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Edexcel A2 Religious Studies - Unit 4: Implications - Donovan/Ayer/Westphal 17th June

The exam is getting closer and closer so I thought I'd make a thread where everyone who is sitting the exam (or has knowledge about the topic) could discuss ideas and help each other out. :beard:

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****'s real and I just begun, so many ladies wanna share my tounge. Uh.
I'm doing this exam too and I'll be honest, it's currently scaring the bejeebus out of me. Which article do you think /want it to be?
I'm doing this exam too do u have any idea which passage is gonna come up?
Reply 4
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meeeeee7
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I'm dreading this exam. My school thinks Ayer will come up but tbh it could be any of them.


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Original post by Gizem.Cicek
I'm doing this exam too do u have any idea which passage is gonna come up?


It's severely difficult to predict the article, never mind the passage. It could genuinely be any passage from any one of them, which makes it a heck lot more difficult.. :[
Reply 6
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mp001
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How is everyone revising?
Original post by mp001
How is everyone revising?

not very well:P
Reply 8
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meeeeee7
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Not sure how best to revise for this exam :s


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Reply 9
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Bobbs
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Any ideas how likely it is that Westphal will come up?
I haven't even written the essay for him yet and I don't know whether I should if there is a high chance of Donovan or Ayer coming up... :frown:
I'm totally screwed for this exam!

The only article in confident about is Ayer! Kinda know Westphal and if Donovan comes up I'll walk out

Any revision tips/notes someone can give me?


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Saw this post and thought I could perhaps share some revision tips with those in needs. It is a truly horrible exam and I think we all need to help each other through this dreadful time. So here's my advice, don't know if it will help but felt like sharing.
1. Know each scholars ideas - you should be able to quickly summarise each of these scholars' ideas. If you don't know what the scholar thinks, then how can you expect to write about them?
- For Westphal, know Kant, Schleiermacher, Hegel, Hume, Marx and Nietzsche
- For Donovan, know Owen, Russell, Buber and Baille/Farmer briefly
- For Ayer, just know Ayer haha
2. For AO2, know some general implications or S/W that can be used in a panic.
3. Check out Wellington College intranet because the RS resources for A Level (both Unit 3 Ethics and Philosophy and Unit 4) are amazingly helpful with summaries etc
4. When answering AO1, focus on the passage given to you. You are not trying to include every single thing in the essay, particularly in the case of Westphal and Donovan, which are very long.
5. Use your own words. When given a passage, it might seem tempting to use the wording in the passage but the less you rely on the passage, the more you'll reach the higher AOs
6. Relax. I know this exam can seem ridiculous and there is so much to learn. Try your best to get your Unit 3 marks higher if you are really worried. Ultimately, Unit 4 wants to see a good understanding of the essays with the ability to focus on the specific passage given. Break down the essays into manageable chunks as it might make revision seem less overwhelming.

All the best! :smile:
Original post by lavidastudent
Saw this post and thought I could perhaps share some revision tips with those in needs. It is a truly horrible exam and I think we all need to help each other through this dreadful time. So here's my advice, don't know if it will help but felt like sharing.
1. Know each scholars ideas - you should be able to quickly summarise each of these scholars' ideas. If you don't know what the scholar thinks, then how can you expect to write about them?
- For Westphal, know Kant, Schleiermacher, Hegel, Hume, Marx and Nietzsche
- For Donovan, know Owen, Russell, Buber and Baille/Farmer briefly
- For Ayer, just know Ayer haha
2. For AO2, know some general implications or S/W that can be used in a panic.
3. Check out Wellington College intranet because the RS resources for A Level (both Unit 3 Ethics and Philosophy and Unit 4) are amazingly helpful with summaries etc
4. When answering AO1, focus on the passage given to you. You are not trying to include every single thing in the essay, particularly in the case of Westphal and Donovan, which are very long.
5. Use your own words. When given a passage, it might seem tempting to use the wording in the passage but the less you rely on the passage, the more you'll reach the higher AOs
6. Relax. I know this exam can seem ridiculous and there is so much to learn. Try your best to get your Unit 3 marks higher if you are really worried. Ultimately, Unit 4 wants to see a good understanding of the essays with the ability to focus on the specific passage given. Break down the essays into manageable chunks as it might make revision seem less overwhelming.

All the best! :smile:


Can you explain Donovan to me please ahaha?


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Original post by IAmEchelon
Can you explain Donovan to me please ahaha?


