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What is the difference between philosophy, philosophy and ethics and RE A level?

I'm applying to colleges soon and initially wanted to take Philosophy alongside English lit and sociology. I've now considered instead doing Philosophy and RE together, but have confused myself and discovered there are 3 separate subjects: RE, Philosophy, Philosophy and Ethics? How do I know which one(s) to choose? Granted, many colleges only offer RE or Philosophy. I haven't seen any called Philosophy and Ethics, so I just may be confusing myself

Reply 1

Original post
by amz1706
I'm applying to colleges soon and initially wanted to take Philosophy alongside English lit and sociology. I've now considered instead doing Philosophy and RE together, but have confused myself and discovered there are 3 separate subjects: RE, Philosophy, Philosophy and Ethics? How do I know which one(s) to choose? Granted, many colleges only offer RE or Philosophy. I haven't seen any called Philosophy and Ethics, so I just may be confusing myself
I do OCR philosophy and ethics. At A-level, the naming can be confusing because different colleges use different titles. With OCR, the official qualification is called Religious Studies, but it includes three components: Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Ethics, and Developments in Religious Thought. Because two of those components are philosophy and ethics, some students informally call the subject “Philosophy and Ethics,” even though the actual A-level is Religious Studies. A-level Philosophy, on the other hand, is a separate subject that focuses more on areas like epistemology, metaphysics, and moral philosophy, and usually does not include as much religious content. So if a college offers OCR Religious Studies, that is likely what people mean when they refer to “Philosophy and Ethics.”

Reply 2

Original post
by Alysstar
I do OCR philosophy and ethics. At A-level, the naming can be confusing because different colleges use different titles. With OCR, the official qualification is called Religious Studies, but it includes three components: Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Ethics, and Developments in Religious Thought. Because two of those components are philosophy and ethics, some students informally call the subject “Philosophy and Ethics,” even though the actual A-level is Religious Studies. A-level Philosophy, on the other hand, is a separate subject that focuses more on areas like epistemology, metaphysics, and moral philosophy, and usually does not include as much religious content. So if a college offers OCR Religious Studies, that is likely what people mean when they refer to “Philosophy and Ethics.”

thank you! do you think taking RE and Philosophy together would be a good combination?

Reply 3

Original post
by amz1706
thank you! do you think taking RE and Philosophy together would be a good combination?
Depends on what you find interesting. Again RE is both philosophical but based on religious principles so by taking RE essentially doing philosophy as well the first paper is philosophy of religion. Philosophy is without the emphasis on religion still based on religion but not as much emphasis. So if you find religious principles interesting and would love to develop analysis on religion and philosophy 100% go for RE if you do not want as much emphasis on religion go for philosophy. So you talking RE and philosophy together as separate alevels if that’s what you mean is not a good combination as they are essentially the same Alevel just without or with the emphasis on religion so you may find it repetitive and won’t enjoy it as a lot of the content is the sam. I personally wouldn’t recommend it, go on aqa website and ocr and look at spec. RE/philosopy pairs well with psychology/ sociology or English as a lot of concepts cross over

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