philosophy extended essay criteria

Extended Essay Writers

How to Write a Philosophy Extended Essay for the IB Program

Luke MacQuoid

Greetings, young scholars! If you’re like most IB students I’ve met, the IB Philosophy extended essay sends a minor shiver down your spine. But fret not! As someone who has been around the IB block, I can tell you it’s not as daunting as it seems.

The extended essay is a fantastic opportunity to get into a subject you’re passionate about — in this case, Philosophy. So, let’s begin by discussing why this subject is an excellent choice for your extended essay and how you can ace it.

Why Choose Philosophy for Your IB Extended Essay?

Ah, Philosophy — the realm where intellect and intrigue meet! Let me share why this subject is close to my heart and how it can be the same for you. From my experience, Philosophy is akin to a grand theater where you can discuss everything from the meaning of life to the nuances of ethics, political theories, and even the Philosophy of science. The breadth of topics available is astonishing, offering you a limitless playground of ideas to engage with.

Now, let’s talk about benefits. Philosophy sharpens your skills not only in logical reasoning but also in effective argumentation. We’re discussing not just how to argue but how to present arguments compellingly and convincingly—skills that are golden in your academic life and beyond. You’re actively nurturing these competencies in crafting your IB Philosophy extended essay.

But wait, there’s more! According to general IB criteria, the extended essay aims to develop research, writing, and critical thinking skills in students. Philosophy is the perfect candidate to achieve all these objectives. It equips you to dissect complex arguments, view issues from multiple angles, and articulate your thoughts.

In short, Philosophy is not just another subject; it’s a skill set, a mindset, and a gateway to success in your IB program and life at large.

Getting Started with Your Philosophy Extended Essay

If you need to learn how to write a Philosophy extended essay, you must make a clear action plan. First, you should start by choosing a topic and resources for further research. Let’s talk about this in more detail.

Topic Selection

Indeed, the choice of topic can make or break your essay. I cannot stress this enough: your topic should meet IB extended essay Philosophy guidelines and ignite your passion. It is best to follow this instruction:

• Identify Your Interests . List down areas you’re passionate about — ethics, metaphysics, social Philosophy, etc.
• Broad to Specific . Start with a general subject and gradually narrow it down to a specific research question or problem.
• Check for Relevance . Ensure your topic is aligned with the general IB criteria and Philosophy subject-specific extended essay guidelines.
• Consult Your Advisor . Get their expertise on your topic’s viability, depth, and scope.
• Finalize Topic . Based on feedback and your interests, finalize a compelling and compliant topic with IB guidelines.

So here’s my two cents: start broad, then narrow. If you still need help choosing suitable extended essay topics (Philosophy and its fields), we recommend you read our blog; you will find much inspiration there.

Research and Resources

Research is not just an aspect but the backbone of your extended essay. Your credibility as a scholar rests on the quality and breadth of your research . Where should you look? A variety of places:

• Academic Journals . Use databases like JSTOR or Google Scholar for peer-reviewed articles.
• Primary Texts . Works by philosophers relevant to your topic are crucial.
• Books and Anthologies . Look for compilations of essays or philosophical treatises that discuss your topic.
• Online Resources . Websites from reputable institutions can offer modern perspectives.

But don’t just stop there; use IB extended essay Philosophy examples to understand the nuances of writing. For instance, consider how arguments are structured and primary texts are interpreted. These can serve as excellent templates for constructing arguments and staking claims. From my experience, it can be instrumental in helping you define the structure and flow of your essay.

Extended Essay Guide: Philosophy Research Question

In my opinion, the research question is the backbone of your essay. It sets the direction and the scope of your argument. To make your question engaging, it needs to be specific, focused, and clear.

Use straightforward language to formulate your question. Avoid jargon unless it’s crucial. Also, remember that general or vague questions won’t cut it. “What is good?” is too broad. Instead, consider, “How does Kant’s notion of “good will” differ from Aristotle’s ‘virtuous character’ in defining a good action?”

It would help if you also kept a balance. Your question should be narrow enough for deep analysis but broad enough to meet the word count comfortably. If your question is too broad, you risk skimming the surface; if it’s too narrow, you might run out of things to say.

It isn’t just according to me; it’s straight out of the Philosophy subject-specific extended essay guidelines. Your research question should excite anyone who reads it to see where your arguments will lead. Essentially, you’re writing a quality extended essay question in Philosophy that captivates your reader’s interest.

Philosophy Subject-Specific Extended Essay Guidelines: Structure

While the structure of an extended essay is generally universal across subjects, each subject has its specific guidelines. For Philosophy, these often emphasize the importance of logical consistency and rigorous argumentation.

Therefore, you’ll want to ensure that your arguments are logically sound and that your evidence is reliable. Moreover, consider discussing ethical considerations or potential biases in your research, as this can lend further credibility to your work.

Now, let’s break down the critical structural elements that every IB extended essay should have.

Introduction

The introduction to your essay is like the opening act of a play: it sets the tone, introduces the main characters — in this case, your research question and arguments — and leaves the audience eager for more. First impressions are crucial, and this section is where you make yours. To hit the right notes, your introduction should do several things.

Your introduction should be a microcosm of the essay, offering a snapshot of what’s to come while making a compelling case for why the reader should stick around for the whole picture.

It is where you unpack your arguments, present evidence, and engage with counter-arguments. You’ll divide this section into several subsections, each dedicated to a specific point or argument. Ensure a smooth transition between these sections; transition words and phrases are your allies.

Each subsection should start with a clear topic sentence that outlines what the section will cover, and each should conclude with a sentence that summarizes the section and links it back to your overall argument. It will make your essay more coherent and make it easier for your reader to follow your reasoning.

A firm conclusion does more than summarize the essay; it also synthesizes the key points to show how they contribute to answering your research question. You’ll want to restate your research question and summarize how your arguments and evidence have responded to it.

Importantly, your conclusion should also consider the broader implications of your findings. What do they mean for the field of Philosophy? For society at large?

IB Philosophy Extended Essay: Tips for Writing

Ah, the writing phase ! It is the part where your research and planning begin to pay off. Originality and authenticity are your guiding stars here. Your essay should exude your genuine interest in Philosophy, presenting your unique take on the subject matter. 

Need help with your IB extended essay?

From research and analysis to structuring and editing, our skilled mentors will be by your side, helping you craft an exceptional extended essay that not only meets the wordcount and stringent IB criteria but also reflects your passion for selected IB group .

Don’t just regurgitate what others have said; instead, bring your voice into the conversation. In my opinion, this brings a sense of freshness that examiners appreciate. I also want to share a few other essential thoughts with you in this section.

Language Quality

While it may be tempting to showcase your extensive vocabulary, the main aim should be readability and clarity. Your essay should be intellectually rigorous but still accessible. Imagine you’re telling a fascinating story, albeit a scholarly one. Academic language is a tool, not a hurdle. Use it to build your arguments, not to confuse or alienate your reader.

Review and Revision

Let’s talk about the art of revising. It’s more complex than just reading through your essay to catch typos, although that’s important, too. You’re also looking for logical gaps, ambiguous phrasing, or weak arguments. Ensure each section contributes to your research question and overall argument.

Multiple rounds of revision are usually necessary. No first draft is perfect, nor should it be. Each revision is an opportunity to refine your thoughts and improve your writing. And yes, fresh eyes can be beneficial here.

Submission Process

When you’re confident that your essay is the best it can be, it’s time to submit — but not so fast! Make sure your work complies with all the necessary guidelines. These aren’t just bureaucratic hurdles; they are there to ensure a level playing field and maintain the academic integrity of the IB program. 

So, this is where attention to detail becomes crucial. Check your formatting, citations, and bibliography. Verify that you’ve adhered to the word count and followed any subject-specific guidelines, like those for a Philosophy extended essay.

Final Thoughts

To wrap it up, an IB extended essay in Philosophy is not just an academic requirement but also a fantastic opportunity to fine-tune your skills and get into subjects you’re passionate about. You’ll succeed and genuinely enjoy the process with the right approach and guidance. Now, armed with this guide, create your philosophical masterpiece!

Also, if you need help with an extended essay , you can always contact our experienced IB writers.

Luke MacQuoid has extensive experience teaching English as a foreign language in Japan, having worked with students of all ages for over 12 years. Currently, he is teaching at the tertiary level. Luke holds a BA from the University of Sussex and an MA in TESOL from Lancaster University, both located in England. As well to his work as an IB Examiner and Master Tutor, Luke also enjoys sharing his experiences and insights with others through writing articles for various websites, including extendedessaywriters.com blog

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International Baccalaureate (IB)

IB students around the globe fear writing the Extended Essay, but it doesn't have to be a source of stress! In this article, I'll get you excited about writing your Extended Essay and provide you with the resources you need to get an A on it.

If you're reading this article, I'm going to assume you're an IB student getting ready to write your Extended Essay. If you're looking at this as a potential future IB student, I recommend reading our introductory IB articles first, including our guide to what the IB program is and our full coverage of the IB curriculum .

IB Extended Essay: Why Should You Trust My Advice?

I myself am a recipient of an IB Diploma, and I happened to receive an A on my IB Extended Essay. Don't believe me? The proof is in the IBO pudding:

If you're confused by what this report means, EE is short for Extended Essay , and English A1 is the subject that my Extended Essay topic coordinated with. In layman's terms, my IB Diploma was graded in May 2010, I wrote my Extended Essay in the English A1 category, and I received an A grade on it.

What Is the Extended Essay in the IB Diploma Programme?

The IB Extended Essay, or EE , is a mini-thesis you write under the supervision of an IB advisor (an IB teacher at your school), which counts toward your IB Diploma (learn more about the major IB Diploma requirements in our guide) . I will explain exactly how the EE affects your Diploma later in this article.

For the Extended Essay, you will choose a research question as a topic, conduct the research independently, then write an essay on your findings . The essay itself is a long one—although there's a cap of 4,000 words, most successful essays get very close to this limit.

Keep in mind that the IB requires this essay to be a "formal piece of academic writing," meaning you'll have to do outside research and cite additional sources.

The IB Extended Essay must include the following:

• A title page
• Contents page
• Introduction
• Body of the essay
• References and bibliography

Additionally, your research topic must fall into one of the six approved DP categories , or IB subject groups, which are as follows:

• Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature
• Group 2: Language Acquisition
• Group 3: Individuals and Societies
• Group 4: Sciences
• Group 5: Mathematics
• Group 6: The Arts

Once you figure out your category and have identified a potential research topic, it's time to pick your advisor, who is normally an IB teacher at your school (though you can also find one online ). This person will help direct your research, and they'll conduct the reflection sessions you'll have to do as part of your Extended Essay.

As of 2018, the IB requires a "reflection process" as part of your EE supervision process. To fulfill this requirement, you have to meet at least three times with your supervisor in what the IB calls "reflection sessions." These meetings are not only mandatory but are also part of the formal assessment of the EE and your research methods.

According to the IB, the purpose of these meetings is to "provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their engagement with the research process." Basically, these meetings give your supervisor the opportunity to offer feedback, push you to think differently, and encourage you to evaluate your research process.

The final reflection session is called the viva voce, and it's a short 10- to 15-minute interview between you and your advisor. This happens at the very end of the EE process, and it's designed to help your advisor write their report, which factors into your EE grade.

Here are the topics covered in your viva voce :

• A check on plagiarism and malpractice
• Your reflection on your project's successes and difficulties
• Your reflection on what you've learned during the EE process

Your completed Extended Essay, along with your supervisor's report, will then be sent to the IB to be graded. We'll cover the assessment criteria in just a moment.

We'll help you learn how to have those "lightbulb" moments...even on test day!  

What Should You Write About in Your IB Extended Essay?

You can technically write about anything, so long as it falls within one of the approved categories listed above.

It's best to choose a topic that matches one of the IB courses , (such as Theatre, Film, Spanish, French, Math, Biology, etc.), which shouldn't be difficult because there are so many class subjects.

Here is a range of sample topics with the attached extended essay:

• Biology: The Effect of Age and Gender on the Photoreceptor Cells in the Human Retina
• Chemistry: How Does Reflux Time Affect the Yield and Purity of Ethyl Aminobenzoate (Benzocaine), and How Effective is Recrystallisation as a Purification Technique for This Compound?
• English: An Exploration of Jane Austen's Use of the Outdoors in Emma
• Geography: The Effect of Location on the Educational Attainment of Indigenous Secondary Students in Queensland, Australia
• Math: Alhazen's Billiard Problem
• Visual Arts: Can Luc Tuymans Be Classified as a Political Painter?

You can see from how varied the topics are that you have a lot of freedom when it comes to picking a topic . So how do you pick when the options are limitless?

How to Write a Stellar IB Extended Essay: 6 Essential Tips

Below are six key tips to keep in mind as you work on your Extended Essay for the IB DP. Follow these and you're sure to get an A!

#1: Write About Something You Enjoy

You can't expect to write a compelling essay if you're not a fan of the topic on which you're writing. For example, I just love British theatre and ended up writing my Extended Essay on a revolution in post-WWII British theatre. (Yes, I'm definitely a #TheatreNerd.)

I really encourage anyone who pursues an IB Diploma to take the Extended Essay seriously. I was fortunate enough to receive a full-tuition merit scholarship to USC's School of Dramatic Arts program. In my interview for the scholarship, I spoke passionately about my Extended Essay; thus, I genuinely think my Extended Essay helped me get my scholarship.

But how do you find a topic you're passionate about? Start by thinking about which classes you enjoy the most and why . Do you like math classes because you like to solve problems? Or do you enjoy English because you like to analyze literary texts?

Keep in mind that there's no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing your Extended Essay topic. You're not more likely to get high marks because you're writing about science, just like you're not doomed to failure because you've chosen to tackle the social sciences. The quality of what you produce—not the field you choose to research within—will determine your grade.

Once you've figured out your category, you should brainstorm more specific topics by putting pen to paper . What was your favorite chapter you learned in that class? Was it astrophysics or mechanics? What did you like about that specific chapter? Is there something you want to learn more about? I recommend spending a few hours on this type of brainstorming.

One last note: if you're truly stumped on what to research, pick a topic that will help you in your future major or career . That way you can use your Extended Essay as a talking point in your college essays (and it will prepare you for your studies to come too!).

#2: Select a Topic That Is Neither Too Broad nor Too Narrow

There's a fine line between broad and narrow. You need to write about something specific, but not so specific that you can't write 4,000 words on it.

You can't write about WWII because that would be a book's worth of material. You also don't want to write about what type of soup prisoners of war received behind enemy lines, because you probably won’t be able to come up with 4,000 words of material about it. However, you could possibly write about how the conditions in German POW camps—and the rations provided—were directly affected by the Nazis' successes and failures on the front, including the use of captured factories and prison labor in Eastern Europe to increase production. WWII military history might be a little overdone, but you get my point.

If you're really stuck trying to pinpoint a not-too-broad-or-too-narrow topic, I suggest trying to brainstorm a topic that uses a comparison. Once you begin looking through the list of sample essays below, you'll notice that many use comparisons to formulate their main arguments.

I also used a comparison in my EE, contrasting Harold Pinter's Party Time with John Osborne's Look Back in Anger in order to show a transition in British theatre. Topics with comparisons of two to three plays, books, and so on tend to be the sweet spot. You can analyze each item and then compare them with one another after doing some in-depth analysis of each individually. The ways these items compare and contrast will end up forming the thesis of your essay!

When choosing a comparative topic, the key is that the comparison should be significant. I compared two plays to illustrate the transition in British theatre, but you could compare the ways different regional dialects affect people's job prospects or how different temperatures may or may not affect the mating patterns of lightning bugs. The point here is that comparisons not only help you limit your topic, but they also help you build your argument.

Comparisons are not the only way to get a grade-A EE, though. If after brainstorming, you pick a non-comparison-based topic and are still unsure whether your topic is too broad or narrow, spend about 30 minutes doing some basic research and see how much material is out there.

If there are more than 1,000 books, articles, or documentaries out there on that exact topic, it may be too broad. But if there are only two books that have any connection to your topic, it may be too narrow. If you're still unsure, ask your advisor—it's what they're there for! Speaking of advisors...

Don't get stuck with a narrow topic!

#3: Choose an Advisor Who Is Familiar With Your Topic

If you're not certain of who you would like to be your advisor, create a list of your top three choices. Next, write down the pros and cons of each possibility (I know this sounds tedious, but it really helps!).

For example, Mr. Green is my favorite teacher and we get along really well, but he teaches English. For my EE, I want to conduct an experiment that compares the efficiency of American electric cars with foreign electric cars.

I had Ms. White a year ago. She teaches physics and enjoyed having me in her class. Unlike Mr. Green, Ms. White could help me design my experiment.

Based on my topic and what I need from my advisor, Ms. White would be a better fit for me than would Mr. Green (even though I like him a lot).

The moral of my story is this: do not just ask your favorite teacher to be your advisor . They might be a hindrance to you if they teach another subject. For example, I would not recommend asking your biology teacher to guide you in writing an English literature-based EE.

There can, of course, be exceptions to this rule. If you have a teacher who's passionate and knowledgeable about your topic (as my English teacher was about my theatre topic), you could ask that instructor. Consider all your options before you do this. There was no theatre teacher at my high school, so I couldn't find a theatre-specific advisor, but I chose the next best thing.

Before you approach a teacher to serve as your advisor, check with your high school to see what requirements they have for this process. Some IB high schools require your IB Extended Essay advisor to sign an Agreement Form , for instance.

Make sure that you ask your IB coordinator whether there is any required paperwork to fill out. If your school needs a specific form signed, bring it with you when you ask your teacher to be your EE advisor.

#4: Pick an Advisor Who Will Push You to Be Your Best

Some teachers might just take on students because they have to and aren't very passionate about reading drafts, only giving you minimal feedback. Choose a teacher who will take the time to read several drafts of your essay and give you extensive notes. I would not have gotten my A without being pushed to make my Extended Essay draft better.