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I'll give it a go...Donovan's article is entitled 'Can we know God by experience?' as you probably know and this is the essential question of Donovan's article. Donovan firstly defines intuition as "a direct, convincing way of knowing, which needs no further argument" and then begins to ask whether we can use this intuition as a reliable way of knowing God. He then proceeds to give an extremely balanced argument about the reliability of intuition. Owen and Buber believe that intuition is very important, even more important than facts or intellect. Whilst knowledge is still important, intuition and experience are more useful to grasp our material world and understand God. The other side argues about certainty and shows how unreliable intuition can be (Russell). We might have this feeling of certainty which we believe is intuition, but how do we know if this is right and how can we check it? Donovan also gives the example of two doctors: both are equally trained yet one is a man and one is a woman who has experienced pregnancy. This example is used to demonstrate how knowledge is needed to inform experience e.g. the female doctor must know the concept of pregnancy in order to understand her experience of pregnancy. Yet it also shows how experience can extend our knowledge in the case of the female doctor. Donovan's conclusion is simple: although intuition may be useful as a way of confirming personal belief or conviction, it cannot be used as a claim to knowledge.

This is how I would personally summarise Donovan...hope this helps!
Original post by lavidastudent
I'll give it a go...Donovan's article is entitled 'Can we know God by experience?' as you probably know and this is the essential question of Donovan's article. Donovan firstly defines intuition as "a direct, convincing way of knowing, which needs no further argument" and then begins to ask whether we can use this intuition as a reliable way of knowing God. He then proceeds to give an extremely balanced argument about the reliability of intuition. Owen and Buber believe that intuition is very important, even more important than facts or intellect. Whilst knowledge is still important, intuition and experience are more useful to grasp our material world and understand God. The other side argues about certainty and shows how unreliable intuition can be (Russell). We might have this feeling of certainty which we believe is intuition, but how do we know if this is right and how can we check it? Donovan also gives the example of two doctors: both are equally trained yet one is a man and one is a woman who has experienced pregnancy. This example is used to demonstrate how knowledge is needed to inform experience e.g. the female doctor must know the concept of pregnancy in order to understand her experience of pregnancy. Yet it also shows how experience can extend our knowledge in the case of the female doctor. Donovan's conclusion is simple: although intuition may be useful as a way of confirming personal belief or conviction, it cannot be used as a claim to knowledge.

This is how I would personally summarise Donovan...hope this helps!


Can you explain Buber and Owen please? That's where I get confused
Thank you!


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Reply 15
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Bobbs
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Is anyone here actually going to revise Westphal?
Reply 16
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Bobbs
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June 2008 - Ayer
June 2009 - Westphal
Jan 2010 - Ayer
June 2010 - Donovan
June 2011- Westphal
June 2012 - Donovan
June 2013 - Ayer
June 2014 - Westphal

These are the past papers I have found does anyone have any predictions
I really hate Westphal...how likely is it that it will come up??
Original post by IAmEchelon
Can you explain Buber and Owen please? That's where I get confused
Thank you!


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Okay so Owen is the guy who makes the analogous link between our everyday human experience and experience of God. He gives four similarities (a-d) to highlight this analogous link. It is similar to Aquinas' Analogy of Attribution from the Religious Language topic.

Buber, in his book 'I and Thou', talks about I-You and I-It relationships. I-You relationships are "direct, reciprocal, person-to-person" where I-It relationships are objective and factual. Buber believes that in order to be truly human, we must have both I-You and I-It relationships. In other words, we need objective facts as well as personal relationships. Additionally, we still need I-It relationships to inform our I-You relationships. We need to know basic facts about a person, such as their existence, before we can enter a relationship with them. Yet experience is still the most important thing so experience of God is an important way to build a relationship with God.

Hope this answers your questions :smile:
Original post by Bobbs
June 2008 - Ayer
June 2009 - Westphal
Jan 2010 - Ayer
June 2010 - Donovan
June 2011- Westphal
June 2012 - Donovan
June 2013 - Ayer
June 2014 - Westphal

These are the past papers I have found does anyone have any predictions
I really hate Westphal...how likely is it that it will come up??


I'd probably say it is more likely to be Donovan and Ayer since Westphal came up last year. But sadly I would still learn all three because you don't want to risk it...
Original post by Bobbs

June 2008 - Ayer
June 2009 - Westphal
Jan 2010 - Ayer
June 2010 - Donovan
June 2011- Westphal
June 2012 - Donovan
June 2013 - Ayer
June 2014 - Westphal

These are the past papers I have found does anyone have any predictions
I really hate Westphal...how likely is it that it will come up??


It does look like there's a bit of a pattern... To me it seems like Ayer's going to come up.. Don't take my word for it though of course :P

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