Philosophy

IB Philosophy gives you the chance to think about the abstract questions that we sometimes overlook – how do I know I’m the same person I was when I was in Year 7? Am I free? Do I have a purpose in the world? Can I make my own choices? It’s interesting to hear what philosophers say about this and see how far we agree with them.

The distinguishing feature of IB philosophy is the emphasis on ‘doing philosophy’ rather than just learning about it. The course is focused on stimulating your intellectual curiosity and encouraging you to examine both your own views and those of others.

You are expected to investigate and explore the ideas for themselves. You will learn to develop your own philosophical voice and to think for yourself. You will learn to scrutinise texts and arguments in order to analyse and evaluate them. You will also learn to take your philosophical skills and apply them to real life situations.

Philosophy takes a structured and questioning approach to some of the deepest and fundamental areas of life, asking challenging questions such as: What is it to be human? Do we have free will? What do we mean when we say something is right or wrong?

Philosophy develops highly transferable skills such as the ability to formulate arguments clearly, to make reasoned judgments and to evaluate highly complex and multifaceted issues. Philosophy leads to all sorts of careers in the arts, law, journalism, politics, languages. It helps with people-centred careers and medical ethical decisions. But most of all it teaches you to think and question, and argue logically and coherently about yourself and the world.

Whenever important laws are drawn up in this country philosophers are asked to help decide them. Philosophers aren’t just academics; they look at real moral, political and cultural issues. Philosophy is not about flying round in circles asking useless questions about things that cannot be answered.