Ask a teacher that you have experience with through class or an extracurricular activity. Do not ask a teacher that you have absolutely no connection to. If a teacher already knows you, that means they already know your strengths and weaknesses, so they know what to look for, where you need to improve, and how to encourage your best work.

Also, don't forget that your supervisor's assessment is part of your overall EE score . If you're meeting with someone who pushes you to do better—and you actually take their advice—they'll have more impressive things to say about you than a supervisor who doesn't know you well and isn't heavily involved in your research process.

Be aware that the IB only allows advisors to make suggestions and give constructive criticism. Your teacher cannot actually help you write your EE. The IB recommends that the supervisor spends approximately two to three hours in total with the candidate discussing the EE.

#5: Make Sure Your Essay Has a Clear Structure and Flow

The IB likes structure. Your EE needs a clear introduction (which should be one to two double-spaced pages), research question/focus (i.e., what you're investigating), a body, and a conclusion (about one double-spaced page). An essay with unclear organization will be graded poorly.

The body of your EE should make up the bulk of the essay. It should be about eight to 18 pages long (again, depending on your topic). Your body can be split into multiple parts. For example, if you were doing a comparison, you might have one third of your body as Novel A Analysis, another third as Novel B Analysis, and the final third as your comparison of Novels A and B.

If you're conducting an experiment or analyzing data, such as in this EE , your EE body should have a clear structure that aligns with the scientific method ; you should state the research question, discuss your method, present the data, analyze the data, explain any uncertainties, and draw a conclusion and/or evaluate the success of the experiment.

#6: Start Writing Sooner Rather Than Later!

You will not be able to crank out a 4,000-word essay in just a week and get an A on it. You'll be reading many, many articles (and, depending on your topic, possibly books and plays as well!). As such, it's imperative that you start your research as soon as possible.

Each school has a slightly different deadline for the Extended Essay. Some schools want them as soon as November of your senior year; others will take them as late as February. Your school will tell you what your deadline is. If they haven't mentioned it by February of your junior year, ask your IB coordinator about it.

Some high schools will provide you with a timeline of when you need to come up with a topic, when you need to meet with your advisor, and when certain drafts are due. Not all schools do this. Ask your IB coordinator if you are unsure whether you are on a specific timeline.

Below is my recommended EE timeline. While it's earlier than most schools, it'll save you a ton of heartache (trust me, I remember how hard this process was!):

• January/February of Junior Year: Come up with your final research topic (or at least your top three options).
• February of Junior Year: Approach a teacher about being your EE advisor. If they decline, keep asking others until you find one. See my notes above on how to pick an EE advisor.
• April/May of Junior Year: Submit an outline of your EE and a bibliography of potential research sources (I recommend at least seven to 10) to your EE advisor. Meet with your EE advisor to discuss your outline.
• Summer Between Junior and Senior Year: Complete your first full draft over the summer between your junior and senior year. I know, I know—no one wants to work during the summer, but trust me—this will save you so much stress come fall when you are busy with college applications and other internal assessments for your IB classes. You will want to have this first full draft done because you will want to complete a couple of draft cycles as you likely won't be able to get everything you want to say into 4,000 articulate words on the first attempt. Try to get this first draft into the best possible shape so you don't have to work on too many revisions during the school year on top of your homework, college applications, and extracurriculars.
• August/September of Senior Year: Turn in your first draft of your EE to your advisor and receive feedback. Work on incorporating their feedback into your essay. If they have a lot of suggestions for improvement, ask if they will read one more draft before the final draft.
• September/October of Senior Year: Submit the second draft of your EE to your advisor (if necessary) and look at their feedback. Work on creating the best possible final draft.
• November-February of Senior Year: Schedule your viva voce. Submit two copies of your final draft to your school to be sent off to the IB. You likely will not get your grade until after you graduate.

Remember that in the middle of these milestones, you'll need to schedule two other reflection sessions with your advisor . (Your teachers will actually take notes on these sessions on a form like this one , which then gets submitted to the IB.)

I recommend doing them when you get feedback on your drafts, but these meetings will ultimately be up to your supervisor. Just don't forget to do them!

The early bird DOES get the worm!

How Is the IB Extended Essay Graded?

Extended Essays are graded by examiners appointed by the IB on a scale of 0 to 34 . You'll be graded on five criteria, each with its own set of points. You can learn more about how EE scoring works by reading the IB guide to extended essays .

• Criterion A: Focus and Method (6 points maximum)
• Criterion B: Knowledge and Understanding (6 points maximum)
• Criterion C: Critical Thinking (12 points maximum)
• Criterion D: Presentation (4 points maximum)
• Criterion E: Engagement (6 points maximum)

How well you do on each of these criteria will determine the final letter grade you get for your EE. You must earn at least a D to be eligible to receive your IB Diploma.

Although each criterion has a point value, the IB explicitly states that graders are not converting point totals into grades; instead, they're using qualitative grade descriptors to determine the final grade of your Extended Essay . Grade descriptors are on pages 102-103 of this document .

Here's a rough estimate of how these different point values translate to letter grades based on previous scoring methods for the EE. This is just an estimate —you should read and understand the grade descriptors so you know exactly what the scorers are looking for.

Here is the breakdown of EE scores (from the May 2021 bulletin):

How Does the Extended Essay Grade Affect Your IB Diploma?

The Extended Essay grade is combined with your TOK (Theory of Knowledge) grade to determine how many points you get toward your IB Diploma.

To learn about Theory of Knowledge or how many points you need to receive an IB Diploma, read our complete guide to the IB program and our guide to the IB Diploma requirements .

This diagram shows how the two scores are combined to determine how many points you receive for your IB diploma (3 being the most, 0 being the least). In order to get your IB Diploma, you have to earn 24 points across both categories (the TOK and EE). The highest score anyone can earn is 45 points.

Let's say you get an A on your EE and a B on TOK. You will get 3 points toward your Diploma. As of 2014, a student who scores an E on either the extended essay or TOK essay will not be eligible to receive an IB Diploma .

Prior to the class of 2010, a Diploma candidate could receive a failing grade in either the Extended Essay or Theory of Knowledge and still be awarded a Diploma, but this is no longer true.

Figuring out how you're assessed can be a little tricky. Luckily, the IB breaks everything down here in this document . (The assessment information begins on page 219.)

40+ Sample Extended Essays for the IB Diploma Programme

In case you want a little more guidance on how to get an A on your EE, here are over 40 excellent (grade A) sample extended essays for your reading pleasure. Essays are grouped by IB subject.

• Business Management 1
• Chemistry 1
• Chemistry 2
• Chemistry 3
• Chemistry 4
• Chemistry 5
• Chemistry 6
• Chemistry 7
• Computer Science 1
• Economics 1
• Design Technology 1
• Design Technology 2
• Environmental Systems and Societies 1
• Geography 1
• Geography 2
• Geography 3
• Geography 4
• Geography 5
• Geography 6
• Literature and Performance 1
• Mathematics 1
• Mathematics 2
• Mathematics 3
• Mathematics 4
• Mathematics 5
• Philosophy 1
• Philosophy 2
• Philosophy 3
• Philosophy 4
• Philosophy 5
• Psychology 1
• Psychology 2
• Psychology 3
• Psychology 4
• Psychology 5
• Social and Cultural Anthropology 1
• Social and Cultural Anthropology 2
• Social and Cultural Anthropology 3
• Sports, Exercise and Health Science 1
• Sports, Exercise and Health Science 2
• Visual Arts 1
• Visual Arts 2
• Visual Arts 3
• Visual Arts 4
• Visual Arts 5
• World Religion 1
• World Religion 2
• World Religion 3

What's Next?

Trying to figure out what extracurriculars you should do? Learn more about participating in the Science Olympiad , starting a club , doing volunteer work , and joining Student Government .

Studying for the SAT? Check out our expert study guide to the SAT . Taking the SAT in a month or so? Learn how to cram effectively for this important test .

Not sure where you want to go to college? Read our guide to finding your target school . Also, determine your target SAT score or target ACT score .

As an SAT/ACT tutor, Dora has guided many students to test prep success. She loves watching students succeed and is committed to helping you get there. Dora received a full-tuition merit based scholarship to University of Southern California. She graduated magna cum laude and scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT. She is also passionate about acting, writing, and photography.

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Philosophy guide First assessment 2016

Philosophy guide First assessment 2016 Diploma Programme Philosophy guide

Published January 2014

Published on behalf of the International Baccalaureate Organization, a not-for-profit educational foundation of 15 Route des Morillons, 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex, Geneva, Switzerland by the

International Baccalaureate Organization (UK) Ltd Peterson House, Malthouse Avenue, Cardiff Gate Cardiff, Wales CF23 8GL United Kingdom Website: www.ibo.org

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2014

The International Baccalaureate Organization (known as the IB) offers four high- quality and challenging educational programmes for a worldwide community of schools, aiming to create a better, more peaceful world . This publication is one of a range of materials produced to support these programmes.

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IB mission statement The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

Introduction 1 Purpose of this document 1 The Diploma Programme 2 Nature of the subject 6 Aims 10 Assessment objectives 11 Approaches to the teaching and learning of philosophy 12

Syllabus 14 Syllabus outline 14 Syllabus content 15

Assessment 35 Assessment in the Diploma Programme 35 Assessment outline—SL 37 Assessment outline—HL 38 External assessment 39 Internal assessment 48

Appendices 54 Glossary of command terms 54 Bibliography 56

Philosophy guide

Introduction

Purpose of this document

This publication is intended to guide the planning, teaching and assessment of the subject in schools. Subject teachers are the primary audience, although it is expected that teachers will use the guide to inform students and parents about the subject.

This guide can be found on the subject page of the online curriculum centre (OCC) at http://occ.ibo.org, a password-protected IB website designed to support IB teachers. It can also be purchased from the IB store at http://store.ibo.org.

Additional resources Additional publications such as teacher support materials, subject reports, internal assessment guidance and grade descriptors can also be found on the OCC. Past examination papers as well as markschemes can be purchased from the IB store.

Teachers are encouraged to check the OCC for additional resources created or used by other teachers. Teachers can provide details of useful resources, for example: websites, books, videos, journals or teaching ideas .

Acknowledgment The IB wishes to thank the educators and associated schools for generously contributing time and resources to the production of this guide.

First assessment 2016

Philosophy guide 1 Introduction

The Diploma Programme

The Diploma Programme is a rigorous pre-university course of study designed for students in the 16 to 19 age range. It is a broad-based two-year course that aims to encourage students to be knowledgeable and inquiring, but also caring and compassionate. There is a strong emphasis on encouraging students to develop intercultural understanding, open-mindedness, and the attitudes necessary for them to respect and evaluate a range of points of view.

The Diploma Programme model The course is presented as six academic areas enclosing a central core (see figure 1). It encourages the concurrent study of a broad range of academic areas. Students study: two modern languages (or a modern language and a classical language), a humanities or social science subject, an experimental science, mathematics and one of the creative arts. It is this comprehensive range of subjects that makes the Diploma Programme a demanding course of study designed to prepare students effectively for university entrance. In each of the academic areas students have flexibility in making their choices , which means they can choose subjects that particularly interest them and that they may wish to study further at university.

Figure 1 Diploma Programme model

2 Philosophy guide The Diploma Programme

Choosing the right combination Students are required to choose one subject from each of the six academic areas, although they can choose a second subject from groups 1 to 5 instead of a group 6 subject. Normally, three subjects (and not more than four) are taken at higher level (HL), and the others are taken at standard level (SL). The IB recommends 240 teaching hours for HL subjects and 150 hours for SL. Subjects at HL are studied in greater depth and breadth than at SL.

At both levels, many skills are developed, especially those of critical thinking and analysis. At the end of the course, students’ abilities are measured by means of external assessment. Many subjects contain some element of coursework assessed by teachers.

The core of the Diploma Programme model All Diploma Programme students participate in the three course elements that make up the core of the model. Reflection on all these activities is a principle that lies at the heart of the thinking behind the Diploma Programme.

Theory of knowledge (TOK) is a course that is fundamentally about critical thinking and inquiry into the process of knowing rather than about learning a specific body of knowledge. The TOK course examines the nature of knowledge and how we know what we claim to know. It does this by encouraging students to analyse knowledge claims and explore questions about the construction of knowledge. The task of TOK is to emphasize connections between areas of shared knowledge and link them to personal knowledge in such a way that an individual becomes more aware of his/her own perspectives and how they might differ from others.

Creativity, action, service (CAS) is at the heart of the Diploma Programme. The emphasis in CAS is on helping students to develop their own identities, in accordance with the ethical principles embodied in the IB mission statement and the IB learner profile. It involves students in a range of activities alongside their academic studies throughout the Diploma Programme. The three strands of CAS are creativity (arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking), action (physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle) and service (an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student). Possibly, more than any other component in the Diploma Programme, CAS contributes to the IB’s mission to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

The extended essay, including the world studies extended essay, offers the opportunity for IB students to investigate a topic of special interest in the form of a 4,000-word piece of independent research. The area of research undertaken is chosen from one of the students’ six Diploma Programme subjects or, in the case of the interdisciplinary world studies essay, two subjects, and acquaints them with the independent research and writing skills expected at university. This leads to a major piece of formally presented, structured writing, in which ideas and findings are communicated in a reasoned and coherent manner, appropriate to the subject or subjects chosen. It is intended to promote high-level research and writing skills, intellectual discovery and creativity. An authentic learning experience , it provides students with an opportunity to engage in personal research on a topic of their choice , under the guidance of a supervisor.

Approaches to teaching and approaches to learning Approaches to teaching and learning across the Diploma Programme refers to deliberate strategies, skills and attitudes that permeate the teaching and learning environment. These approaches and tools, intrinsically linked with the learner profile attributes, enhance student learning and assist student preparation for the

Philosophy guide 3 The Diploma Programme

Diploma Programme assessment and beyond. The aims of approaches to teaching and learning in the Diploma Programme are to:

• empower teachers as teachers of learners as well as teachers of content • empower teachers to create clearer strategies for facilitating learning experiences in which students are more meaningfully engaged in structured inquiry and greater critical and creative thinking • promote both the aims of individual subjects (making them more than course aspirations) and linking previously isolated knowledge (concurrency of learning) • encourage students to develop an explicit variety of skills that will equip them to continue to be actively engaged in learning after they leave school, and to help them not only obtain university admission through better grades but also prepare for success during tertiary education and beyond • enhance further the coherence and relevance of the students’ DP experience • allow schools to identify the distinctive nature of an IB Diploma Programme education, with its blend of idealism and practicality. The five approaches to learning (developing thinking skills, social skills, communication skills, self- management skills and research skills) along with the six approaches to teaching (teaching that is inquiry- based, conceptually focused, contextualized, collaborative, differentiated and informed by assessment) encompass the key values and principles that underpin IB pedagogy.

The IB mission statement and the IB learner profile The Diploma Programme aims to develop in students the knowledge, skills and attitudes they will need to fulfill the aims of the IB, as expressed in the organization’s mission statement and the learner profile. Teaching and learning in the Diploma Programme represent the reality in daily practice of the organization’s educational philosophy.

Academic honesty Academic honesty in the Diploma Programme is a set of values and behaviours informed by the attributes of the learner profile. In teaching, learning and assessment, academic honesty serves to promote personal integrity, engender respect for the integrity of others and their work, and ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they acquire during their studies.

All coursework—including work submitted for assessment—is to be authentic, based on the student’s individual and original ideas with the ideas and work of others fully acknowledged. Assessment tasks that require teachers to provide guidance to students or that require students to work collaboratively must be completed in full compliance with the detailed guidelines provided by the IB for the relevant subjects.

For further information on academic honesty in the IB and the Diploma Programme, please consult the IB publications Academic honesty, The Diploma Programme: From principles into practice and General regulations: Diploma Programme. Specific information regarding academic honesty as it pertains to external and internal assessment components of this Diploma Programme subject can be found in this guide.

4 Philosophy guide The Diploma Programme

Acknowledging the ideas or work of another person Coordinators and teachers are reminded that candidates must acknowledge all sources used in work submitted for assessment. The following is intended as a clarification of this requirement.

Diploma Programme candidates submit work for assessment in a variety of media that may include audio/ visual material, text, graphs, images and/or data published in print or electronic sources. If a candidate uses the work or ideas of another person, the candidate must acknowledge the source using a standard style of referencing in a consistent manner. A candidate’s failure to acknowledge a source will be investigated by the IB as a potential breach of regulations that may result in a penalty imposed by the IB final award committee.

The IB does not prescribe which style(s) of referencing or in-text citation should be used by candidates; this is left to the discretion of appropriate faculty/staff in the candidate’s school. The wide range of subjects, three response languages and the diversity of referencing styles make it impractical and restrictive to insist on particular styles. In practice, certain styles may prove most commonly used, but schools are free to choose a style that is appropriate for the subject concerned and the language in which candidates’ work is written. Regardless of the reference style adopted by the school for a given subject, it is expected that the minimum information given includes: name of author, date of publication, title of source, and page numbers as applicable.

Candidates are expected to use a standard style and use it consistently so that credit is given to all sources used, including sources that have been paraphrased or summarized. When writing text, a candidate must clearly distinguish between their words and those of others by the use of quotation marks (or other method such as indentation) followed by an appropriate citation that denotes an entry in the bibliography. If an electronic source is cited, the date of access must be indicated. Candidates are not expected to show faultless expertise in referencing, but are expected to demonstrate that all sources have been acknowledged. Candidates must be advised that audio/visual material, text, graphs, images and/or data published in print or in electronic sources that is not their own must also attribute the source. Again, an appropriate style of referencing/citation must be used.

