What is philosophy?

Philosophy translates to ‘the love of knowledge’. Philosophy challenges our ways of thinking and what is accepted as true knowledge. This is achieved by exploring what we ‘know’ as a response to problems and puzzles about reality, knowledge, value and meaning.

The aim is to improve our understanding of: the world, ourselves, our experiences and other people, by refining how we think and construct arguments about those things.

Areas of study:

Arguments in action: A unit which explores how to construct arguments and identify issues in logic.

Moral Philosophy:  A unit which explores the question ‘What is a moral action?’ focusing on the philosophy of utilitarianism and deontology.

Knowledge and doubt: A unit which investigate what knowledge is and how we can guarantee we have knowledge at all. Within this we study the philosophy of Rene Descartes and David Hume.

Links to the wider world of work: A qualification in Philosophy gives the opportunity to gain a valuable skill set that links to further study and careers.  The subject links too many undergraduate and college courses including; Law, medicine, politics, journalism, work within human rights and business.  Many graduate schemes look favourably on those who have studied philosophy as ethics in business is a current national agenda.   

Key skills developed within the course:

• Critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Communication (written and verbal)
• Argumentation (written and verbal)
• Understanding ethics