A student-friendly introduction to AS Philosophy, structured around the AQA AS Philosophy specification. From the author team behind the successful Philosophy in Focus series, this book covers 7 popular AS themes in sufficient depth to achieve a top grade. It combines academic rigour with engaging activities. The authors have used their wealth of experience in teaching philosophy to devise a set of helpful features that deepen understanding and exercise the philosophical mind including: - Activities: practical tasks to help users understand the key philosophical ideas - 'Experimenting with ideas': activities that explore the concepts and helps students identify their own philosophical viewpoints - 'Criticism': highlights and evaluates some of the weaknesses in the arguments advanced by philosophers - 'More difficult': guides students carefully through particularly daunting arguments - Quotations are included from the key texts by the key philosophers - 'Key point summaries': help students to consolidate knowledge Topics covered: 1 Why should I be moral? 2 The idea of God 3 Persons 4 Reason and experience 5 The debate over free will and determinism 6 God and the world 7 Knowledge of the external world
Introduction 1 Why should I be moral? Introduction
Morality as a social construct Morality as constitutive of
self-interest Morality as overcoming self-interest Conclusion:
the three subsidiary questions 2 The idea of God Introduction
The attributes of God A brief diversion into philosophical proofs
The ontological argument Origins: the idea of God is innate
Origins: the idea of God is a human construction 3 Persons
Introduction What are the characteristics of personhood? What
is a person? Personal identity 4 Reason and experience Mind
as a blank slate or tabula rasa Innate knowledge Conceptual
schemes 5 The debate over free will and determinism Introduction
What is determinism? What is free will? What are the
implications of determinism? Conclusion 6 God and the world
Introduction The Design Argument The problem of evil The
religious point of view Conclusion 7 Knowledge of the external world
Introduction Realism Idealism Phenomenalism
Conclusion Glossary Notes Selected bibliography Index
- A student-friendly introduction to AS Philosophy, structured around the AQA AS Philosophy specification - From the author team behind the successful Philosophy in Focus series, this book covers 7 popular AS themes