Learning diversity and learning support requirements Schools must ensure that equal access arrangements and reasonable adjustments are provided to candidates with learning support requirements that are in line with the IB documents Candidates with assessment access requirements and Learning diversity in the International Baccalaureate programmes: Special educational needs within the International Baccalaureate programmes.

Philosophy guide 5 Introduction

Nature of the subject

Philosophy is a systematic critical inquiry into profound, fascinating and challenging questions, such as the following.

• What is it to be human? • Do we have free will ? • What do we mean when we say something is right or wrong? These abstract questions arise out of our everyday experiences, and philosophical tools such as critical and systematic thinking, careful analysis, and construction of arguments provide the means of addressing such questions. The practice of philosophy deepens and clarifies our understanding of these questions, as well as our ability to formulate possible responses.

Studying philosophy provides an opportunity for students to engage with some of the world’s most interesting and influential thinkers. It also develops highly transferable skills such as the ability to formulate arguments clearly, to make reasoned judgments and to evaluate highly complex and multifaceted issues. The emphasis of the Diploma Programme philosophy course is on “doing philosophy”, that is, on actively engaging students in philosophical activity. The course is focused on stimulating students’ intellectual curiosity and encouraging them to examine both their own perspectives and those of others.

Students are challenged to develop their own philosophical voice and to grow into independent thinkers. They develop their skills through the study of philosophical themes and the close reading of a philosophical text. They also learn to apply their philosophical knowledge and skills to real-life situations and to explore how non-philosophical material can be treated in a philosophical way. HL students also engage in a deeper exploration of the nature of philosophy itself.

Philosophy and international-mindedness

... an education for international-mindedness; an education designed to break down the barriers of race, religion and class; an education that extolled the benefits of cultural diversity; above all else, an education for peace . (George Walker 2011: 19) The DP philosophy course develops international-mindedness in students by encouraging them to engage with multiple perspectives and to carefully consider alternative points of view. The course encourages dialogue and debate, nurturing students’ capacity to interpret competing and contestable claims. In addition to encouraging students to explore and draw upon a wide range of traditions and perspectives, the course also provides an opportunity to engage in an examination of concepts and debates of global significance. The flexibility of the DP philosophy course means that teachers have the opportunity to select relevant examples themselves to explore with their students, ensuring that the course appropriately meets their students’ needs and interests, whatever their location or cultural context.

6 Philosophy guide Nature of the subject

Distinction between SL and HL All SL and HL students follow a common core syllabus that encourages the development of certain skills, attributes and attitudes as described in the “Assessment objectives” section of this guide. The common core syllabus involves the study of the core theme, one optional theme and one prescribed text, as well as the completion of the internal assessment exercise. In addition, students at HL must study one further optional theme and the HL extension topic “Exploring philosophical activity”.

The difference in recommended teaching times at SL and HL signals a clear distinction between the demands made on students. Students at HL are required to demonstrate their understanding of philosophy as an activity by reflecting upon and evaluating the nature, function, methodology and purpose of philosophy. This activity is assessed specifically in paper 3 taken only by HL students.

Philosophy and the Diploma Programme core

Philosophy and the extended essay Undertaking an extended essay in philosophy provides students with an opportunity to undertake a detailed philosophical investigation into a topic of special interest. The student is encouraged to engage in serious, personal thought , to develop and explore in a disciplined and imaginative way a specific philosophical question appropriate to the subject, and to arrive at a clear conclusion. The topic chosen for a philosophy extended essay may be stimulated, for example, by work done in class, by current events, by issues of contemporary debate, by discussion, by private reading and/or reflection, or by conceptual features of belief systems not previously encountered by the student.

The treatment of the research question must focus on philosophical exploration and the construction of an argument, which presupposes a careful, critical analysis of themes and/or texts. This approach, which allows many different ways of philosophical reflection, is based on the emphasis of the Diploma Programme philosophy course on doing philosophy. Within this context, the aim of a philosophical investigation is to encourage students to develop the ability to reason and argue, and to learn to take an independent position on philosophical issues. Philosophy provides rich scope for a wide variety of interesting extended essay titles. Examples of suitable extended essays in philosophy include the following.

• “An analysis of John Rawls’ procedure of justifying principles of social justice” • “The roots of wisdom according to the Tao Te Ching” • “An examination of the role played by reason in Anselm’s investigation of the concepts of predestination and free will” Detailed guidance on undertaking extended essays in philosophy can be found in the Extended essay guide.

Philosophy guide 7 Nature of the subject

Philosophy and creativity, action, service (CAS) Studying philosophy provides excellent opportunities for students to make links to their CAS activities. One of the aims of the DP philosophy course is to encourage students to examine critically their own experiences and their ideological and cultural perspectives, and this includes their experiences in CAS. Ideas for effective links that could be made between philosophy and CAS include the following.

• Discussions of concepts such as moral responsibility, social justice, multiculturalism and tolerance could link particularly well to students’ reflections on service activities undertaken as part of CAS. • Discussions of philosophical texts such as Peter Singer ’s The Life You Can Save or Martha Nussbaum ’s Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach could provoke interesting discussions about service activities undertaken as part of CAS. • Discussions about the nature of creativity as part of the aesthetics optional theme could link well to activities undertaken for the creativity element of CAS.

Philosophy and theory of knowledge (TOK) The TOK course (first exams 2015) engages students in reflection on the nature of knowledge and on how we know what we claim to know. The course identifies eight ways of knowing: reason, emotion , language, sense perception , intuition, imagination, faith and memory. Students explore these means of producing knowledge within the context of various areas of knowledge: the natural sciences, the social sciences, the arts, ethics , history , mathematics, religious knowledge systems and indigenous knowledge systems. The course also requires students to make comparisons between the different areas of knowledge, reflecting on how knowledge is arrived at in the various disciplines, what the disciplines have in common, and the differences between them.

Philosophy allows us to explore and reflect on the nature and meaning of being human. By presenting an opportunity to engage in these activities, the DP philosophy course shares many common concerns with TOK. Like TOK, philosophy places a premium on the development of critical thinking skills, on encouraging students to reflect on their own perspectives, and engaging with a diverse range of perspectives and interpretations. However, TOK is not intended to be a course in philosophy, and care should be taken not to turn the TOK course into an overly technical philosophical investigation into the nature of knowledge. While there might be a degree of overlap in the terms used, the questions asked, or the tools applied to answer these questions, the approach is quite different. The emphasis of the TOK course should be on applying concepts to real-life situations that students encounter in their DP subjects and the real world. Throughout this guide suggestions are made as to how effective links can be made between the philosophy and TOK courses.

Prior learning The philosophy course at both SL and HL requires no previous formal experience in philosophy, nor is any particular background in terms of specific subjects studied for national or international qualifications expected or required. The specific skills required to succeed in this course are developed within the teaching of the course itself.

8 Philosophy guide Nature of the subject

Links to the Middle Years Programme Philosophy is sometimes offered explicitly as one of the disciplines within the individuals and societies subject group of the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP). Regardless of which of the particular disciplines from the subject group are offered, the fundamental concepts of MYP individuals and societies provide a very useful foundation for students who go on to study the Diploma Programme philosophy course.

MYP individual and societies is a concept -driven curriculum aimed at helping the learner construct meaning through improved critical thinking and the transfer of knowledge. At the top level are key concepts that are broad, organizing, powerful ideas that have relevance within the DP philosophy course but also transcend it, having relevance in other subject groups. These key concepts facilitate both disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning as well as making connections with other subjects. Across the MYP there are 16 key concepts, with the four in bold below being the focus for MYP individuals and societies.

The key concepts across the MYP subjects

Aesthetics Form Systems Communities

Connections Creativity and innovation Culture Development

Change Relationships Identity Time, place and space

Perspective Global interactions Communication Logic

Philosophy guide 9 Introduction

Group 3 aims The aims of all subjects in group 3, individuals and societies, are to:

1. encourage the systematic and critical study of: human experience and behaviour; physical, economic and social environments; the history and development of social and cultural institutions 2. develop in the student the capacity to identify, to analyse critically, and to evaluate theories, concepts and arguments about the nature and activities of the individual and society 3. enable the student to collect, describe and analyse data used in studies of society, to test hypotheses and interpret complex data and source material 4. promote the appreciation of the way in which learning is relevant to both the culture in which the student lives and the culture of other societies 5. develop an awareness in the student that human attitudes and opinions are widely diverse and that a study of society requires an appreciation of such diversity 6. enable the student to recognize that the content and methodologies of the subjects in group 3 are contestable and that their study requires the toleration of uncertainty .

Philosophy aims The aim of the philosophy course at HL and SL is to engage students in philosophical activity, enabling them to:

1. develop an inquiring and intellectually curious way of thinking 2. formulate arguments in a sound and purposeful way 3. examine critically their own experiences and their ideological and cultural perspectives 4. appreciate the diversity of approaches within philosophical thinking 5. apply their philosophical knowledge and skills to the world around them.

10 Philosophy guide Introduction

Assessment objectives

There are four assessment objectives for the DP philosophy course. Having followed the course at SL or HL, students will be expected to do the following.

Assessment objective 1: Knowledge and understanding

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of philosophical concepts, issues and arguments. • Identify the philosophical issues present in both philosophical and non-philosophical stimuli. • At HL only, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the nature, function, meaning and methodology of philosophical activity. Assessment objective 2: Application and analysis

• Analyse philosophical concepts, issues and arguments. • Analyse the philosophical issues present in both philosophical and non-philosophical stimuli. • Explain and analyse different approaches to philosophical issues, making use of relevant supporting evidence/examples. • At HL only, analyse the nature, function, meaning and methodology of philosophical activity. Assessment objective 3: Synthesis and evaluation

• Evaluate philosophical concepts, issues and arguments. • Construct and develop relevant, balanced and focused arguments. • Discuss and evaluate different interpretations or points of view. • At HL only, evaluate the nature, function, meaning and methodology of philosophical activity. • At HL only, compare and contrast their personal experience of philosophical activity with the issues regarding philosophical activity raised in an unseen text. Assessment objective 4: Selection, use and application of appropriate skills and techniques

• Demonstrate the ability to produce clear and well-structured written responses. • Demonstrate appropriate and precise use of philosophical vocabulary. • In the internal assessment task, demonstrate evidence of research skills, organization and referencing.

Philosophy guide 11 Introduction

Approaches to the teaching and learning of philosophy

Thinking skills Being “thinkers” is explicitly identified as one of the learner profile attributes that all IB courses aim to develop, and no course lends itself to developing students who are thinkers more than philosophy. In addition to thinking skills such as problem-solving and lateral thinking, the DP philosophy course also aims to encourage thinking dispositions and behaviours, such as intellectual curiosity. One central aim of the DP philosophy course is for students to develop an inquiring and intellectually curious way of thinking, which reflects the importance placed by many experts in thinking skills on related behaviours such as “curiosity, flexibility, posing problems, decision making, being reasonable, creativity, risk taking, and other behaviours that support critical and creative thought” (Costa, Kallick 2000).

An important aspect of teaching philosophy is creating an environment that encourages students’ critical and creative thinking. One way to do this is through collaborative activities, as these can be a catalyst to higher-order thinking. “Proponents of collaborative learning claim that the active exchange of ideas within small groups not only increases interest among the participants but also promotes critical thinking” (Gokhale 1995). Generating creative ideas, argumentation and problem-solving are examples of tasks where collaboration can stimulate students’ thinking. Johnson and Johnson (1983) “found that when students work cooperatively in groups, increased reasoning strategies and greater critical thinking competencies result than in competitive or individualistic settings” (in Costa, Lowery 1989).

“Doing philosophy”

Socrates did not teach philosophy, he taught to philosophize. (Daniel and Auriac 2011: 416) The emphasis of the Diploma Programme philosophy course is on “doing philosophy”, that is, on engaging students in philosophical activity and encouraging them to develop into independent thinkers. Clearly the philosophy course is an opportunity to introduce students to some of the world’s most influential thinkers, hence the inclusion of the study of a philosophical text as one component of the course. However, it is also an opportunity for students to engage in philosophical activity themselves.

Leonard Nelson, the German philosopher , emphasized the importance of students engaging with philosophy as an activity, commenting that effective philosophy teaching is “the art of teaching not philosophy but philosophizing, the art not of teaching about philosophers but of making philosophers of the students” (Nelson 1949). Each area of the course provides students with an opportunity to explore different philosophical concepts and issues, and having a single underlying focus on “doing philosophy” helps to give the course unity and coherence across these different elements.

12 Philosophy guide Approaches to the teaching and learning of philosophy

Engaging with philosophical texts The DP philosophy course emphasizes the importance of students engaging with a primary philosophical text through the study of one work from the list provided in this guide. Teachers should select only one text from this list to study with their students, who will be expected to demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of its content in the examination. Extracts from other texts, both primary and secondary, can also be an extremely useful teaching resource. Using short extracts from texts in class is a particularly effective way to expose students to philosophical writing prior to the introduction of the study of an entire text. More guidance on using extracts from philosophical texts in lessons can be found in the Philosophy teacher support material (March 2014).

Engaging with diverse perspectives Engaging students with a variety of philosophical perspectives is an essential aspect of enabling them to appreciate the diversity of approaches within philosophical thinking. This engagement with diverse perspectives could be achieved in a variety of ways, for example, by using examples from more than one historical period or more than one philosophical tradition, or by using examples from a variety of cultural or geographic contexts. Suggested ways to engage students with a diverse range of perspectives can be found in the introductory sections of each part of the syllabus content in this guide, as well as in the suggested examples and discussion questions. More detailed support and guidance can also be found in the Philosophy teacher support material.

Engaging with sensitive and controversial topics Studying philosophy provides the opportunity for students to engage with exciting, stimulating and personally relevant issues. However, it should be noted that often such topics can also be personally challenging for students; for example, discussions of concepts such as life after death or ethical issues such as abortion can be sensitive or invoke strong personal feelings in students. Teachers should provide guidance to students on how to approach and engage with such topics in a sensitive and responsible manner.

Philosophy guide 13 Syllabus

Syllabus outline

Teaching hours Syllabus component SL HL

Core theme 50 50 The core theme “Being human” is compulsory for all students.

Optional themes 40 80 SL students are required to study one theme from the following list. HL students are required to study two themes from the following list. 1. Aesthetics 2. Epistemology 3. Ethics 4. Philosophy and contemporary society 5. Philosophy of religion 6. Philosophy of science 7. Political philosophy

Prescribed text 40 40 Students are required to study one text from the “IB list of prescribed philosophical texts”. (This list is provided later in this subject guide.)

HL extension: Exploring philosophical activity 50 HL students are required to explore the nature of philosophical activity.

Internal assessment 20 20 SL and HL students are required to produce a philosophical analysis of a non-philosophical stimulus.

Total teaching hours 150 240

The recommended teaching time is 240 hours to complete higher level courses and 150 hours to complete standard level courses as stated in the document General regulations: Diploma Programme (page 3 article 7.1).

14 Philosophy guide Syllabus

Syllabus content

Core theme: Being human This compulsory theme explores the fundamental question of what it is to be human. This exploration takes place through a discussion of key concepts such as identity, freedom, and human nature , and through a consideration of questions such as what sets humans apart from other species , where the boundaries of being human lie, and whether animals or machines could be considered persons . One of the reasons we study philosophy is to search for a better understanding of ourselves, both as individuals and as members of our communities, and this search is at the heart of this element of the course. The core theme also provides an opportunity for students to engage with interpretations of the human condition from diverse world perspectives. For example, discussions of the concept of the self could include a wide range of examples from the Buddhist notion of anattā or “not-self” to Simone de Beauvoir ’s rejection of the concept of a solipsistic isolated self (De Beauvoir 1965). The core theme is focused around six key concepts, represented in the diagram below.

Human Personhood nature

Being human

The self and the Freedom other

Mind and body

Figure 2 Each of these concepts creates a number of potential discussion questions, such as the following. • What does it mean to be human? • Is there such a thing as the self? • Can we really ever know the other? • Is how we interact with others what makes us human? • Has what it means to be human been changed/shaped by technologies such as the internet? • What can discoveries in neuroscience tell us about what it is to be human?

Philosophy guide 15 Syllabus content

The core theme allows flexibility for teachers to explore topics of particular interest, such as the relationship between gender and identity, or topical news stories on advances in robotics. There is opportunity for teachers to explore a wide range of topics and to bring in stimulating examples. The table below provides suggestions on how to analyse each of the key concepts. Please note that these are suggestions only and should not be taken as prescriptive. The examples can be used or substituted for others according to specific interests and needs of the teacher and students.

Key concept Ideas for topics of study Ideas for discussion questions

Human nature Individuality and universality Do humans have common characteristics that are independent of the influence of culture? The nature versus nurture debate If so, what are these characteristics and what causes them? Scientific perspectives such as behaviourism How fixed/malleable is human nature? Emotion and reason

Freedom Freedom and determinism Is there such a thing as free will? Social conditioning Are freedom and determinism incompatible? Existential angst Why did the existentialists see freedom as the source of existential angst?

The self and the Self/non-self Is there such a thing as the self? other Solipsism and intersubjectivity Is it possible to know oneself? Authenticity How is how we define “the other” part of how we define “the self”?

Mind and body The mind–body problem What, if any, are the relationships between mind and body? The problem of other minds Why do we believe that other people have Consciousness minds like ours? What do recent advances in neuroscience tell us about how the human mind works?

Identity Personal identity Who am I? Identity over time What makes me the same person I was 10 years ago? Social and cultural identity To what extent does culture shape identity?

Personhood Self-consciousness What is it to be a person? Agency Could animals or machines be considered persons? Responsibility and authenticity Is being morally responsible the defining feature of being human?

16 Philosophy guide Syllabus content

Optional themes The purpose of the optional themes is to provide students with an opportunity to explore specific areas of philosophy in depth. The optional themes are as follows.

