Philosophy Unit 1
Introduction to philosophical inquiry
5-6 hours per week
Philosophy: f. Gk philo (love) and sophia (wisdom)
To philosophise is to wonder about life, about right and wrong, love and loneliness, war and death, about freedom, truth, beauty, time ... and a thousand other things.
To philosophise is to explore life. It means breaking free to ask questions. It means resisting easy answers. To philosophise is to seek in oneself the courage to ask painful questions.
Philosophy is for those who still have the capacity for wonder.
VCE Philosophy offers challenging courses for students of the humanities and science/mathematics, as well as those interested in such basic questions of our existence as reality, truth, consciousness, personal identity, knowledge and ethics.
Unit 1 engages students in philosophical inquiry through active, guided investigation and discussion of two key areas of philosophy: metaphysics and epistemology.
- Metaphysics: What is the nature of reality? What exists? What is the relationship between mind/self/body? Do we have free will?
- Epistemology: What things can be known? What is the relationship between knowledge and belief?
The emphasis in the exploration of these two fields is philosophical inquiry, i.e. doing philosophy not just learning about philosophy. The Unit also incorporates work on logic, reasoning and argument.
NB This is an online course; students will require regular access to the Internet. It is vital that an accurate frequently checked email address is clearly shown on the student’s enrolment application.
Philosophy Unit 2
Ethics and philosophical investigation
5-6 hours per week
Please see the Unit 1 Introduction.
Unit 2 engages students in philosophical inquiry through active, guided investigation and discussion of ethics and the philosophy of religion.
- Ethics addresses such questions as: What is it for something to be good? Why should I act morally? Are there any right answers in morality? How are moral judgements made?
- The philosophy of religion involves a discussion of arguments over the nature and existence of God, the problem of evil, miracles, religious language and the relationship between religion and other value-systems such as science and ethics.
Both topics involve exploring a range of philosophical questions and formulating philosophical positions in relation to practical issues. The examination of examples of philosophical thought, both contemporary and historical, is also undertaken. The emphasis in exploration of these three fields is philosophical inquiry, i.e. doing philosophy not just learning about philosophy. Students research and prepare a major presentation on both topics.
The Unit also incorporates work on techniques of reasoning.
Many students have successfully completed Unit 2 without studying Unit 1 Philosophy but clearly Unit 1 provides a valuable foundation for Unit 2.
NB This is an online course; students will require regular access to the Internet. It is vital that an accurate frequently checked email address is clearly shown on the student’s enrolment application.
It is preferable that students study Unit 1 Philosophy before Unit 2. Unit 1 Philosophy is available in second semester.
