Social Studies Curriculum

History/Social Sciences Electives

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Adopted January 1999

Philosophy

Course Description:

Philosophy is the study of systematic inquiry into basic questions, thoughts, and beliefs regarding the human condition. Students will use logic and speculative reasoning to explore for answers and express their understanding of their thoughts and beliefs.

In Philosophy the following questions will be examined:

• Who are the great philosophers and what were their beliefs?
• How does one's philosophy shape their view of the world around them?
• What is the inherent nature of humankind and knowledge?
• What is the relationship between philosophy, religion, and the supernatural?
• What are your beliefs about life and living?
• How is philosophy passed down through time?
• What is ideal behavior?
• How does Eastern philosophy differ from Western philosophy?

The course title and description have been approved by the Anchorage School Board. This course outline is meant to serve as an example of one possibility for organizing this class. It does not represent the only way the course may be organized. Each course outline has been written by a different teacher so there will be differences in the approach used from one course to another.

Course Goals:

Through this course students will:

• Examine the five fields of philosophy and the basic question posed by each.
• Examine the major schools of philosophical thought.
• Be provided with the opportunity to think critically and rationally about major philosophical questions.
• Examine the differences among science, religion and philosophy.
• Be afforded the opportunity to discuss current moral and ethical questions using basic philosophical concepts.
• Examine the teachings of great Western and Eastern philosophers.

Course Objectives:

The student will:

• Examine the five fields of philosophy and the basic questions posed by each. The student will discuss and evaluate the following as fields of philosophy: reality, knowledge, God/theology, ethics, and society.
• Examine the major schools of philosophical thought. The student will discuss and think critically about the following as major schools of philosophical thought: idealism, realism, rationalism, pragmatism, and existentialism.
• Be provided with the opportunity to think critically and rationally about major philosophical questions. The student will be able to define and apply to problems the idea of a “philosophical question”. The student will be able to discuss and think critically about the following philosophical questions: existence; the nature of being human; reality; good and evil; beauty; freedom and choice; and the supernatural.
• Examine the differences among science, religion and philosophy. The student will examine and think critically about differences among philosophy, religion and science as they apply to the following: reason, belief, the supernatural, experimentation and testing, and philosophical questions.
• Be afforded the opportunity to discuss current moral and ethical questions using basic philosophical concepts. The student will understand and be able to distinguish the differences among the concepts of immoral, unethical, and criminal behavior as applied to human actions. The student will, through general class discussion, be afforded the opportunity to discuss rationally and critically such current questions as: the treatment of animals; war; the distribution of wealth; and other issues as can be discussed rationally and philosophically.
• Examine the teachings of great Western and Eastern philosophers. Students will be afforded the opportunity to think rationally about and discuss critically the thoughts of the great Eastern and Western philosophers including (but not limited to): Plato, Aristotle, Diogenes, Hegel, Kant, James, Kierkegaard, Buddha, Confucius, Lao-Tse, Camus, and Sartre.

Course Outline:

1. Introduction:
   1. What is philosophy? What is a philosophical question?
   2. Fields of philosophy:
      1. Reality
      2. Knowledge
      3. God/Theology
      4. Ethics
      5. Society
   3. Differences among science, religion and philosophy:
      1. The role of reason, belief, the supernatural, experimentation and testing and philosophical questions among the three.
   4. Socrates: The wisest man? What is wisdom?
2. Idealism: The World of Ideas
   1. The philosophical dialogue
      1. Plato: The Republic: A Philosopher-King
   2. Ethics and Aesthetics of idealism
   3. Kant: Critique of Pure Reason and Critique of Practical Reason
      1. The categorical imperative
   4. In Western religious thought: St. Augustine
   5. Hegel: The dialectic
3. Realism: The Material World
   1. Logic and scientific analysis
      1. Aristotle: “The Philosopher”
         1. The Ethics
   2. Ethics and aesthetics of realism
   3. In Western religious thought: St. Thomas Aquinas
4. Rationalism: The Great Skeptics
   1. Grew out of the Enlightenment and scientific advancement
   2. The mind and the senses:
      1. Descartes: Method
   3. Spinoza and Liebnitz
5. Pragmatism: Truth Happens to be an Idea
   1. An American philosophy of the late 19th/ early 20th century
      1. Charles Peirce: “How to Make Ideas Clear”
      2. William James: Pragmatism
   2. What makes ideas real?
   3. The ethics and aesthetics of pragmatism
6. Existentialism: Humans, Time and The Moment
   1. Existentialism grew as a reaction to the industrialism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
   2. Christian existentialists: Soren Kierkegaard
   3. Atheist existentialists: Albert Camus and Jean Paul Sartre
7. Eastern Philosophies: The Search for Inner Peace
   1. Buddha: “The one who awakened”/ the turning of the wheel
   2. Confucius: “See the world and knowledge grows”
   3. Taoism (Lao-Tse): Simplicity and selflessness.
8. Philosophical Questions:
   Note: Philosophical questions may be “plugged in” at any point in the course. They include (but are not limited to) questions about the basic nature of: existence; reality; good and evil; freedom and choice; beauty; and the supernatural.

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