1. Aesthetics 2. Epistemology 3. Ethics 4. Philosophy and contemporary society 5. Philosophy of religion 6. Philosophy of science 7. Political philosophy Students at HL must study two optional themes from this list, and students at SL must study one optional theme from this list.

This section of the guide provides an introduction to each optional theme, along with suggestions for:

• engaging with diverse perspectives in each theme • making links to the core theme • making links to theory of knowledge (TOK). For each optional theme there is a table outlining the topics for study and the prescribed content. The tables also include suggested examples, which are suggestions only and should not be taken as prescriptive. Teachers are encouraged to exercise flexibility, creativity and innovation in their design and delivery of the philosophy course.

Philosophy guide 17 Syllabus content

Optional theme 1: Aesthetics Aesthetics is an area of philosophy that focuses on the nature of art, on the relations between art and society, and on concepts such as beauty and taste. It allows students to explore philosophical questions such as the following.

• What is art? • What is an artist? • Are we all born artists? • Do all works of art arise from the same artistic impulse? • Can we identify works of art outside what a given society calls art? • Should art have any religious, moral or political message? • How do we define what is beautiful and what is ugly? • Why should we be concerned with works of art when they might not seem to have utility? This theme covers art in all its different forms, for example, music, painting, sculpture, literature , photography, film and drama. It provides an opportunity for reflection on everything from the very nature of a work of art to the relations between art and society. The first topic explores the nature of art and the relationship between art and creativity. Wollheim described the nature of art as “one of the most elusive of the traditional problems of human culture” (1980). The second topic focuses on the artist and the artistic process, while the third topic explores aesthetic experience and judgment. These topics provide the opportunity to discuss positions such as Kant’s claim that an aesthetic experience of beauty is something that all people should agree on if the object is indeed beautiful (Kant [1790] 2008).

This theme also incorporates a variety of diverse perspectives. For example, the concern in much ancient Greek philosophy with beauty, harmony and unity could be contrasted with the emphasis in some Indian traditions on the concepts of rasa (the emotional theme of a work of art) and sahrdaya (the sensitive spectator). Exploring the relationship between art and society also presents an excellent opportunity to look at non-representational art in Islamic cultures.

Links to the core theme

This optional theme provides a great deal of scope for making connections to the core theme. For example, discussions could focus on the extent to which art is a reflection of the human condition or whether art is something that differentiates humans from non-human animals. This theme also allows for discussion of how the arts can contribute to our view of self and to our identity, or whether art is always the product of human activity.

Links to TOK

This theme also links well with TOK, and in particular with discussions of the arts as an area of knowledge. Discussions could explore TOK questions such as how the subjective viewpoint of an individual can contribute to knowledge in the arts, or whether the arts have a social function as a medium for social criticism.

18 Philosophy guide Syllabus content

Topics for study Required content Suggested examples/discussion questions (This list is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive)

The nature of art The nature of art • What is art? Art and creativity • Art as a means to an end versus art as an end in itself • Art as imitation, transformation or creation • Art as a means of expression, communication, education, propaganda, indoctrination • Is art always the product of human activity? • Creativity, for example, Plato ’s view of the artist as imitator rather than creator (2000), the idea of the muse, etc

The artist and the The artist • Is the notion of “the artist” a construct of Western artistic process civilization? • The artist • Are we all born artists? • Accountability and creative • Do the same aesthetic considerations arise for licence crafts as for art? The artistic process • The beholder as an artist • Creative licence: conformity, censorship, • The impact of sponsorship technology • Accountability: to oneself, to a cause, to moral, • The artistic political or social ends process around the world • The artist as a reflector of existing values or as an agent of change • Can we identify works of art outside what a given society calls art? • The impact of various technologies on the production and concept of art, for example, digital art, film as art, etc • The artistic process around the world: function, form and content

Aesthetic Aesthetic experience • Aesthetic experience: pleasure, beauty, ugliness, experience and perfection, the sublime, spontaneity, provocation Aesthetic judgment judgment • The role of the audience/spectator; can something be art if no one ever sees it? • How do we define what is beautiful and what is ugly? • Discussions of taste, for example, Hume’s Of the Standard of Taste ([1757] 2013) • ”Great works of art”, artifacts, crafts, pop art, reproductions • Is it valid to classify forms of art? Does the diversity of forms of art imply there is no universal message? • Can we make a judgment about a work of art? • Art as a consumer good

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Optional theme 2: Epistemology Epistemology is the area of philosophy concerned with the study of the nature, origin, scope and limits of human knowledge. This theme allows students to explore such questions as the following.

• Can I know anything at all? • What role does experience and reason play in the acquisition of knowledge? • What is the relationship between knowledge and certainty ? • Is certainty possible or is all knowledge relative? • Is knowledge culturally dependent? • How important is the continuous development of knowledge for the advancement of humanity? • What are the sources of knowledge? • What are the limits of knowledge? The first topic of this theme explores the nature and sources of knowledge while the second focuses on the limits and problems of knowledge. In addition to an introduction to classical debates in epistemology, these topics provide an opportunity to study more recent approaches in epistemology such as reliabilism and contextualism . The third topic examines the application of knowledge in society, bringing up questions about access to knowledge, and the relationship between knowledge, control and power. It also explores the connection between knowledge and technology.

While this theme draws generally on an approach where rationalism and empiricism have played a leading role, there is also an opportunity to explore a variety of different perspectives. For example, discussions over access to knowledge could provide an opportunity to explore feminist epistemology , or discussions of justification could explore the focus on the source of beliefs in much Indian Grammarian philosophy. Alternatively, discussions of the concept of truth could contrast the Chinese understanding of truth as a way of life and self-realization with the Western understanding of truth as a relationship between language and reality.

Links between this optional theme and the core theme could be made, for example, through discussions of the idea of self-knowledge and whether the way we gain knowledge of our own beliefs and desires is different to the way we gain knowledge of the external world. These discussions of whether the self has privileged access to its own thoughts could link extremely well to discussions of the concept of the self in the core theme.

This theme has obvious links to TOK, although care should be taken to ensure that the TOK course does not turn into an epistemology course where the primary focus is a technical investigation of the nature of knowledge. Useful links to TOK could focus on questions of how we gain knowledge of the external world, how we can know if our senses are reliable, or whether we need prior concepts before perception can take place.

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Nature of Nature of knowledge • How do we experience the world around us? knowledge Sources of knowledge • What is knowledge and how is it acquired? • Rationalism and empiricism; a priori and a posteriori • Opinion, belief, knowledge • Language and meaning • Truth, coherence, correspondence and pragmatism • Grammarian philosophies : a classical Indian approach • Inductive and deductive reasoning • Self-knowledge

Problems of Scepticism • Realism, scepticism and arguments from illusion knowledge Theories of • Issues with knowledge as justified true belief, for justification example, the Gettier problem, the regress problem • Subjectivism and objectivism • Causal theory, idealism, phenomenalism , perspectivism • Justification: what do we mean when we use the word “justification”? • Theories of justification, for example, foundationalism and coherentism

Application of Knowledge and power • The relationship between knowledge, control and knowledge power Access to knowledge • Who should control knowledge and how should it Knowledge and be disseminated? technology • Knowledge and power, for example, Plato ([360 BC] 2000) or Freire (1985) • Access to knowledge and censorship • Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights • Linking of technology with knowledge • Technology as a means of disseminating knowledge

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Optional theme 3: Ethics Ethics is an area of philosophy that explores the possible grounds for making moral decisions and examines concepts such as freedom, values, responsibility and virtue. This theme allows students to explore questions such as the following.

• Are there fundamental moral principles that apply in every situation? • How do we decide if a particular action is right or wrong? • How should we treat people? • Are moral decisions culturally influenced? • What do we mean when we say something is right or wrong? The first topic for study focuses on normative ethics, exploring moral theories and how we make ethical decisions. It also reflects on moral principles themselves, and debates such as whether moral principles are universal or relative. The second topic for study focuses on meta-ethics, on the origins and nature of moral values and foundations for moral judgment. It also explores debates surrounding ethical language, including the significance of calling something right or wrong. The third topic for study focuses on applied ethics, exploring approaches to a variety of important issues, many of which are of international concern.

This theme deals with ethical questions from a variety of perspectives. For example, discussions of the concept of duty could contrast the Kantian approach to duty with the Buddhist concept of dharma . Discussions of virtue could compare ancient Greek virtue theorists such as Aristotle with the emphasis on virtue and character found in Buddhist texts such as the Digha Nikaya (Rhys Davids 2007).

Links between this optional theme and the core theme can be made by exploring questions such as whether moral behaviour is found only in human beings , or whether human beings are inherently selfish or altruistic. Applied ethical issues such as abortion and cloning also raise interesting questions over when human life begins and over definitions of personhood.

This theme links very clearly to explorations of ethics as an area of knowledge in TOK. There is potential for discussions of the role of emotion, intuition and reason in ethical decision-making. There is also potential for interesting discussions of language in ethics and, in particular, the nature of non-literal language such as ethical language.

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Normative ethics Moral principles • Is ethics more about self-interest or about the interests of others ( ethical egoism )? Virtue-/character-based theories • Are some virtues more important than others? • Doing the “right thing” and doing the “best thing” Deontological versus teleological theories • Virtue-based theories, for example, Aristotle (2009), MacIntyre (1985), Anscombe (1958) • Deontological theories, for example, Kantian ethics , divine command theory , modern deontologists, for example, Kamm (1996) • Teleological theories, for example, Rule Utilitarianism, Act Utilitarianism, Mohist/state consequentialism • The greatest good for the greatest number • Duty, dharma

Meta-ethics The origins and nature • Do moral principles exist? Are they universal or of moral values relative to a particular situation or culture? Foundations for moral • Is moral sense natural or cultural? Relative or judgments universal? Subjective or objective? • What is the significance of calling something Ethical language “right” or “wrong”? • Is moral behaviour found only in human beings? • Foundations for moral judgments: belief in a higher being, rationality , emotion, natural law, gender, environment • Cognitivism and non-cognitivism, naturalism and non-naturalism, intuitionism and emotivism • The debate about the meaning of the word “good” in moral statements

Applied ethics Two of the following • Biomedical ethics, for example, cloning, genetic three areas of applied engineering, stem cell research, euthanasia, ethics must be studied abortion • Biomedical ethics • Environmental ethics, for example, rights and interests of future generations, deep ecology, Gaia • Environmental hypothesis, anthropocentrism, pollution, species ethics extinction • Distribution of • Distribution of wealth—ethical responsibilities wealth to humanity, for example, poverty, inequality, taxation, charity

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Optional theme 4: Philosophy and contemporary society This theme provides an opportunity for students to explore some of the most pressing issues facing society in the 21st century. It invites philosophical discussion of questions such as the following.

• Why is culture so hard to define? • Are cultures distinct or are they always overlapping and interacting? • Is censorship of information justifiable? • What is the impact of technology on society? • Is technology a tool used by society, or does technology shape society? It is important to note that the questions raised by this theme should be explored in an explicitly philosophical, rather than sociological or anthropological, way.

The first topic for study is multiculturalism. This topic provides a space for discussions of cultural and religious diversity in contemporary society, as well as questions about whether tolerance of different groups in society is the same as seeing everyone as equal citizens. The second topic is liberty and rights, allowing for the exploration of issues such as censorship. The third topic is technology and media, which explores the role that technology plays in contemporary society, focusing particularly on the extent to which technology is a tool used by society, or something that shapes society. It also explores the impact of the media on contemporary life.

This theme lends itself to a wide variety of perspectives. For example, the treatment of marginalized groups in society can raise questions about the significance of gender in contemporary society, or controversies about affirmative action. Discussions of the treatment of marginalized groups in society could also lead particularly well into more general discussions about the dominance of particular paradigms or cultures and the marginalization of particular perspectives.

This theme provides scope for interesting links to the core theme, particularly in relation to culture and identity. For example, discussions of the treatment of minority or marginalized groups in society would provide an excellent opportunity for discussions of cultural identity. Links could also, for example, be made between the concept of liberty and the concept of freedom in the core theme, or through discussions of the impact of technologies such as social networking on identity, for example, Dreyfus’ claim that the internet “frees people to develop new and exciting selves” (2004).

This theme also links to TOK, particularly in terms of culture and shared knowledge. There is scope to explore whether it is possible to have knowledge of a culture or a society in which we have not been raised, and whether there exists a neutral position from which we can make judgments about competing claims from groups with different traditions and different interests.

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Multiculturalism The concept of culture • Why is culture so hard to define? Treatment of minority • Are there distinct societies and cultures in the or marginalized groups 21st century, or do all cultures overlap? in contemporary society • Treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, minority nations, indigenous peoples Tolerance • Groups marginalized on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, language or ethnicity • Is tolerance enough or does it fall short of treating minority groups as equal citizens?

Liberty and rights Positive and negative • Distinction between positive and negative liberty, liberty for example, Berlin (1958) Legal and human rights • Authority and liberty, for example, Mill ([1859] 2008) Censorship and • Legal and human rights: duties and freedom of information responsibilities • Liberty and equality: needs, merit, entitlement and social justice • Degrees of censorship and freedom of information • Terrorism and the use of violence for political ends

Technology and Role of technology in • Technology as a tool used by society media contemporary society • Social constructivist approach (technology and Impact of technology society co-construct each other) on contemporary • Marx—technology as a factor determining the society economic and social structure of society The media in • Technology as a cultural phenomenon that contemporary society influences our perception of the world • Information and communication technology— how it changes human endeavour and human existence • Impact on society of new media technologies for social networking

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Optional theme 5: Philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion focuses on some of the central concepts in religious traditions, raising fundamental questions about the nature of our existence. This optional theme explores philosophical questions about the nature and existence of God , the nature of religious language, and different aspects of religious experience and behaviour. It explores questions such as the following.

• Can God be defined? • Can we prove the existence of a higher being through reasoning or experience? • What is the nature and scope of religious language? • Is spirituality possible without religion or belief in a higher being? • Could religion be seen as a purely social phenomenon? The first topic focuses on exploring the nature and existence of God , allowing for discussion of different beliefs about God, and different versions of theism such as monotheism and polytheism . It also looks at some of the attributes ascribed to God in different traditions, such as the traditional Judeo-Christian concept of God as omniscient and omnipotent. This topic also focuses on the question of whether we have reason to think that God does or does not exist, exploring some of the main arguments for and against the existence of God.

The second topic examines religious language and whether it is possible to talk about the infinite and divine in language used to talk about the finite and the human. The third topic explores different types of religious experience and behaviour such as meditation, prayer and near-death experiences. It also examines controversies over claims to have experienced the divine, providing the potential for interesting links to psychology and neuroscience.

This theme encourages engagement with a wide variety of different philosophical perspectives. For example, discussions on the nature of religious language could explore the way that religious language is used symbolically and metaphorically in the Sikh text the Guru Granth Sahib, or the suggestion that God can only be talked about in terms of what he is not by exploring Maimonides ’ writing on the Via Negativa in his Guide for the Perplexed (1995). Links to the core theme

This optional theme provides opportunities for links to the core theme by exploring questions such as whether religion can give meaning to human life or provide insight into what it is to be human. It also allows for discussions of the contribution of religion to an understanding of the self and the role of community in being human, for example, through discussion of the centrality of the concept of Ummah in Islam.

There are also links to TOK regarding faith as a way of knowing, including questions such as the relationship between faith and reason, and whether faith is essentially irrational. This theme also raises TOK questions about whether it is possible to know God, whether it is possible to use human language to describe the divine and how we decide between the competing claims of different systems of religious knowledge.

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Nature and Nature of God • Nature of God: types of theism, for example, existence of God monotheistic views, polytheistic views, pantheistic Arguments for the views existence of God • Characteristics and attributes of God, for example, Arguments against the omniscience , omnipotence , timelessness, existence of God benevolence • Arguments for the existence of God: for example, ontological argument , cosmological argument / kalam cosmological argument, teleological argument , karma as proof of God in Nyaya Hindu thought • Arguments against the existence of God: for example, argument for the existence of evil , omnipotence paradox , argument about inconsistent revelations

Religious Views of religious • Views of religious language: symbolic, language language metaphorical, mythological, religious language as analogous, for example, Aquinas The problem of religious language • Religious statements as verifiable after death, for example, Hick • Problem of religious language: use of ordinary human language to talk about the divine, for example, William Alston (2005) • Religious statements as meaningless if they cannot be verified, for example, Ayer and Verificationism ([1936] 2002) • Religion as a legitimate language game, for example, Wittgenstein ([1953] 2009)

Religious Definitions/ • Types of religious experience: mysticism , for experience and characteristics of example, Sufism, near-death experiences, prayer behaviour religious experience • Characteristics of religious experience, for The value of religious example, ineffability, transcendence, personal, etc experience • Faith and motivation for belief Religion in a • Social conformity versus personal commitment multicultural • The pragmatic view of faith: indoctrination, environment illusion, projection • Links to psychology, neuroscience • Religion and multiculturalism—religious pluralism , for example, John Hick and “the real” ([1989] 2004)

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Optional theme 6: Philosophy of science Philosophy of science focuses on exploring the assumptions, methods and implications of science. This theme provides an opportunity to explore questions such as the following.

• What differentiates science from pseudoscience or non-science? • Does science aim at truth? • What is the central feature of science? • Are all elements of the universe , including human action, ultimately determined? • Should scientists be held morally responsible for the uses of their inventions? The first topic focuses on exploring the nature and methodologies of science. It includes a study of the differences between science and non-science, something Popper identified as the central question for philosophy of science (Popper [1934] 2002). The second topic focuses on science and the self, allowing opportunity for exploration of the more metaphysical elements of the philosophy of science as well as opportunity to make connections to the core theme. The third topic focuses on the relationship between science and society, discussing issues such as the moral responsibilities of scientists.

This theme provides numerous opportunities to explore topics from a variety of perspectives, for example, discussions of the relationship between science and society could explore questions about the effect that male dominance of the scientific profession has had on scientific knowledge and practice. This optional theme also provides an excellent opportunity to study influential Islamic philosophers of science such as Ibn Al-Haytham or the biologist Al-Jahiz. (See, for example, Jim Al-Khalili’s 2010 text Pathfinders: The Golden Age of Arabic Science.)

Links between this optional theme and the core theme could be made, for example, in discussions of the view of ourselves as being purely material entities who behave entirely according to natural laws. The topic “cognitive science and the concept of the self” also presents particularly rich opportunities for links to be made to the exploration of the concept of self in the core theme.

Links between this optional theme and TOK could be made, for example, through discussion of the role of imagination and intuition in the natural sciences. Students could discuss, for example, Feyerabend’s claim that no description of the scientific method could be broad enough to encompass all the approaches and methods used by scientists, and that imposing prescriptive scientific method would stifle creativity ([1975] 2010). Discussion of the role of observation in the sciences could also link to TOK discussions of whether observation involves both perception and cognition, or debates about the objectivity of observations .

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Nature and The nature of science • Nature of science: the aims, assumptions and methodologies (aims, assumptions and foundations of science of science foundations) • Does science aim at truth? ( Scientific realism and Demarcation (science, anti-realism) pseudoscience and • What is the central feature of science? non-science) • Positivist and post-positivist philosophers, for Methodologies of example, Feyerabend ([1975] 2010) etc science • The role of observation, experiment and measurement in science The development of science • How does science develop? Progress of science, for example, Kuhn ([1962] 1996) • Methodology, theory formation and inductive and deductive reasoning • Nature of theories and hypotheses, explanation, deductive-nomological method of explanation • Are there some questions science will never be able to answer?

Science and the Metaphysics and the • Philosophy and modern physics : matter and self nature of reality: space, energy and their interactions time and causation • Space, time, causality , determinism, nature of Cognitive science and physical laws the concept of the self • Relationship between philosophy of mind and cognitive science Biological and biochemical • Neuroscience and the brain explanations of the • Consciousness self; teleological and • Artificial intelligence reductive explanations • Biosemiotics/biocommunicative approach • Is it possible to reduce all life processes to biochemical reactions?

Science and Accountability and • Social accountability; responsibility and ethical society responsibility of the conduct in research scientist • Funding for scientific research Implications of science: • Scientific openness the impact of science • Military research on society • Ownership of genetic information The effects of society • How independent is science from its social and social values on context? science • Social constructivism • Post-second world war “Big Science”, for example, human genome project, large hadron collider, etc

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Optional theme 7: Political philosophy Political philosophy is an area of philosophy that focuses on the study of people in societies, the claims people have on each other in the form of rights and obligations, and their demands for justice, equality and liberty. Political philosophy is also concerned with an analysis of the state and its institutions. This theme provides an opportunity for students to explore questions such as the following.

• Under which conditions can political obligation arise and what is its extent? • Are freedom and equality compatible? • Can justice be an ideal as well as a process? • How are laws justified and are there aspects of human life that laws should not attempt to regulate? • Are human rights inalienable and universal? The first topic for study deals with civil society, the state and government. It focuses on concepts such as sovereignty, authority and power, as well as different forms of government. The second topic focuses on justice, including the relationship between justice and fairness, and the distinction between retributive and distributive justice. The third topic focuses on rights, including the distinction between human rights and legal rights, and the relationship between rights, duties and responsibilities.

This optional theme provides an opportunity to engage with diverse perspectives by exploring questions such as whether the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has a Western bias. Students could discuss examples or short extracts of text from a diverse array of political philosophers from different traditions, for example, ranging from Confucius in the 5th century BC, to Ibn Khaldun in the 14th century, to 20th century classics such as John Rawls’ Theory of Justice (1971).

This theme provides excellent opportunities to make links to the core theme, in particular to the concept of freedom and questions such as whether there are aspects of human life that laws should not attempt to regulate. The topic on rights also raises interesting issues over the potential similarities and differences in the rights accorded to humans and to non-human animals.

There are many opportunities to make interesting links between this optional theme and TOK, for example, discussions of whether there is an objective standard for justice could link well to wider TOK discussions about subjectivity and objectivity. Similarly, discussions of fairness could explore students’ intuitions about what is fair and the wider role of intuition as a way of knowing.

30 Philosophy guide Syllabus content

Civil society, the state Civil society • Distinctions between state, nation, and government government and civil society The state (and its origins) • Social-contract theories of state of nature, civil society and forms of government Forms of government • Revolution; anarchism • Authority, sovereignty, power and corruption • Forms of government: one-party democracy, multiparty democracy, oligarchy, monarchy, authoritarian and totalitarian rule, tribalism, theocracy • Ideologies of government: liberalism , conservatism, Marxism and socialism • Civil duties • Analogy of state as family/clan

Justice Distributive and • The distinction between distributive and retributive justice retributive justice: the right or will of the strong; substantive versus procedural justice; Social justice truth; the moral and positive law Justice and freedom • Gender politics Justice and equality • Relations to fairness (for example, Rawls) Interrelationships • Is there an objective standard for justice? between justice, • Why did Hayek describe social justice as “an freedom and equality empty phrase without determinable content?” (1976) • What is the precise relationship between justice, freedom and equality? • What role does/should equality play in theories of justice? • Is strict equality impossible?

Rights Human and non- • Are human rights inalienable and universal? human rights • Do non-human animals have rights? Do non- Natural rights and legal living things have rights (for example, Arne rights Naess 1990)? • Legal rights: What is the relationship between Rights, duties and legal rights and other rights such as moral responsibilities rights? What rights should legal systems recognize? • Conflicts of rights; denials of rights • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and Declaration of Human Duties and Responsibilities (1998)

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Prescribed texts This element of the course provides an opportunity for students to gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of a primary philosophical text. This is a challenging but rewarding part of the course, providing an opportunity for the student as a philosopher to engage in dialogue with another philosopher.

Students at both HL and SL are required to study one text from the list of prescribed philosophical texts, found below. The study of the text should focus on the text itself, not on a commentary on the text. It is strongly advised that the study take place in class with the support and direction of the teacher. The texts should be studied in their entirety, except in the case of Plato and De Beauvoir where the lengths of the texts concerned has meant that particular sections of the texts have been specified for study.

Teachers should select only one text from the list below to study in full with their class. However, teachers are also encouraged to use extracts from other philosophical texts to support their teaching of the other elements of the course. More guidance on the effective use of philosophical texts can be found in the Philosophy teacher support material.

IB Diploma Programme list of prescribed philosophical texts

Author Title

Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex, Vol. 1 part 1, Vol. 2 part 1 and Vol. 2 part 4

René Descartes Meditations

David Hume Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

John Stuart Mill On Liberty

Friedrich Nietzsche The Genealogy of Morals

Martha Nussbaum Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach

Ortega y Gasset The Origin of Philosophy

Plato The Republic , Books IV–IX

Peter Singer The Life You Can Save

Charles Taylor The Ethics of Authenticity

Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching

Zhuangzi Zhuangzi, Inner Chapters (Please note alternative spellings also include Chuang Tzu.)

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HL extension: Exploring philosophical activity This element of the course is an opportunity for HL students to engage in a deeper exploration of the nature, function, meaning and methodology of philosophy. This allows them to deepen their understanding of philosophy as an activity by providing a space in the course for critical examination of philosophy itself, and its methods. It is also an opportunity for students to reflect on their own experience of “doing philosophy”.

The nature of philosophy The meaning of philosophy

Philosophical activity

The function of Philosophical philosophy methodology

Figure 3 This aspect of the course focuses on the fundamental question of what philosophy is and how we do it. Discussions of the nature, function, meaning and methodology of philosophy can be introduced by asking students to reflect on their own experiences of philosophical activity in other areas of the course. For example:

• when studying the core theme, a student could contrast the contribution of philosophical activity to the debate about the human condition with that of science or religion • when studying a prescribed text, the student could consider how a philosopher formulates, poses and writes about philosophical problems, or responds to the work of other philosophers • when discussing an extract from a philosophical text, the student might explore why certain philosophers choose to write in dialogue form, prose, fiction, monologue, poetry, aphorism and so on.

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The HL extension is an opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of philosophy as an activity. This can be done in a number of ways, but examples of good discussion questions/topics include the following.

Nature • Why might some people define philosophy as a discipline that is centred on dealing with questions? • Is philosophy more a skill than a body of information? • Why is it that philosophy once included areas of knowledge that are now distinct (for example, natural philosophy is now physics)? • Why are there so many diverse views on the meaning and methods of philosophy?

Function • What should the goal of philosophy be? • Does philosophical activity involve more than abstract thinking? Why might so much Indian philosophy emphasize the association of philosophy with practice (Sadhana)? • What sort of knowledge can philosophy yield? • Should philosophy be regarded as a discipline in its own right, or does philosophy simply try to analyse the foundations and assumptions of other disciplines? Do you think that philosophy constitutes the total system of human knowledge? • Is the main purpose of philosophy to enable us to evaluate critically our own beliefs and attitudes?

Meaning • Can philosophical activity inform our understanding of who we are and our place in the world? • Is philosophy an exchange of ideas? • Why did Camus claim that the only real philosophical problem is suicide? (Camus 1995) • Does philosophy have a primarily social function? • Does philosophy bring order and/or beauty to our thoughts? • What is the relationship between philosophy and religion? Why do some thinkers maintain that philosophy is ultimately concerned with the cognition of God?

Methodology • Is conceptual analysis the primary methodology of philosophy? • Why is the production of rational and cogent arguments so central to philosophy? • Can philosophy be done in isolation? • How important is awareness of past and current responses when exploring philosophical questions? • How relevant are the findings of other disciplines to philosophical discussions?

This element of the course provides excellent opportunities for making links to TOK, particularly to the methodology element of the knowledge framework used to compare areas of knowledge in the TOK course. Reflecting on the scope and methods of philosophy should provide opportunities to compare and contrast with the scope and methods of other disciplines, helping students to gain a deeper understanding of the different scope and methods of different areas of knowledge.

The assessment of the HL extension element presents students with a previously unseen philosophical text. Students are asked to write a response to this text in which they compare and contrast the view of philosophical activity presented in the unseen text with their own experiences of philosophical activity. More guidance on preparing students for this component (including assessment samples, sample lesson plans, suggestions of appropriate texts, and guidance on how to write a paper 3 essay) can be found in the Philosophy teacher support material.

34 Philosophy guide Assessment

Assessment in the Diploma Programme

General Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. The most important aims of assessment in the Diploma Programme are that it should support curricular goals and encourage appropriate student learning. Both external and internal assessments are used in the Diploma Programme. IB examiners mark work produced for external assessment, while work produced for internal assessment is marked by teachers and externally moderated by the IB.

There are two types of assessment identified by the IB.

• Formative assessment informs both teaching and learning. It is concerned with providing accurate and helpful feedback to students and teachers on the kind of learning taking place and the nature of students’ strengths and weaknesses in order to help develop students’ understanding and capabilities. Formative assessment can also help to improve teaching quality, as it can provide information to monitor progress towards meeting the course aims and objectives. • Summative assessment gives an overview of previous learning and is concerned with measuring student achievement. The Diploma Programme primarily focuses on summative assessment designed to record student achievement at, or towards the end of, the course of study. However, many of the assessment instruments can also be used formatively during the course of teaching and learning, and teachers are encouraged to do this. A comprehensive assessment plan is viewed as being integral with teaching, learning and course organization. For further information, see the IB Programme standards and practices document.

The approach to assessment used by the IB is criterion-related, not norm-referenced. This approach to assessment judges students’ work by their performance in relation to identified levels of attainment, and not in relation to the work of other students. For further information on assessment within the Diploma Programme, please refer to the publication Diploma Programme assessment: Principles and practice.

To support teachers in the planning, delivery and assessment of the Diploma Programme courses, a variety of resources can be found on the OCC or purchased from the IB store (http://store.ibo.org). Additional publications such as specimen papers and markschemes, teacher support materials, subject reports and grade descriptors can also be found on the OCC. Past examination papers as well as markschemes can be purchased from the IB store.

Methods of assessment The IB uses several methods to assess work produced by students.

Assessment criteria Assessment criteria are used when the assessment task is open-ended. Each criterion concentrates on a particular skill that students are expected to demonstrate. An assessment objective describes what students should be able to do, and assessment criteria describe how well they should be able to do it. Using assessment criteria allows discrimination between different answers and encourages a variety of responses.

Philosophy guide 35 Assessment in the Diploma Programme

Each criterion comprises a set of hierarchically ordered level descriptors. Each level descriptor is worth one or more marks. Each criterion is applied independently using a best-fit model. The maximum marks for each criterion may differ according to the criterion’s importance. The marks awarded for each criterion are added together to give the total mark for the piece of work.

Markbands Markbands are a comprehensive statement of expected performance against which responses are judged. They represent a single holistic criterion divided into level descriptors. Each level descriptor corresponds to a range of marks to differentiate student performance. A best-fit approach is used to ascertain which particular mark to use from the possible range for each level descriptor.

Markschemes This generic term is used to describe markschemes that are prepared for specific examination papers. Analytic markschemes are prepared for those examination questions that expect a particular kind of response and/or a given final answer from the students. They give detailed instructions to examiners on how to break down the total mark for each question for different parts of the response. A markscheme may include the content expected in the responses to questions or may be a series of marking notes giving guidance on how to apply criteria.

Inclusive assessment arrangements Inclusive assessment arrangements are provided for candidates with assessment access requirements. These arrangements enable candidates with diverse needs to access the examinations and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the constructs being assessed.

The IB document Candidates with assessment access requirements provides details on all the inclusive assessment arrangements available to candidates with learning support requirements. The IB document Learning diversity in the International Baccalaureate programmes: Special educational needs within the International Baccalaureate programmes outlines the position of the IB with regard to candidates with diverse learning needs in the IB programmes. For candidates affected by adverse circumstances, the IB documents General regulations: Diploma Programme and the Handbook of procedures for the Diploma Programme provide details on access consideration.

Responsibilities of the school The school is required to ensure that equal access arrangements and reasonable adjustments are provided to candidates with learning support requirements that are in line with the IB documents Candidates with assessment access requirements and Learning diversity in the International Baccalaureate programmes: Special educational needs within the International Baccalaureate programmes.

36 Philosophy guide Assessment

Assessment outline—SL

Assessment component Weighting

External assessment (2 hours 45 minutes) 75% Paper 1 (1 hour 45 minutes) 50% This paper contains two compulsory sections: section A and section B. Section A consists of two stimulus-based questions on the core theme. Students are required to answer one question. Section B consists of two essay questions for each of the optional themes. Students are required to answer one question. Paper 2 (1 hour) 25% This paper consists of two questions for each of the prescribed philosophical texts. Each question is split into two parts: part A and part B. Students are required to answer one question, and to answer both part A and part B of that question.

Internal assessment (20 hours) 25% Students are required to complete a philosophical analysis of a non-philosophical stimulus. This component is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course.

Philosophy guide 37 Assessment

Assessment outline—HL

External assessment (4 hours 45 minutes) 80% Paper 1 (2 hours 30 minutes) 40% This paper contains two compulsory sections: section A and section B. Section A consists of two stimulus-based questions on the core theme. Students are required to answer one question. Section B consists of two essay questions for each of the optional themes. Students are required to answer two questions, each from a different optional theme.

Paper 2 (1 hour) 20% This paper consists of two questions for each of the prescribed philosophical texts. Each question is split into two parts: part A and part B. Students are required to answer one question, and to answer both part A and part B of that question.

Paper 3 (1 hour 15 minutes) 20% This paper consists of one unseen text. Students are required to write a response to this text, comparing and contrasting their experience of philosophical activity with the view(s) of philosophical activity found in the text.

Internal assessment (20 hours) 20% Students are required to complete a philosophical analysis of a non-philosophical stimulus. This component is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course.

38 Philosophy guide Assessment

External assessment

Two different methods are used to assess students.

• Detailed markschemes specific to each examination paper • Markbands For paper 1, paper 2 and paper 3 there are markbands and markschemes. The markbands are published in this guide, and are related to the assessment objectives established for the philosophy course and the group 3 grade descriptors. The markschemes are specific to each examination.

External assessment details—SL

Paper 1 Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes Weighting: 50% This paper contains two compulsory sections: section A and section B.

Section A consists of two stimulus-based questions based on the core theme “Being human”. Students are required to answer one question.

Section B consists of two essay questions for each of the optional themes. Students are required to answer one question.

Each question is worth 25 marks.

Paper 2 Duration: 1 hour Weighting: 25% This paper consists of two questions for each of the prescribed philosophical texts. Each question is split into two parts: part A and part B. Part A requires students to explain a key concept, idea or argument from the text they have studied, and part B requires students to engage in critical discussion of that text. Students are required to answer one question, and to answer both part A and part B of that question. Part A is worth 10 marks, and part B is worth 15 marks.

Philosophy guide 39 External assessment

External assessment markbands—SL

Paper 1: Section A, SL and HL (Core theme)

Marks Level descriptor

0 The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1–5 • The response is poorly structured, or where there is a recognizable essay structure there is minimal focus on the task. • The philosophical issue raised by the stimulus material is implied but not explicitly identified. There is minimal or no explanation of how the issue relates to the stimulus material or links to the question of what it is to be human. • There is little relevant knowledge demonstrated, and the explanation is superficial. Philosophical vocabulary is not used, or is consistently used inappropriately. • The essay is descriptive and lacking in analysis.

