concept of an omniscient and omnipotent creator and how compatible this is with the concept of free will. You’ll examine ontological and teleological arguments for the existence of God, considering the thoughts of philosophers such as Normal Malcolm and St Anselm.
Next, you’ll investigate the problem of evil and whether the characteristics attributed to God can reasonably be aligned with its existence. Finally, you’ll study religious language, including the distinction between cognitivism and non-cognitivism.
In the final unit of this Philosophy AQA course, you’ll investigate what philosophers mean when they discuss the ‘mind’. You’ll study dualist theories proposed by philosophers such as Descartes, along with criticisms for these arguments such as the conceptual interaction problem.
Moving on, you’ll take a look at physicalist theories, including ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ behaviourism concepts proposed by philosophers such as Carl Hempel. Finally, you’ll examine functionalism, the concept that all mental states can be characterised in terms of functional roles and the criticisms of this theory from philosophers such as Ned Block and the ‘China thought experiment’.
Extra info
Awarding Body
AQA qualifications are internationally recognised and taught in 30 countries around the world, highly valued by employers and universities and enable young people to progress to the next stage of their lives. AQA qualifications suit a range of abilities and include GCSE courses, IGCSE courses and A-level courses.
Recognised through UCAS
This course carries UCAS points. This means that it can be used to gain direct access to University courses and other Higher Education, through the UCAS system.
Course Outcome
Upon successful completion of this home learning course, you will receive the qualification: A-level Philosophy, issued by AQA. Your certificate is identical to that issued to students at any other school, college or university.
This syllabus (7172) has been chosen specifically because it is best suited to distance learning.
How is this course assessed or examined?
You can enrol now for A-level Philosophy examinations for Summer 2024.
You will be required to complete the two written exams:
- Paper 1: 3 hours, 50% of A-level, 100 marks.
- Paper 2: 3 hours, 50% of A-level, 100 marks.
Entry requirements
It's recommended that you're educated to GCSE standard or equivalent for the best chance at success. This AQA A-level Philosophy syllabus is a difficulty level three: the equivalent difficulty of an A-level or BTEC, usually suitable for most learners of all ages.
