Exploring philosophy
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain what is meant by philosophy and describe how philosophers seek to understand.
Key learning points
- Philosophy is the fundamental study of nature, reality and existence.
- Philosophers are seeking knowledge, truth and meaning.
- Philosophy translates to 'love of wisdom'.
- They may use tools such as logic to help them.
- Using logic means creating arguments which develop in stages and lead to a valid conclusion.
Keywords
Argument - a set of reasons given to support a conclusion
Logic - a tool used in philosophy which involves thinking clearly and making valid arguments
Philosophy - the study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, and values
Premise - a statement that supports an argument
Ultimate question - a deep and important question about life or existence that doesn’t have a straightforward answer
Common misconception
Philosophy is just about saying what you think.
Philosophy does involve thinking hard, but this means critically examining your ideas.
Teacher tip
Philosophy is one of the oldest and most respected academic subjects and has existed for at least 2,500 years.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.What is it called when reasons are given to support an idea?
Q2.Why do people usually give reasons when they are arguing?
Q3.Which of these is an example of someone using reasons in their everyday life?
Q4.Put the following steps for making an argument in the correct order.
Q5.When someone says 'that argument does not work', they mean that the don't connect.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match each key term to its meaning.
a deep question about existence
a tool for clear thinking
a set of reasons supporting a conclusion
Q2.What is a syllogism?
Q3.What is a premise?
Q4.Put the components of the argument below in the order they must logically follow.
Q5.What is a valid argument?
Q6.Match the following types of argument to the correct examples.
All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore Socrates is mortal.
All cats are animals. My pet is a cat. Therefore my pet is an animal.
All dogs can fly. Rex is a dog. Therefore Rex can fly.
To help you plan your 7 religious education lesson on: Exploring philosophy, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 religious education lesson on: Exploring philosophy, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 religious education lessons from the Blik: how do I interpret the world around me? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.