6–10 • There is some attempt to follow a structured approach, although it is not always clear what the answer is trying to convey. • The philosophical issue raised by the stimulus material is implied but not explicitly identified. There is some limited explanation of how the issue relates to the stimulus material or links to the question of what it is to be human. • Knowledge is demonstrated but lacks accuracy and relevance, and there is a basic explanation of the issue. Philosophical vocabulary is used, sometimes appropriately. • There is some limited analysis but the response is more descriptive than analytical. There is little discussion of alternative interpretations or points of view. Few of the main points are justified.

11–15 • There is a clear attempt to structure the response, although there may be some repetition or a lack of clarity in places. • The philosophical issue raised by the stimulus material is explicitly identified. There is a basic explanation of how the issue relates to the stimulus material and to the question of what it is to be human. • Knowledge is mostly accurate and relevant, and there is a satisfactory explanation of the issue. Philosophical vocabulary is used, sometimes appropriately. • The response contains analysis, but this analysis lacks development. There is some discussion of alternative interpretations or points of view. Many of the main points are justified.

40 Philosophy guide External assessment

16–20 • The response is structured and generally organized, and can be easily followed. • The philosophical issue raised by the stimulus material is explicitly identified. There is good justification of how the issue relates to the stimulus material and to the question of what it is to be human. • The response contains accurate and relevant knowledge. There is a good explanation of the issue. Philosophical vocabulary is mostly used appropriately. • The response contains critical analysis. There is discussion and some assessment of alternative interpretations or points of view. Most of the main points are justified.

21–25 • The response is well structured, focused and effectively organized. • The philosophical issue raised by the stimulus material is explicitly identified. There is a well-developed justification of how the issue relates to the stimulus material and to the question of what it is to be human. • The response contains relevant, accurate and detailed knowledge. There is a well-developed explanation of the issue. There is appropriate use of philosophical vocabulary throughout the response. • The response contains well-developed critical analysis. There is discussion and assessment of alternative interpretations or points of view. All, or nearly all, of the main points are justified. The response argues from a consistently held position about the issue.

Philosophy guide 41 External assessment

Paper 1: Section B, SL and HL (Optional themes)

1–5 • The response is poorly structured, or where there is a recognizable essay structure there is minimal focus on the task. The response lacks coherence and is often unclear. • The student demonstrates little relevant knowledge of philosophical issues arising from the optional theme. Philosophical vocabulary is not used, or is consistently used inappropriately. • The essay is mostly descriptive. There is no discussion of alternative interpretations or points of view. Few of the main points are justified.

6–10 • There is some attempt to follow a structured approach, although it is not always clear what the answer is trying to convey. • The student demonstrates knowledge of philosophical issues arising from the optional theme, but this knowledge lacks accuracy and relevance. Philosophical vocabulary is used, sometimes appropriately. • There is limited analysis but the response is more descriptive than analytical. There is little discussion of alternative interpretations or points of view. Some of the main points are justified.

11–15 • There is a clear attempt to structure the response, although there may be some repetition or a lack of clarity in places. • Knowledge of philosophical issues arising from the optional theme is mostly accurate and relevant. Philosophical vocabulary is used, sometimes appropriately. • The response contains analysis, but this analysis lacks development. There is some discussion of alternative interpretations or points of view. Many of the main points are justified.

16–20 • The response is structured and generally organized, and can be easily followed. • The response contains accurate and relevant knowledge of philosophical issues arising from the optional theme. Philosophical vocabulary is mostly used appropriately. • The response contains critical analysis. There is discussion and some assessment of alternative interpretations or points of view. Most of the main points are justified.

21–25 • The response is well structured, focused and effectively organized. • The response contains relevant, accurate and detailed knowledge of philosophical issues arising from the optional theme. There is appropriate use of philosophical vocabulary throughout the response. • The response contains well-developed critical analysis. There is discussion and assessment of alternative interpretations or points of view. All, or nearly all, of the main points are justified. The response argues from a consistently held position about the issue.

42 Philosophy guide External assessment

Paper 2: Part A, SL and HL (Prescribed text)

1–2 • There is little relevant knowledge of the specified idea/argument/concept from the text. • The explanation is minimal. • Philosophical vocabulary is not used, or is consistently used inappropriately.

3–4 • Some knowledge of the specified idea/argument/concept from the text is demonstrated but this lacks accuracy, relevance and detail. • The explanation is basic and in need of development. • Philosophical vocabulary is not used, or is consistently used inappropriately.

5–6 • Knowledge of the specified idea/argument/concept from the text is mostly accurate and relevant, but lacking in detail. • There is a satisfactory explanation. • Philosophical vocabulary is used, sometimes appropriately.

7–8 • The response contains accurate and relevant knowledge of the specified idea/ argument/concept from the text. • The explanation is clear, although may be in need of further development. • Philosophical vocabulary is mostly used appropriately.

9–10 • The response contains relevant, accurate and detailed knowledge of the specified idea/ argument/concept from the text. • The explanation is clear and well developed. • There is appropriate use of philosophical vocabulary throughout the response.

Philosophy guide 43 External assessment

Paper 2: Part B, SL and HL (Prescribed text)

1–3 • There is little relevant knowledge of the text. • Philosophical vocabulary is not used, or is consistently used inappropriately. • The response is mostly descriptive with very little analysis. • There is no discussion of alternative interpretations or points of view.

4–6 • Some knowledge of the text is demonstrated but this lacks accuracy and relevance. • Philosophical vocabulary is used, sometimes appropriately. • There is some limited analysis, but the response is more descriptive than analytical. • There is little discussion of alternative interpretations or points of view. • Some of the main points are justified.

7–9 • Knowledge of the text is mostly accurate and relevant. • Philosophical vocabulary is used, sometimes appropriately. • The response contains analysis, but this analysis lacks development. • There is some discussion of alternative interpretations or points of view. • Many of the main points are justified.

10–12 • The response contains accurate and relevant knowledge of the text. • Philosophical vocabulary is mostly used appropriately. • The response contains clear critical analysis. • There is discussion and some assessment of alternative interpretations or points of view. • Most of the main points are justified.

13–15 • The response contains relevant, accurate and detailed knowledge of the text. • There is appropriate use of philosophical vocabulary throughout the response. • The response contains clear and well-developed critical analysis. • There is discussion and assessment of alternative interpretations or points of view. • All, or nearly all, of the main points are justified.

44 Philosophy guide External assessment

External assessment details—HL

Paper 1 Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes Weighting: 40% This paper contains two compulsory sections: section A and section B.

Section A consists of two stimulus-based questions on the core theme. Students are required to answer one question.

Section B consists of two essay questions for each of the optional themes. Students are required to answer two questions, each from a different optional theme.

Paper 2 Duration: 1 hour Weighting: 20% Paper 2 is identical for SL and HL students. The paper consists of two questions for each of the prescribed philosophical texts. Each question is split into two parts: part A and part B. Students are required to answer one question, and to answer both part A and part B of that question. Part A is worth 10 marks, and part B is worth 15 marks.

Paper 3 Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes Weighting: 20% This paper consists of one unseen text. Students are required to write a response to this text, comparing and contrasting their experience of philosophical activity with the view(s) of philosophical activity found in the text.

The question is worth 25 marks.

Philosophy guide 45 External assessment

External assessment markbands—HL The markbands for paper 1 and paper 2 are identical for SL and HL, and these markbands can be found in the section “External assessment markbands—SL” of this subject guide.

Paper 3: HL extension

1–5 • The response is poorly structured, or where there is a recognizable structure there is minimal focus on the task. Philosophical vocabulary is not used, or is consistently used inappropriately. • There is a very basic understanding of the view of philosophical activity raised by the unseen text. Few, if any, references are made to the text. • There is limited reference to the student’s personal experience of philosophical activity but no comparison or contrast of this experience with the view(s) raised by the text. • The essay is descriptive and lacking in analysis. Few of the main points are justified.

6–10 • There is some attempt to follow a structured approach, although it is not always clear what the answer is trying to convey. • There is a limited understanding of the view(s) of philosophical activity raised by the text. Few, if any, references are made to the text. • There is some evidence that the student has drawn on their personal experience of philosophical activity. • The response identifies similarities and differences between the student’s personal experience of philosophical activity and the view(s) of philosophical activity presented in the text, although the analysis of these similarities and differences is superficial. • The response contains some analysis but is more descriptive than analytical. Some of the main points are justified.

11–15 • There is a clear attempt to structure the response, although there may be some repetition or a lack of clarity in places. Philosophical vocabulary is used, sometimes appropriately. • There is a satisfactory understanding of the view(s) of philosophical activity raised by the text. Some references are made to the text. • There is some evidence that the student has drawn on their personal experience of philosophical activity, with examples or illustrations used to support their points. • There is some analysis of the similarities and differences between the student’s personal experience of philosophical activity and the view(s) of philosophical activity presented in the text, although this analysis needs further development. • The response contains critical analysis rather than just description. Many of the main points are justified.

46 Philosophy guide External assessment

16–20 • The response is well organized and can be easily followed. Philosophical vocabulary is used, mostly appropriately. • There is clear identification of the view(s) of philosophical activity presented in the unseen text. Some references are made to the text. • The student draws on their personal experience of philosophical activity, using examples or illustrations to support their points. • There is clear analysis of both similarities and differences between the student’s personal experience of philosophical activity and the view(s) of philosophical activity presented in the text, although this analysis needs further development. • The response contains critical analysis rather than just description. Most of the main points are justified. The response argues to a reasoned conclusion.

21–25 • The response is well structured, focused and effectively organized. There is appropriate use of philosophical vocabulary throughout the response. • There is clear identification of the view(s) of philosophical activity presented in the unseen text. Effective references are made to the text. • The student draws explicitly on their personal experience of philosophical activity, using well-chosen examples or illustrations to support their points. • There is clear analysis of both similarities and differences between the student’s personal experience of philosophical activity and the view(s) of philosophical activity presented. • The response contains well-developed critical analysis. All, or nearly all, of the main points are justified. The response argues to a reasoned conclusion.

Philosophy guide 47 Assessment

Internal assessment

Purpose of internal assessment Internal assessment is an integral part of the course and is compulsory for both SL and HL students. It enables students to demonstrate the application of their skills and knowledge, and to pursue their personal interests, without the time limitations and other constraints associated with written examinations. The internal assessment should, as far as possible, be woven into normal classroom teaching and not be a separate activity conducted after a course has been taught.

The internal assessment requirements at SL and at HL are the same.

Requirements and recommendations The internal assessment exercise for students at both SL and HL requires them to produce a philosophical analysis of a non-philosophical stimulus. The exercise is worth 25 marks and the word limit is 2,000 words, excluding bibliography or references. The word limit also does not include the copy/description of the stimulus, which must be included with the response.

Guidance and authenticity The philosophical analysis submitted for internal assessment must be the student’s own work. However, it is not the intention that students should decide upon a title or topic and be left to work on the internal assessment component without any further support from the teacher. The teacher should play an important role during both the planning stage and the period when the student is working on the internally assessed work. It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that students are familiar with:

• the requirements of the type of work to be internally assessed • the assessment criteria; students must understand that the work submitted for assessment must address these criteria effectively. Teachers and students must discuss the internally assessed work. Students should be encouraged to initiate discussions with the teacher to obtain advice and information, and students must not be penalized for seeking guidance. As part of the learning process, teachers can read and give advice to students on one draft of the work. The teacher should provide oral or written advice on how the work could be improved, but must not write comments on the draft work or edit it. The next version handed to the teacher must be the final version for submission.

It is the responsibility of teachers to ensure that all students understand the basic meaning and significance of concepts that relate to academic honesty, especially authenticity and intellectual property. Teachers must ensure that all student work for assessment is prepared according to the requirements and must explain clearly to students that the internally assessed work must be entirely their own. Where collaboration

48 Philosophy guide Internal assessment

between students is permitted, it must be clear to all students what the difference is between collaboration and collusion.

All work submitted to the IB for moderation or assessment must be authenticated by a teacher, and must not include any known instances of suspected or confirmed malpractice. Each student must confirm that the work is his or her authentic work and constitutes the final version of that work. Once a student has officially submitted the final version of the work to the teacher it cannot be retracted. The requirement to confirm the authenticity of the work applies to all students, not just the sample work that will be submitted to the IB for the purpose of moderation. For further details refer to the IB publications Academic honesty, The Diploma Programme: From principles into practice and the relevant articles in General regulations: Diploma Programme.

Authenticity may be checked by discussion with the student on the content of the work, and scrutiny of one or more of the following.

• The student’s initial proposal • The first draft of the written work • The references cited • The style of writing compared with work known to be that of the student • The analysis of the work by a web-based plagiarism detection service such as www.turnitin.com The same piece of work cannot be submitted to meet the requirements of both the internal assessment and the extended essay.

Group work Group work may not be undertaken by students.

Time allocation Internal assessment is an integral part of the philosophy course, contributing 25% to the final assessment in the SL course and 20% to the final assessment in the HL course. This weighting should be reflected in the time that is allocated to teaching the knowledge, skills and understanding required to undertake the work, as well as the total time allocated to carry out the work.

It is recommended that a total of approximately 20 hours (SL and HL) should be allocated to the work. This should include:

• time for the teacher to explain to students the requirements of the internal assessment • class time for students to work on the internal assessment component • time for consultation between the teacher and each student • time to review and monitor progress, and to check authenticity.

Philosophy guide 49 Internal assessment

Using assessment criteria for internal assessment For internal assessment, a number of assessment criteria have been identified. Each assessment criterion has level descriptors describing specific achievement levels, together with an appropriate range of marks. The level descriptors concentrate on positive achievement, although for the lower levels failure to achieve may be included in the description.

Teachers must judge the internally assessed work at SL and at HL against the criteria using the level descriptors.

• The same assessment criteria are provided for SL and HL. • The aim is to find, for each criterion, the descriptor that conveys most accurately the level attained by the student, using the best-fit model. A best-fit approach means that compensation should be made when a piece of work matches different aspects of a criterion at different levels. The mark awarded should be one that most fairly reflects the balance of achievement against the criterion. It is not necessary for every single aspect of a level descriptor to be met for that mark to be awarded. • When assessing a student’s work, teachers should read the level descriptors for each criterion until they reach a descriptor that most appropriately describes the level of the work being assessed. If a piece of work seems to fall between two descriptors, both descriptors should be read again and the one that more appropriately describes the student’s work should be chosen. • Where there are two or more marks available within a level, teachers should award the upper marks if the student’s work demonstrates the qualities described to a great extent; the work may be close to achieving marks in the level above. Teachers should award the lower marks if the student’s work demonstrates the qualities described to a lesser extent; the work may be close to achieving marks in the level below. • Only whole numbers should be recorded; partial marks (fractions and decimals) are not acceptable. • Teachers should not think in terms of a pass or fail boundary, but should concentrate on identifying the appropriate descriptor for each assessment criterion. • The highest level descriptors do not imply faultless performance but should be achievable by a student. Teachers should not hesitate to use the extremes if they are appropriate descriptions of the work being assessed. • A student who attains a high achievement level with one criterion will not necessarily attain high achievement levels in the other criteria. Similarly, a student who attains a low achievement level for one criterion will not necessarily attain low achievement levels for the other criteria. Teachers should not assume that the overall assessment of the students will produce any particular distribution of marks. • It is recommended that the assessment criteria be made available to students.

50 Philosophy guide Internal assessment

Internal assessment details—SL and HL

Philosophical analysis of a non-philosophical stimulus Duration: 20 hours Weighting: SL 25%, HL 20% Students at both SL and HL must produce a philosophical analysis of a non-philosophical stimulus. Students should identify a philosophical issue raised by the stimulus and analyse it in a philosophical way.

Suitable stimuli for analysis include, but are not limited to:

• novels, plays, or poems • song lyrics • cartoons, paintings, photographs or other visual images • films, television and radio programmes • advertisements • newspaper articles/letters • pamphlets. Students should select a non-philosophical stimulus. Short stimuli such as newspaper articles can be analysed in their entirety, but where novels or plays are used, no more than two pages should be selected for analysis. In the case of television or radio programmes, no more than two scenes should be selected for analysis.

When the source material is an image or contains 200 words or fewer, students must include a copy of this material with their response. When the source material contains more than 200 words or is, for example, a scene from a film, students must include a description of the stimulus with their response. Descriptions of stimuli must be no more than 200 words. All stimulus material must be accurately referenced.

Philosophy guide 51 Internal assessment

Internal assessment criteria—SL and HL

Philosophical analysis of a non-philosophical stimulus Criterion A: Identification of issue and justification (3 marks)

1 The philosophical issue raised by the stimulus is implied but not explicitly identified. There is no justification of the connection between the stimulus and the philosophical issue identified.

2 The philosophical issue raised by the stimulus is clearly identified. There is some justification of the connection between the stimulus and the philosophical issue identified.

3 The philosophical issue raised by the stimulus is clearly and explicitly identified. There is a clear justification of the connection between the stimulus and the philosophical issue identified.

Criterion B: Clarity (4 marks)

1 The response is poorly structured, or where there is a recognizable structure there is minimal focus on the task.

2 There is some attempt to follow a structured approach, although it is not always clear what the answer is trying to convey.

3 The response is structured and generally organized, and can be easily followed.

4 The response is well structured, focused and effectively organized. The response is clear and coherent.

Criterion C: Knowledge and understanding (4 marks)

1 There is little relevant knowledge. The explanation of the philosophical issue is minimal. Philosophical vocabulary is not used, or is consistently used inappropriately.

2 Some knowledge is demonstrated but this lacks accuracy and relevance. There is a basic explanation of the philosophical issue. Philosophical vocabulary is used, sometimes appropriately.

3 Knowledge is mostly accurate and relevant. There is a satisfactory explanation of the philosophical issue. Philosophical vocabulary is used, sometimes appropriately.

