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Philosophy & Ethics A Level?

What's it like? Anybody do it?

Would it be a good subject to do with Maths, Geography and Psychology? I don't really know what I want to do in the future but I was also wondering if it is respected by Universities?

Thank you :smile:

Reply 1

Lisa17

I'm in AS and i love it. The Philosophy side goes well with pretty much anything, especially Maths and Psychology because of the thinking required and the connections between the topics.

Unis definitely respect philosophy/ethics because it proves you can think laterally and focus your mind on different areas of development/understanding.

I'd consider doing it :smile:

Reply 2

GekoFan

Thanks guys :smile:

I would do english lit, but I don't particularly like the subject, not really too keen on reading plays and poems etc.

Reply 3

The Empire Odyssey

I'm currently studying Philosophy and Ethics AS (OCR Board) and loving them both.

Philosophy for me, is way harder because of how it's decripted, but I love it. I believe as long as you're consistent with the subject and don't lose your marbles, you will be fine. I have an excellent teacher and she's great at making us understand the existence of the universe. As long as you pay attention in EVERY single lesson you will be fine.

Ethics on the other hand... Not so much. I mean, we just did War Ethics, which I love, but compared to some of the other topics such as IVF Treatment and Abortion, it's just dull. Ethics for me is far easier than Philosophy, because essentially, all you are doing is applying the application of Utilitarianism to War, Euthanasia, Abortion, Natural Law and etc.

No prior knowledge is essential, but it would help in most cases.

I also take AS English Literature (Exam Board AQA A, WW1 Literature) and love it. I too was dreading the fact that we had to compare two dramas for one of our coursework and then study a poetry anthology for the exam. I was bricking it simply because 1) I never studied English Literature at GCSE, I only did the GCSE English one 2) drama and poetry are my weaknesses and 3) I had never sad an English exam where it was poetry in which i thought all these things would compromise everything. But I was wrong! Since I had to re-read the plays several times over, I now understand how to analyse drama texts, and my old English Lit teacher (who I had at start of year, but moved class) gave me her old Poetry book thing she used while she did her masters, which really helped me and I have now got high hopes because I like poetry.

Even though Prose are my strengths, I've always loved English, so I guess that helps if you have enthusiasm. One thing I will say though, if you don't like reading lots lots and reading the same texts over and over again (for coursework and exam prep) then it's not the subject you want to be studying.

Always play to your strengths when choosing your A-levels! :smile: