§-Philosophy syllabus
TAS · TASC← Philosophy
Philosophy syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the TAS Philosophy syllabus, with a focused answer for each. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions and links to related points.
Epistemology
Module overview →Is the foundation of knowledge sensory experience or pure reason?
Sources of knowledge: empiricism and rationalism
What is knowledge, and does the justified true belief account survive the Gettier problem?
Defining knowledge: Plato's justified true belief and the Gettier counterexamples
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 induction
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 claims
How do consequentialism, deontology and virtue ethics each decide what makes an action right?
Comparing the three major normative theories: consequences, duties and character
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 compatibilism
If our choices are determined, can anyone deserve punishment or be held morally responsible?
Implications of free will positions for moral responsibility and punishment
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 universe
Does the order and apparent fine-tuning of the universe point to a designer?
The teleological argument, the watchmaker analogy and fine-tuning
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 it
Logic and Critical Reasoning
Module overview →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 mental
If mind and body are distinct substances, how can they possibly affect each other?
Substance dualism and the problem of mind-body interaction
Is the mind simply the brain, with mental events nothing more than physical processes?
Monism and physicalism: the mind as the brain