TAS · TASCSyllabus
Philosophy syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the TAS Philosophysyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.7, Anthropic's latest AI, published by Better Tuition Academy.
Epistemology
Module overview →- Is the foundation of knowledge sensory experience or pure reason?Sources of knowledge: empiricism and rationalism6 min answer →
- What is knowledge, and does the justified true belief account survive the Gettier problem?Defining knowledge: Plato's justified true belief and the Gettier counterexamples6 min answer →
- Can we be certain of anything, or do Cartesian and Humean scepticism show the limits of knowledge?The limits of knowledge: Cartesian doubt and Humean scepticism about induction6 min answer →
Ethics
Module overview →- Are moral claims objectively true, or do they merely express attitudes or cultural conventions?Metaethics: moral realism, relativism and the status of moral claims6 min answer →
- How do consequentialism, deontology and virtue ethics each decide what makes an action right?Comparing the three major normative theories: consequences, duties and character6 min answer →
Free Will and Determinism
Module overview →- If everything is caused by prior events, can we ever act freely or be morally responsible?Free will and determinism: hard determinism, libertarianism and compatibilism6 min answer →
- If our choices are determined, can anyone deserve punishment or be held morally responsible?Implications of free will positions for moral responsibility and punishment6 min answer →
Life, the Universe and Everything
Module overview →- Does the existence and origin of the universe require a first cause or necessary being?The cosmological argument and competing accounts of the origin of the universe6 min answer →
- Does the order and apparent fine-tuning of the universe point to a designer?The teleological argument, the watchmaker analogy and fine-tuning6 min answer →
- Can the existence of a wholly good, all-powerful God be reconciled with the suffering in the world?The problem of evil and responses to it6 min answer →
Logic and Critical Reasoning
Module overview →- What makes an argument good, and how do validity and soundness differ?Analysing arguments: premises, conclusions, validity and soundness6 min answer →
- What are the common informal fallacies, and why do they make reasoning fail?Recognising and explaining informal fallacies in everyday argument6 min answer →
Metaphysics
Module overview →Philosophy of Mind
Module overview →- Are mental states just behaviour, or are they defined by the functional role they play?Behaviourism and functionalism as accounts of the mental6 min answer →
- If mind and body are distinct substances, how can they possibly affect each other?Substance dualism and the problem of mind-body interaction6 min answer →
- Is the mind simply the brain, with mental events nothing more than physical processes?Monism and physicalism: the mind as the brain6 min answer →