4 The response contains relevant, accurate and detailed knowledge. There is a well-developed explanation of the philosophical issue. There is appropriate use of philosophical vocabulary throughout the response.

52 Philosophy guide Internal assessment

Criterion D: Analysis (8 marks)

1–2 The response is mostly descriptive. There is little analysis, and few or no examples are given.

3–4 There is limited analysis, but the response is more descriptive than analytical. Some appropriate examples are used.

5–6 The response contains analysis, but this analysis lacks development. Appropriate examples are used in support of the argument. Counter-arguments are identified.

7–8 The response contains well-developed critical analysis. The examples used are well chosen and lend support to the argument. Counter-arguments are identified and analysed in a convincing way.

Criterion E: Evaluation (6 marks)

1–2 There is little evaluation of alternative interpretations or points of view. Some of the main points are justified. There is no conclusion, or the conclusion is not relevant.

3–4 There is some evaluation of alternative interpretations or points of view. Many of the main points are justified. The conclusion is stated but may not be entirely consistent with the argument.

5–6 There is clear evaluation of alternative interpretations or points of view. All, or nearly all, of the main points are justified. The response argues from a consistently held position. The conclusion is clearly stated and consistent with the argument.

Philosophy guide 53 Appendices

Glossary of command terms

Command terms for philosophy Students should be familiar with the following key terms and phrases used in examination questions, which are to be understood as described below. Although these terms will be used frequently in examination questions, other terms may be used to direct students to present an argument in a specific way.

Command term Assessment Definition objective

Analyse AO2 Break down in order to bring out the essential elements or structure.

Compare AO3 Give an account of the similarities between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout.

Compare and AO3 Give an account of similarities and differences between two (or contrast more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout.

Contrast AO3 Give an account of the differences between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout.

Describe AO1 Give a detailed account.

Discuss AO3 Offer a considered and balanced review that includes a range of arguments, factors or hypotheses. Opinions or conclusions should be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

Evaluate AO3 Make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations.

Examine AO3 Consider an argument or concept in a way that uncovers the assumptions and interrelationships of the issue.

Explain AO2 Give a detailed account including reasons or causes.

54 Philosophy guide Glossary of command terms

Explore AO3 Undertake a systematic process of discovery.

Identify AO1 Provide an answer from a number of possibilities.

Justify AO3 Give valid reasons or evidence to support an answer or conclusion.

Outline AO1 Give a brief account or summary.

To what extent AO3 Consider the merits or otherwise of an argument or concept. Opinions and conclusions should be presented clearly and supported with appropriate evidence and sound argument.

Philosophy guide 55 Appendices

Bibliography

This bibliography lists the texts referred to directly in this guide. It is not a list of all of the texts used in the curriculum review and does not include all the literature available. This bibliography is not a list of recommended textbooks.

Al-Khalili, J. 2010. Pathfinders: The Golden Age of Arabic Science. London, UK. Penguin.

Alston, W. 2005. “Religious Language” in Wainwright (ed), 2005, The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press.

Anscombe, E. 1958. “Modern Moral Philosophy”. Philosophy, Vol. 33. Pp 1–19.

Aristotle. 2009. Nichomachean Ethics. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press.

Ayer, AJ. 2002. Language, Truth and Logic. New York, USA. Dover.

Berlin, I. 1958. “Two Concepts of Liberty”, in Berlin, 2002, Liberty. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press.

Camus, A. 1995. The Myth of Sisyphus. London, UK. Penguin.

Costa and Kallick (eds). 2000. Activating and Engaging Habits of Mind. Alexandria, VA, USA. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Costa and Lowery. 1989. Techniques for Teaching Thinking. Pacific Grove, USA. Midwest Publications Co.

Daniel and Auriac. 2011. “Philosophy, Critical Thinking and Philosophy for Children”. Educational Philosophy and Theory. Vol. 43, number 5. Pp 415–35.

De Beauvoir, S. 1965. The Prime of Life. Harmondsworth, UK. Penguin.

Dreyfus, H. 2004. “ Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity versus Commitment in the Present Age”, in Feenberg and Barney (eds), 2004, Community in the Digital Age: Philosophy and Practice. Lanham, USA. Rowman and Littlefield.

Feyerabend, P. 2010. Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge. New York, USA. Verso.

Freire, P. 1985. The Politics of Education. London, UK. Macmillan.

Gokhale. 1995. “Collaborative Learning Enhances Critical Thinking”. Journal of Technology Education. Vol. 7, number 1.

Hayek, F. 1976. Law, Legislation and Liberty Volume 2: The Mirage of Social Justice. Chicago, USA. The University of Chicago Press.

Hick, J. 2004. An Interpretation of Religion: Human Responses to the Transcendental. Basingstoke, UK. Palgrave Macmillan.

Hume, D. 2013. Of the Standard of Taste. Birmingham, UK. The Birmingham Free Press.

Kamm, F. 1996. Morality , Mortality Vol. 2: Rights, Duties, and Status. New York, USA. Oxford University Press.

Kant, I. 2008. The Critique of Judgment. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press.

56 Philosophy guide Bibliography

Kuhn, T. 1996. Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago, USA. University of Chicago Press.

MacIntyre, A. 1985. After Virtue. London, UK. Duckworth.

Maimonides, M. 1995. Guide for the Perplexed. Indianapolis, USA. Hackett.

Mill, JS. 2008. On Liberty. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press.

Naess, A. 1990. Ecology, Community and Lifestyle. Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press.

Nelson, L. 1949. Socratic Method and Critical Philosophy: Selected Essays. New Haven, USA. Yale University Press.

Plato. 2000. The Republic (Cambridge Texts in The History of Political Thought). Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press.

Popper, K. 2002. The Logic of Scientific Discoveries. London, UK. Routledge.

Rawls, J. 1971. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA, USA. Harvard University Press.

Rhys Davids, T. 2007. Dialogues of the Buddha: The Digha-Nikaya. Hong Kong. Forgotten Books.

Ritchhart et al. 2011. Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for all Learners. San Francisco, USA. Jossey Bass.

UN General Assembly. 1948. Universal Declaration of Human Rights available at http://www.unhcr.org/ refworld/docid/3ae6b3712c.html, accessed 28 February 2013.

Walker, G. (ed). 2011. The Changing Face of International Education: Challenges for the IB. International Baccalaureate Organization.

Wittgenstein, L. 2009. Philosophical Investigations. Oxford, UK. Blackwell.

Wollheim, R. 1980. Art and its Objects (Second Edition). Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press.

Philosophy guide 57

How to write a Philosophy Extended Essay [2022 Ultimate Guideline]

Your EE needs to be structured and formatted according to the IB guidelines. You should have an Introduction, Methodology, Historiography Analysis, Arguments, Body, and a Conclusion.

Introduction, Investigation, Knowledge and Understanding of the topic, Reasoned Argument, Application of Analytical and Evaluative Skills, Appropriate To the Theatre extended essay, Use of Language Appropriate To the Subject, Conclusion, Formal Presentation, Abstract And Holistic Judgment.

Table of Contents

• Introduction

The extended essay is very important to your DP as it counts for 36 marks which can be really crucial when you want to advance to your preferred undergraduate study.

The extended essay applies to IB students and this article will also help parents understand what the extended essay entails.

We will look at step-by-step processes of writing a philosophy extended essay, tips for writing a good essay, and the criterion used to grade your essay.

What is a Philosophy Extended Essay, and why does it Matter?

Writing an extended essay in philosophy, you’ll be required to conduct philosophical research into a subject of particular interest by. The student is urged to give serious, personal attention to a particular philosophical question pertinent to the subject, to develop and investigate it in a structured, innovative manner, and to draw a firm conclusion.

Introduction. 1

What is a Philosophy Extended Essay, and why does it Matter?. 1

How to How to write a Philosophy Extended Essay. 1

Methodology. 2

Historiography analysis. 3

Arguments. 3

Conclusion. 5

Presentation and formatting. 5

Tips and Reminders for the Philosophy Extended Essay. 6

Use Current Sources. 6

Contact Relevant Institutions. 6

Stick to the Topic on Business Management. 7

Edit and proofread your essay. 7

Philosophy Extended Essay Topic Ideas. 7

Call-to-Action. 8

How to How to write a Philosophy Extended Essay

Ask a thoughtful question. Learning how to frame a scientific question properly is difficult, particularly so early in your academic career as high school.

Discuss your difficulties with your professors and fellow students and receive their opinions.

Now, consider the following advice:

a) Within the field of interest, what are you most curious about? Do you have any queries or believe you need additional information on the topic you are keen to know more about? Is there a subject that interests you that you may use to guide your future career while you plan for university programs? Before selecting a topic ensure that you have assessed whether it has enough data to avoid falling short of the required 4000 words.

b) Once you have settled on a particular topic you are interested in learning more about, conduct a fast search to check if the historical literature has already offered a sufficient response. Conduct a short and quick assessment of history textbooks and research the secondary literature on Google Scholar to find out what’s already been known about this problem.

• Ascertain whether the studied sources provide a precise, reliable, and valid answer to the question. Do you think, for example, that the secondary sources and the textbook sufficiently handled the issue? Are there any areas of knowledge that need more research? Are there any biases or misrepresentations in the primary and secondary sources that would have lowered the credibility of the response, given that your research question might shed some light on?
• Create a question that could guide your further research and analysis of this topic. Ask yourself if you identify a need for extra investigation due to knowledge gaps in the literature or questionable sources for the solutions provided.

The opening paragraph of a successful extended essay should discuss how skillfully the question was crafted and why it is important. Show the examiner what is already known about the subject in the body of published studies and what fresh understanding and information your question will add to the canon of historical writing.

Remember to provide due credit to any primary or secondary materials (textbooks, Google Scholar articles, etc.) you utilized to investigate the state of knowledge on the subject.

• Methodology

Create a strategy to answer your question. After the question has been adequately answered in an extended essay, the author’s approach to responding to the question must be discussed.

You must outline your process so that the examiners may perform a similar search and get the same results to assess your findings’ validity.

This is an important stage in the methodology to ensure the reliability of your findings.

Here are some guidelines to assist you in creating the methodology:

• Ask about the trustworthy sources that deal with the topic of your inquiry. You might consult a university librarian, a local public library, or even one of your teachers for help with this stage.
• Create a list of the scholars with the best reputations and the works they published on the subject you are interested in. Identify each scholar and then explain why their name or the name of their text is an important source for your investigation.
• Use Google Scholar to look through every paper written by a scholar that tries to address the question. You will have to cite your search phrases in your extended essay, so maintain a record of them.
• After that, download a text that is relevant to your question.
• List the resources you have found and indicate beside each one why it is important to your inquiry.

To come up with the answer to your question, decide if you need to consult any primary sources, such as a government document, journalistic accounts of the events, official interviews held in front of a public audience, and first-person accounts of the actions by historians or regular people, etc.

Search for these resources online, at your neighborhood library, or in a library at a university. Create a list of the materials you’ve found and explain why each one is important to your investigation next to each one.

Briefly describe how you searched for your resources inside the body of your lengthy essay.

Don’t forget to describe how you found the trustworthy secondary sources, the Google Scholar search phrases you used to find additional secondary sources, and the procedures you followed to find primary sources.

Historiography analysis

A thorough analysis of your sources should follow the description of your method. Assess any prejudice, distortion, etc., by analyzing the historiography of both secondary and primary sources.

Summarize the findings of the historiography analysis in the extended essay’s body, citing significant secondary and primary sources especially to show their reliability as sources.

It is a smart idea to incorporate an in-depth analysis of the crucial sources (either primary or secondary) that you will rely on most to address your point.

Continue your historiography study by providing a thorough response to the question you presented in part 1.

a. Critically respond to the query you made in part 1 with several supporting points.

To begin, thoroughly read your primary and secondary sources. After reading each source, summarize the most important details it contains for you, answering your question on a separate piece of paper.

Using this technique, you may begin to lay out what the other source has to say regarding the subject you have posed. Using this method will also make it simple to properly reference primary and secondary sources when developing your history extended essay ideas.

b When you evaluate each source, consider the importance and worth of the data it provides based on your assessment of its lack of bias and distortion in the historiography research you conducted in section 3.

c. After that, utilize the information you have acquired from the sources, look for long-term trends uniformly true across all the bases, and indicate a suitable answer to your question.

Once you have determined the pattern of good responses to your question, develop the main arguments that will help offset the explanation in point 1.

For each argument point, cite the relevant primary or secondary sources you used to support your position.

The essay’s body should be organized as a rational argument. This can take many forms depending on the essay’s topic. Still, as the idea is developed, it should be apparent to the reader what pertinent evidence has been found, where/how it has been found, and how it supports the argument. 

Subheadings within the main body of the essay will aid the reader in understanding the argument in some disciplines, such as the sciences (and will also help the student to keep on track).

Students must structure their Philosophy extended essays according to the accepted standards of the subject.

Once the essay’s main body is complete, it is possible to finalize the introduction (which tells the reader what to expect) and the conclusion (which says what has been achieved, including notes of any limitations and questions that have not been resolved). 

The examiner won’t read notes and appendices therefore ensure that all of the important sources are in the body of your extended essay.

Each argument point should be written in a paragraph and included in the body of your lengthy essay.

• Condense your main points of contention in a thesis statement. The thesis statement needs to be expressed as follows: “I argue that XYZ is the right response to the query based on Arguments 1, 2, 3, and so on.”
• Based on how many arguments you have created. The body of your extended essay should contain both the thesis statement and an introduction to the question you addressed in point 1.
• In an extended essay, the thesis statement serves as the reader’s road map while they read the article. It outlines how you will persuade the reader that the proposed solution is accurate by giving a methodical and trustworthy description of how you concluded (the methodology) and what credible evidence you have found to support the truthfulness of the response (historiography analysis) (the argument points).

In the conclusion, you should restate your thesis statement, which was stated following your part 1 introduction to the question.

If there were any shortcomings in your approach, knowledge, or understanding of the topic that kept you from providing a complete response in the extended essay, explain them in your conclusion and explain why.

This will make it easier for other researchers to revise and build on your response. Additionally, it will help the examiner understand how honest your answer is.

Additionally, it demonstrates to the examiner that you are a competent, experienced researcher dedicated to the scientific goal of acquiring precise knowledge and conscious of their shortcomings in communicating that knowledge.

In your conclusion, make recommendations for further study on your question. What else about your inquiry and response do we need to know? What else should future research be focused on?

Also, explain how the knowledge presented in your extended essay may be applied to improve society.

What immediate steps can you take to promote enterprises, organizations, governments, industries, research, technology, etc., using the knowledge you have gained?

This will show that you are a socially responsible student interested in using science to enhance society.

Presentation and formatting

• When you’re finished with your extended essay, ensure it is well-presented and easy to read.
• On the cover page, include the title, author’s name, and word count. Think about including a concise visual representation of your subject.
• Add a page number to each page.
• Describe the document’s contents. 
• Write an abstract of approximately 250 words that includes your thesis statement, your question, why it is important and relevant, a description of your methodology, a synopsis of your historical research, a report of your points of disagreement, and a summary of your findings. Add the abstract after the table of contents.
• Give the segments of the extended essay—including the abstract, introduction, mythology section, historiography section, arguments section, and conclusion, references, and appendix— clear titles to make them easier to read.
• At the conclusion of the essay, identify all of your sources. Ensure your sources are properly credited and formatted in a standardized way in the text’s body.
• Ensure that your reference list is properly formatted and follows a standard format. A source, a caption, a number, and a title should all be included with tables, images, and graphs.
• Tables, pictures, and graphs should all be cited inside the body of the long essay.
• The caption should accurately explain the picture and highlight for the reader the key details they should infer after looking at it.
• If necessary, add an appendix after the references. 

Tips and Reminders for the Philosophy Extended Essay

Use current sources.

The first advice is to try to use current sources or contemporary resources. Verify that the sources and references are up to date. Use sources that are not older than ten years as things change quickly, especially in philosophy. You must set your paper in the present.

Contact Relevant Institutions

Don’t be afraid to get in touch with institutions. You have absolutely nothing to lose by getting in touch with such organizations and requesting more details; they might be able to give you access to primary sources.

Ask an employee for an interview. Again, contact those individuals; most of them will be pleased to respond to you as a student as long as you present yourself well.

If you want information from a big organization, consider contacting the smaller branches. There’s a good chance that people there are eager to connect with others worldwide to publicize the branch.

Stick to the Topic on Business Management

Ensure your essay relates to the topic and not any other discipline.

You can easily find yourself discussing other related subjects, but it would be best if you struck the correct balance. 

Edit and proofread your essay

This is a very important step as it refines and eliminates any errors and mistakes. Use a read-aloud app to check your extended essay; you’ll be amazed at how much more understandable your arguments become.

To determine if you’re extended essay is successful or not, particularly in its initial draft, this is a great tool. 

In my opinion, you should approach your topic from various ethical and philosophical viewpoints.”

Consider this research question,

“To what extent may ethical egoism be justified as an effective moral theory?” .

You can focus your analysis on Ayn Rand’s “The Virtue of Selfishness.”

Make sure you keep things straightforward and understandable because this clarity will be important. Philosophy essays and history essays tend to overlap, so it is important that you be clear, stay focused and concentrate on philosophical concepts and ideas.

Familiarize yourself with relevant vocabulary, arguments and ideas pertaining to philosophy. Also, your EE can also take the form of a debate, you can look at research that supports your topic and then you can look at studies that counter your topic and discuss them.

You can also read our detailed tips on how to write your philosophy extended essay.

Philosophy Extended Essay Topic Ideas

Remember that your topic should be narrowly focused.

“An analysis of John Rawls’ procedure of justifying principles of social justice” is better than

“Philosophical views of social justice”.

• “The notion of freedom of speech in Spinoza’s Theologico-Politico Treatise” is better than

“Ethics in the 17th century”.

