Course Profile - Curriculum Services Canada

Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment
For students to be engaged in what they are learning they must see a relevance to their lives and see
themselves represented in the material presented. In the diverse classrooms of today, it is crucial that
every effort be made to draw on readings, visual sources, and other learning aids that reflect a balance in
gender, as well as religion, race, and regions of the world. Where possible, students should explore
answers to the big questions of philosophy by examining the works of women as well as men,
philosophies from the east and the west, and philosophies from diverse religious vantage points. As well,
interdisciplinary considerations must be made to meet the expectations and to ensure optimal interest for
students. Students should be encouraged to explore many of the questions raised through a variety of
mediums including contemporary music, film, literature, and art.
Addressing Course Expectations
With just twenty-two specific expectations, all of which are general in nature, each unit addresses the
majority of expectations as they relate to the pertinent question. A few of the specific expectations relate
to students “doing” philosophy and are therefore inherent in the activities students complete. These
expectations are explicitly addressed in Unit 1, as students learn about the nature of philosophy and the
skills needed to be an effective philosopher. In the remaining units, the application of these skills is
implicit in the evaluation activities but is not directly taught. Instead, these expectations are reflected in
rubrics, which are used to assess and evaluate students’ ability to respond philosophically to fundamental
questions. The expectations explicitly addressed in Unit 1 and implicitly applied throughout the course
are:
• identify examples of fallacies in reasoning and writings from other subjects (OS1.03);
• correctly use the terminology of philosophical argumentation (IS1.01);
• illustrate common fallacies in reasoning (IS1.04).
Unit Overviews
Unit 1: What is a Person: An Introduction to the Study of Philosophy
Unit Description
Philosophy has been called wisdom without answers. Its traditional role has been to shine the light of
analysis on questions that mathematics and science cannot address, questions that centre on the nature of
personhood and the relationship of that person with the world. That role is no less important today.
Secondary school students reflect on these profound questions daily and need a vehicle for their
intellectual journey. The course is designed to give their contemplations a focus, a vocabulary, and a
context.
This unit addresses the central question of the course, What is a Person? Because the concept of
personhood deals with our nature and how we interact with the world, this unit necessarily provides
direct links to the other big questions of the course and thus serves as an introduction to the remainder of
the course content. The inevitable overlapping of content complements and reinforces student
understanding and provides a clear awareness of the interconnectedness of all the subject disciplines in
his/her curriculum. In this way, the teacher and student are able to make informed choices when selecting
remaining units of the course, planning projects, and selecting areas of interest for further study.
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• Philosophy: The Big Questions - Open