Sixth Form Course Guide 2013-14 - The Purbeck School

PRE
Philosophy and Ethics is a challenging and popular ‘A’ Level nationally and is highly valued in a number of university
courses including medicine and Law as well as being desirable to employers. It gives you the opportunity
to ‘think’ and ‘question’ and ‘analyse’. In this course you will study some of the fundamental questions
which people have always asked about life, such as, ‘Why are we here?’, ‘What happens when we die?’
‘If our life is determined before we are born, should we be held responsible for our bad actions?’ You
will be expected to analyse and evaluate some of the greatest
philosophical arguments that have been debated and contested over
thousands of years.
Can you out think the greatest thinkers?
Summary of course content; PRE is split into two sections, Philosophy and Ethics.
AS PRE Unit 1: Philosophy-This unit is divided into and critically analyses three
areas. 1) Greek Philosophy. This looks at the thinking of Plato and Aristotle and
how these have influenced Judaism and Christianity. 2) The classical arguments for the existence of God. The
Ontological, Cosmological, Teleological and Moral argument. 3) Challenges to the existence of God - the problem of
evil and the scientific challenges to religion.
AS PRE Unit 2: Ethics- This unit is divided into two areas:1) Ethical theories (Kant, Utilitarianism, Christian Ethics and
Natural Law). 2) Applied ethics (abortion, euthanasia, fertility treatment, war and genetic
engineering.)
A2 PRE- Unit 3: Philosophy-This unit is divided into four main areas and the criticisms to these areas.
1) Life after death 2) Revelation 3) Religious Language 4) Nature of God.
A2 PRE- Unit 4: Ethics Once again the course can be structured into two areas: ethical theories
(virtue ethics, meta-ethics, conscience free will and determinism) and applied ethics (environmental
ethics, business ethics and sex ethics.)
How will I be assessed? You will sit two papers in June of Year 12 and two in June of Year 13. There will be one paper
for ethics and one paper for philosophy each year. The papers all last 90 minutes and contribute 25% of your overall
mark at A2. There is no coursework.
Entry requirements: It is not compulsory that you have studied full-course GCSE PRE. However, ideally you would
need a B grade in English due to the extended writing skills you will need at this level.
Where the course leads: According to AGCAS - the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Service, RS/Theology
graduates go into a wide range of careers. However they, and employers, feel that it particularly
prepares students for the following careers: Financial services legal sector (Law), medicine, police
politics, consultancy, journalism, media sector, education sector, publishing, social care,
voluntary sector, social and pastoral care, community work, nursing, cultural studies,
philosophy, business, animal and environmental studies and the army. And that’s not all…….. These skills will
benefit you in any area that involves working with others, showing initiative, critically
analysing and assessing, or thinking for yourself…that’s just about anything.
For further advice contact: Miss Wetherall and Miss Perkins
“The ultimate test of a moral
society is the kind of world
that it leaves to its children.”
“A God who let us prove his
existence would be an idol”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-
1945)