• “Brahman: the ultimate reality of Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta” is better than “Philosophical

implications of the Hindu scriptures”.

• “Change and continuity: a critical assessment of Herbert Marcuse’s views on art” is better

than “Philosophical aspects of art and aesthetics”.

• “Doing versus being: language and reality in the Mimamsa school of Indian philosophy” is

better than “Language and the nature of reality”.

• “An examination of the role played by reason in Anselm’s investigation of the concepts of

predestination and free will” is better than “Anselm’s exploration of the mysteries of faith”.

Remember that when selecting the topic it is important that you first search if you will have adequate data. Also, consult with your supervisor if you have any problems.

Here is a recap of the World Studies Extended Essay Guide and How to write and Structure your Essay in 2022:

• Historiography Analysis

And also the Criterion for assessing your grade

• Criterion A: Research Question
• Criterion B: Introduction
• Criterion C: Investigation
• Criterion D: Knowledge and Understanding of the topic
• Criterion E: Reasoned Argument
• Criterion F: Application of Analytical and Evaluative Skills Appropriate To the film extended essay
• Criterion G: Use of Language Appropriate To the Subject
• Criterion H: Conclusion
• Criterion I: Formal Presentation
• Criterion J: Abstract
• Criterion K: Holistic Judgment

Also, we have a list of the best Philosophy Extended Essay Topics that will help you write and develop a very good essay.

Further, read about Philosophy EE specific tips and guidelines

You can also read samples on the  philosophy extended essay  from IB.

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We also have other guidelines for writing extended essays on different subjects, so check out our blog. Also, if it seems too much of a hustle to write your essay, you can contact us, and we’ll come up with a topic, research question, and approach for you.

Talk to us today.

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Philosophy Extended Essay Topics and RQs for IB Students

Table of contents

• Writing Metier

Greetings, budding philosophers! I, the co-founder of Writing Metier , extend a warm welcome to this curated selection of IB Philosophy Extended Essay topics designed to ignite your intellectual fire and engage your critical thinking. My team of IB writers has spent several days selecting some interesting options for you.

At its core, philosophy encourages us to grapple with the fundamental questions of our existence, encompassing everything from ethics to the very fabric of reality. 

Our mission? To inspire you! To walk you through the Odyssey, where you’ll crack the intricacy of human thought and contribute your own voice to the ongoing discourse of philosophy. 

If you’re captivated by the pressing ethical issues of our modern world, intrigued by the labyrinthine pathways of knowledge, or captivated by the existential mysteries of metaphysics, this guide is meticulously crafted to fuel your imagination. 

IB Philosophy EE Topic Ideas

Every topic invites us to engage with philosophical thought, interacting with the profound ideas that have shaped our understanding of the world.

Here are three unique and manageable topics with corresponding research questions for each subcategory in IB Philosophy, designed to meet the IB Extended Essay criteria:

Fellow thinkers and seekers, welcome to the world of Ethics , where we grapple with questions of right and wrong, good and evil. It’s a realm where we examine the principles that guide our actions and shape our moral landscape.

Moral Relativism vs. Moral Absolutism

• Research Question: How does cultural diversity support or challenge the principles of moral relativism?
• Research Question: Can moral absolutism provide a universal foundation for human rights?
• Research Question: Can ethical pluralism reconcile the differences between moral relativism and moral absolutism?

Utilitarianism and Its Critiques

• Research Question: How does the trolley problem challenge the principles of utilitarianism?
• Research Question: How can utilitarianism address ethical dilemmas in environmental conservation?
• Research Question: How does the concept of happiness in utilitarianism compare with contemporary understandings of well-being?

Virtue Ethics

• Research Question: How can virtue ethics be applied to ethical decision-making in modern business practices?
• Research Question: How does Aristotle’s concept of virtue ethics contribute to personal development and flourishing?
• Research Question: How can virtue ethics guide ethical behavior in the context of social media and digital communication?

As we move from the moral complexities of Ethics, we venture into the realm of Epistemology, where we explore the foundations of knowledge and truth.

Epistemology

In Epistemology, we dive into the quest for understanding how we know what we know . Let’s travel through theories of truth, skepticism, and the justification of beliefs.

Theories of Truth

• Research Question: How does the pragmatic theory of truth apply to the analysis of truth in political discourse?
• Research Question: How does the correspondence theory of truth support the claims of scientific realism?
• Research Question: How does the coherence theory of truth impact legal reasoning and the establishment of facts in court?

Skepticism and Knowledge

• Research Question: How does Descartes’ method of skepticism contribute to the philosophical quest for certainty?
• Research Question: How do skeptical arguments challenge our knowledge of the external world?
• Research Question: How do contemporary epistemologists respond to traditional skeptical challenges regarding knowledge?

Justification of Beliefs

• Research Question: How do foundationalism and coherentism differ in their approaches to justifying beliefs?
• Research Question: How does perception serve as a basis for justifying empirical beliefs?
• Research Question: How does the Gettier problem challenge the traditional concept of knowledge as justified true belief?

Leaving the realm of knowledge, we now enter the world of Metaphysics, where we confront the fundamental questions of existence and reality.

Metaphysics

No, it’s not physics ; it’s metaphysics, and it invites us to ponder the nature of reality, the mysteries of identity, and the debates surrounding free will and determinism. It’s a domain where we explore the very essence of being.

Free Will and Determinism

• Research Question: How does compatibilism attempt to reconcile the concepts of free will and determinism?
• Research Question: How does libertarianism defend the existence of free will against determinist arguments?
• Research Question: How do interpretations of quantum mechanics challenge traditional views of determinism?

Identity and Personal Identity

• Research Question: How does the Ship of Theseus paradox shed light on the concept of identity over time?
• Research Question: How does John Locke’s memory criterion contribute to the understanding of personal identity?
• Research Question: How do recent neuroscientific discoveries challenge or support existing theories of personal identity?

The Nature of Reality

• Research Question: How does Platonic realism defend the existence of abstract objects and their role in the nature of reality?
• Research Question: How does the simulation hypothesis challenge our perceptions of reality and our understanding of existence?
• Research Question: How does the concept of the multiverse influence metaphysical debates on the nature of reality?

From the abstract questions of Metaphysics, we shift our focus to the Philosophy of Mind, where we examine the nature of consciousness and the intricacies of mental phenomena.

Philosophy of Mind

In the Philosophy of Mind, we delve into the complexities of consciousness, the mind-body problem, and the implications of artificial intelligence. It’s a realm where we seek to understand the workings of our own minds.

Consciousness and the Mind-Body Problem

• Research Question: How do dualism and physicalism provide different solutions to the mind-body problem?
• Research Question: How does the hard problem of consciousness challenge our understanding of the nature of subjective experience?
• Research Question: How does panpsychism offer a unique perspective on the relationship between consciousness and the physical world?

Artificial Intelligence and Personhood

• Research Question: How does the Turing Test contribute to the debate on machine intelligence and its implications for personhood?
• Research Question: Can artificial intelligence systems be considered moral agents, and what are the ethical implications?
• Research Question: What are the philosophical challenges in attributing consciousness to artificial intelligence systems?

Perception and Reality

• Research Question: How do direct realism and representationalism differ in their accounts of the relationship between perception and reality?
• Research Question: To what extent does perception construct our reality, and what are the philosophical implications?
• Research Question: What do illusions and perceptual errors reveal about the nature of perception and its impact on our understanding of reality?

From the inner workings of the mind, we move to the broader sphere of Political Philosophy, where we explore the principles that govern societies and the concepts of justice and liberty.

Political Philosophy

Political Philosophy takes us through the ideas of justice, equality, and the balance between liberty and authority. It’s a field where we examine the foundations of political systems and the nature of societal organization.

Justice and Equality

• Research Question: How does John Rawls’ theory of justice apply to contemporary issues of inequality and social justice?
• Research Question: How does libertarianism approach the concept of distributive justice, and what are its implications for social inequality?
• Research Question: How do feminist perspectives challenge and enrich traditional philosophical conceptions of justice and equality?

Liberty and Authority

• Research Question: How does John Stuart Mill’s harm principle define the limits of individual liberty in relation to state authority?
• Research Question: How can societies balance the protection of civil liberties with the need for national security?
• Research Question: What are the criteria for legitimate authority in democratic societies, and how is it maintained?

Social Contract Theory

• Research Question: How does Hobbes’ concept of the social contract in “Leviathan” justify the establishment of an absolute sovereign?
• Research Question: How does Rousseau’s concept of the general will in “The Social Contract” reconcile individual freedom with collective governance?
• Research Question: How do feminist critiques challenge the assumptions and implications of traditional social contract theory?

Leaving the realm of politics, we venture into the Philosophy of Science, where we scrutinize the nature of scientific inquiry and the principles that underpin our understanding of the natural world.

Philosophy of Science

In the Philosophy of Science, we explore the debates between scientific realism and anti-realism, the challenges of induction, and the nature of scientific explanations.

It’s a fascinating intersection of philosophy and the empirical world.

Scientific Realism vs. Anti-Realism

• Research Question: How do scientific realism and instrumentalism differ in their interpretations of the success of scientific theories?
• Research Question: How does the role of observation in scientific inquiry support or challenge the claims of scientific realism?
• Research Question: How does the underdetermination of theory by evidence support anti-realist positions in the philosophy of science?

The Problem of Induction

• Research Question: How does Hume’s problem of induction challenge the reliability of inductive reasoning in scientific methodology?
• Research Question: How does Karl Popper’s falsificationism address the problem of induction in the philosophy of science?
• Research Question: How does Bayesianism offer a solution to the problem of induction through probabilistic reasoning?

The Nature of Scientific Explanations

• Research Question: How does the deductive-nomological model account for the nature of scientific explanations?
• Research Question: How is causality essential to understanding scientific explanations, and what challenges does it pose?
• Research Question: How do scientific explanations differ in historical sciences, such as evolutionary biology and geology, compared to experimental sciences?

From the empirical rigor of science, we transition to the subjective realm of Aesthetics, where we contemplate the nature of beauty and the role of art in human experience.

Aesthetics invites us to reflect on the concepts of beauty, the interpretation of art , and the relationship between art and morality. It’s a domain where we appreciate the aesthetic dimensions of life and the power of artistic expression.

Beauty and Aesthetic Judgment

• Research Question: How does Immanuel Kant’s theory of aesthetic judgment and the concept of disinterestedness contribute to our understanding of beauty?
• Research Question: To what extent is aesthetic judgment subjective, and how does this impact the universality of beauty?
• Research Question: How has the digital age, with its proliferation of images and art forms, influenced contemporary notions of aesthetic judgment and beauty?

Art and Morality

• Research Question: What are the ethical responsibilities of artists when representing sensitive or controversial subjects in their work?
• Research Question: How does an artist’s intent influence the moral interpretation of their artwork, and should it?
• Research Question: How do societies balance the need for artistic freedom of expression with the enforcement of moral values, and what are the implications for censorship in art?

The Role of Intention in Art

• Research Question: Is it possible or desirable to evaluate art independently of the artist’s intention, as argued by the intentional fallacy?
• Research Question: How does the concept of authorial intent impact the interpretation of literary works, and what are the challenges it presents?
• Research Question: How does the role of intent differ in conceptual art compared to traditional art forms, and what does this reveal about the nature of artistic meaning?

All these topics and research questions aim to inspire IB Philosophy students to engage in deep and critical thinking , exploring the multifaceted nature of philosophical inquiry and contributing to ongoing debates in the discipline . 

Each field offers a unique lens through which to view the world, challenging us to think deeply and critically about the human experience.

Whether interested in the ethical dimensions of human behavior, the foundational questions of knowledge and reality, or the aesthetic considerations of art and beauty, these topics provide a solid foundation for an insightful and thought-provoking Extended Essay in Philosophy.

As we conclude this exploration of IB Philosophy extended essay topics, I trust you feel empowered and ready to undertake your own philosophical quest. Remember, philosophy is not merely a pursuit of answers; it’s about cultivating the skill of asking the right questions. 

At Writing Metier, we have a fantastic team of philosophy essay writers , and we stand firmly behind your growth as you walk the intricate pathways of research and writing. Our team of experts stands ready to offer unwavering guidance, constructive feedback, and unwavering IB essay help at every step of the way, even if you are running out of time and have only several days to do it.

With Writing Metier at your side, your exploration into the captivating world of philosophy transcends academic pursuit; it’s an opportunity to engage with the world in a meaningful and insightful way. 

Free topic suggestions

Vasy kafidoff.

Vasyl Kafidoff is a co-founder and CEO at WritingMetier. He is interested in education and how modern technology makes it more accessible. He wants to bring awareness about new learning possibilities as an educational specialist. When Vasy is not working, he’s found behind a drum kit.

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Two examples of good work - two dissertations that were marked as firsts:

Resolutions and Strength of Will

Do we need to be essentialists about biological species to show that they are  explanatorily useful?

• Extending your Submission Date

You are expected to manage your time so that you are able to submit your assessed work on the advertised deadline. 

Extensions to submission dates for coursework and/or dissertations may be possible, although consider that any extension may overlap with revision or preparation time for other modules. Only in exceptional circumstances will an extension be granted for more than seven days. If you require an extension, then your College should  submit an application to the EAMC . Please speak to your DoS who will support you with any decision related to this matter.

Please discuss this fully with your DoS who will assist and advise. 

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Extended Essay Support Site

Assessment criteria, criterion a: focus and method.

• To what extent is the topic of the essay communicated effectively?
• To what extent is the research question clearly stated and focused?
• To what extent is the methodology of teh research complete?

Criterion B: Knowledge and understanding

• To what extent does the essay show knowledge and understanding?
• To what extent is the use of concepts and terminology clear and appropriate?

Criterion C: Critical thinking

Note: If the topic or research question is inappropriate for the subject, candidates will not be awarded more than 3 marks for Criterion C.

• To what extent is the research appropriate to the research question and its application relevant to the argument?
• To what extent is the research analysed and focused on the research question ?
• To what extent are conclusions drawn from evidence?
• To what extent is a reasoned argument developed from the research with a conclusion that is drawn from the evidence?
• To what extent is a reasoned argument structured and coherent?
• To what extent has the research been critically evaluated?

Criterion D: Presentation

• To what extent does the structure of the essay lend itself to the topic, subject and argument?
• To what extent is the layout correct?
• To what extent do the structure and layout support the reading, understanding and evaluation of the essay?

Criterion E: Engagement

• To what extent does the RPPF show reflection on decision making and planning?
• To what extent does the RPPF show personal engagement with the focus and process of research?

Are you looking for an EE checklist? Before you explore the one on this Support Site, try to make your own. The best checklists are based on the assessment criteria. Study the criteria above to make your own EE checklist.

IB Extended Essay: Past Essays

• Research Questions
• Past Essays
• Notes & Outlines
• Works Cited Page
• In-Text Citations
• Assessment Criteria
• Reflections
• Supervisor Info
• Net Valley Library This link opens in a new window

Check these CAREFULLY to be sure your topic fits with IB expectations!

• Language & literature (language A)
• Language acquisition (language B)
• Mathematics
• Visual Arts
• World Studies

Business Management

English a & b ee examples.

• English A EE Example
• English A EE Example 1
• English A EE Example 2
• English A EE Example 3
• English B EE Example
• English B EE Example 1
• English B EE Example 2
• English B EE Example 3
• English B EE Example 4
• English B EE Example 5
• English B EE Example 6

Philosophy EE Examples

• Philosophy Example 1
• Philosophy Example 2
• Philosophy Example 3
• Philosophy Example 4

Economics EE Examples

• Econ Example 1
• Econ Example 2
• Econ Example 3
• Econ Example 4
• Econ Example 5
• Econ Example 6
• Econ Example 7
• Econ Example 8

Review Past Papers

• From the IB:  papers from other students and how they scored
• Renaissance Library Past Essays :  Links to all subject area examples

Music EE Examples

• Music EE Example 1
• Music EE Example 2
• Music EE Example 3
• Music EE Example 4

Psychology EE Examples

• Psych EE Example 1
• Psych EE Example 2
• Psych EE Example 3

Chinese EE Examples

• Chinese EE Example 1
• Chinese EE Example 2
• Chinese EE Example 3
• Chinese A EE Cat 1
• Chinese A EE Cat 2
• Chinese A EE Cat 3
• Chinese B EE Example 1
• Chinese B EE Example 2
• Chinese B Example 3
• Business EE Example 1
• Business EE Example 2
• Business EE Example 3

Visual Arts EE Examples

• Visual Arts EE Example 1
• Visual Arts EE Example 2
• Visual Arts EE Example 3
• Visual Arts EE Example 4

Film EE Examples

• Film Example 1
• Film Example 2

Chemistry EE Examples

• Chemistry EE Example

Biology EE Examples

• Biology EE Example
• Biology EE Example 1
• Biology EE Example 2
• Biology EE Example 3

Physics EE Examples

• Physics EE Example
• Physics EE Example 1
• Physics EE Example 2
• Physics EE Example 3
• Physics EE Example 4
• Physics EE Example 5

Math EE Examples

• Math EE Example 1
• Math EE Example 2
• Math EE Example 3
• Math EE Example 4
• Math EE Example 5
• Math EE Example 6

World Studies EE Examples

• World Studies Example 1
• World Studies Example 2
• World Studies Example 3
• World Studies Example 4
• World Studies Example 5
• World Studies Example 6
• World Studies Example 7
• World Studies Example 8
• World Studies Example 9
• World Studies Example 10
• World Studies Example 11
• World Studies Example 12
• World Studies Example 13
• World Studies Example 14
• World Studies Example 15
• World Studies Example 16
• World Studies Example 17
• World Studies Example 18
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• Last Updated: Apr 9, 2024 9:39 AM
• URL: https://sis-cn.libguides.com/ExtendedEssay