A2 Philosophy

Political Philosophy:

Philosophical questions concerning how human well-being can be advanced or hindered by the organisation of societies and political structures. Political ideologies, their approaches to freedom, law and authority and the interconnectedness of these concepts provide the basis for philosophical analysis.

• POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES:
  Theories of the relationship between the state, society and the individual
  Key Concepts: Socialism, Liberalism, Conservatism, Anarchy, State, Society, Power, Authority, Coercion, Obligation, Consent, Autonomy, Freedom, Rights, Law, justice, Punishment, Welfare, The Common Good.
• FREEDOM:
  Concepts of freedom and rights.
  Key Concepts: Negative Freedom, Positive Freedom, The Notion of Rights.
• LAW:
  Issues concerning the principles underpinning law.
  Key Concepts: Law, Justice, Morality, Retribution, Deterrence, Protection, Rehabilitation, Reform.
• AUTHORITY:
  The nature, basis and forms of authority: the relationship between authority, power and legitimacy.
  Key Concepts: Authority, Power, Legitimacy, Contract.
• THE STATE:
  What is the basis and purpose of the state?
  How should the state be constituted in order that its aims may be met?
  

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Texts:

You will be required to demonstrate critical awareness of the content, structure and use of argument in 'On Liberty' in part a) of the examination question. In addition, you will be expected to provide criticisms of, and/or counter-arguments to, the reasoning and/or conclusions in the extract.

Mill: On Liberty - Themes and key concepts.

• The kind of liberty with which Mill is concerned.
• Liberty and the state.
• The Power of the state.
• Development of democracy and inherent dangers.
• The role of civil convention and the pressure of public opinion; tyranny of the majority.
• The 'Harm Principle', negative freedom.
• The arguments in support of freedom of thought and expression, and freedom of action. Exceptions and their justification.
• The importance of truth, the importance of variety.
• The development of the individual.
• Whether liberty is intrinsically or instrumentally valuable.
• The applications of Mill's Principles.

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Synoptic Study:

In order to ensure that all the knowledge, understanding and evaluative skills acquired in all units of the AS and A Level course are integrated, and to ensure that you are aware of the relationship between different aspects of the course, you must complete an extended essay which either assesses the relative contributions of two philosophers to a major debate, or assesses the impact of one philosopher on the development of ideas within a philosophical theme. This 'synoptic' element will account for 20% of the total A Level assessment. The essay should be researched in advance (individually and/or in groups) but the final version will be produced by you individually, in supervised sessions totalling up to four hours. The essays will be marked by an AQA Examiner.

Details of the title for 2004 will be shown here.