Page 342 - Social Sciences Humanities - The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 to 12 - 2013

Grade 12, University Preparation
B1. The Nature of Philosophy: demonstrate an understanding of the main areas of philosophy, periods of philosophical development, and the differences between philosophy and other areas of inquiry;
B2. Philosophical Reasoning: demonstrate an understanding of philosophical reasoning and critical thinking skills, including skills required to identify and avoid common fallacies of reasoning, and demonstrate the ability to apply these skills in various contexts.
B1. The Nature of Philosophy
B2. Philosophical Reasoning
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9–12 | Social Sciences and Humanities
SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
Throughout this course, students will:
B1.1 explain the main areas of philosophy (e.g., metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, philosophy of science, social and political philosophy, aesthetics), and identify some of the big questions that arise in each area (e.g., metaphysics: Do we have free will? What is the relationship between the mind and the body?; ethics: Are “Good Samaritan laws” sound laws? Do animals have moral rights?; epistemology: How does one justify a belief?; philosophy of science: Is scientific knowledge more reliable than other forms of knowledge?; social and political philosophy: How can one decide what the best system of government is? Are individuals’ first obligations to their countries, or do they have equal or more important global obliga­ tions?; aesthetics: How does one determine the merit of a work of art?)
B1.2 describe the main periods of philosophical development and the major philosophers
identified with those periods (e.g., ancient period [Socrates, Aristotle, Lao Tzu, Indian Upanishad philosophers]; medieval period [Aquinas, Occam, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Shankara, Madhvacharya, Maimonides]; early modern period [Descartes, Locke, Kant]; nineteenth century [Mill, Hegel, Kierkegaard]; contemporary period [Russell, Wittgenstein, Radhakrishnan, de Beauvoir, Arendt, Husserl, Rawls, Buber, Nozick, Appiah, Quine, Foucault])
B1.3 distinguish between philosophy and other areas in the social sciences and humanities (e.g., law, religious studies, sociology, psychology, political science)
Teacher prompts: “How are questions in philosophy different from questions in sociology or political science? In psychology?” “What constitutes support for philosophical conclusions? In what ways is it different
from evidence in law or in the study of world religions?”
Throughout this course, students will:
B2.1 demonstrate an understanding of the form and components of a philosophical argument (e.g., premise, evidence, conclusion), including how a philosophical argument differs from other communications, and identify these components when formulating and evaluating arguments
Teacher prompts: “What is the difference between an argument, an explanation, and an anecdote?” “What is the difference between a philosophical reason and a rationalization?” “What are some examples of good reasons and poor reasons for supporting a conclusion about an issue that you consider to be important?”
B. PHILOSOPHICALFOUNDATIONS OVERALL EXPECTATIONS
Throughout this course, students will:
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