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Topic title: Philosophical Questioning: How do we know anything?

Year group: 9

When taught: June-July

What are we learning?

  • In this module we will look at different philosophers (such as Plato and Descartes) and their theories on big questions such as: What is real? Where does our knowledge come from? Can we trust our senses?
  • We will evaluate their viewpoints and use them to offer our own views on these questions.
  • We will use key terminology in our responses such as: subjective, objective, empirical.

Why is this important to know? 

  • This module will bring together students learning over the key stage and enable them to apply their skills of reason and critical analysis to some of life’s biggest philosophical questions.

Where does this link into our past and future learning? 

  • This module will allow students to draw on knowledge from all their previous learning to analyse some of life’s biggest philosophical questions.
  • This module is at the end of the key stage as it requires high levels of analysis, which students will have developed over the course of their studies in year 7, 8 and 9.

How will we be assessed on this topic?

  • Ongoing assessment of knowledge and understanding of key terms through Satchel One quizzes/homework/retrieval tasks/ longer written tasks in lessons.

What makes a strong piece of work in this topic?  What are teachers hoping to see? 

In PBE longer answers we use codes to identify what makes a good answer. These include:

  • Use of key terms (KT)
  • Knowledge of key terms (K)
  • Use of sources of authority (SOA) to help explain different views. For example: quotes from the Bible, religious figures such as Aquinas, Fletcher.
  • Explanation of points in detail (EXPN)
  • Giving different views towards the topic studied (DV)
  • An understanding of how religious beliefs motivate people to act (I)
  • Evaluation of different views looked at (EV) using critical sentence starters e.g. ‘It could be argued….’, ‘on the other hand….’
  • Linking points back to the specific question asked (L)
  • In evaluation questions, concluding/reaching a judgement is important (RJ)

What key words are there in this topic?

Quizlet : Click here

What can I try if I want to stretch and challenge myself on this topic?

  • Use key terms in your written work but also when you are contributing to class discussions.
  • Use the Quizlet cards to continually remind yourself of key terms. Create your own flashcards for these to use for revision. Create your own key quotes flash cards.
  • Undertake some further research/reading on the philosophers and their ideas (use the links below/internet/or book from P2)
  • Read some Philosophical articles – Philosophy Now magazines are available in P2 – please ask your teacher.
  • Discuss the issues we have looked at in lessons with your family members.
  • Attend Philosophy Club to engage in further debate with students from a different year group.

What wider reading can be done on this topic?

Click here to return to the Curriculum page.