Page 348 - Social Sciences Humanities - The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 to 12 - 2013

Grade 12, University Preparation
E1. Understanding Epistemology: demonstrate an understanding of the main questions in epistemology, and of the positions of major philosophers and schools of philosophy with respect to some of
these questions;
E2. Exploring Epistemology: demonstrate an understanding of epistemological theories, and evaluate responses to some of the main questions in epistemology by major philosophers and schools
of philosophy;
E3. Making Connections to Epistemology: demonstrate an understanding of connections between epistemology and other areas of philosophy, other subject areas, and various aspects of society, including everyday life;
E4. Philosophical Reasoning in Epistemology: use philosophical reasoning skills to develop, communicate, and defend their own responses to epistemological questions.
E1. Understanding Epistemology E2. Exploring Epistemology
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9–12 | Social Sciences and Humanities
SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
By the end of this course, students will:
E1.1 demonstrate an understanding (e.g., in class discussions, debates, presentations, written work) of some of the main questions in epistemology (e.g., What is knowledge? What is truth? What are the limits of knowledge? Are there different kinds
of knowledge? What is required to justify a belief? Does knowledge require certainty? Do men and women have different ways of knowing? Is scientific knowledge more reliable than other forms of know­ ing? What is the difference between knowledge and opinion? How can we know whether we perceive the world as it really is?)
E1.2 summarize the positions of various major
Western philosophers (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Sextus Empiricus, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Husserl, Peirce, Russell, Wittgenstein, Quine, Putnam) and schools of philosophy (e.g., rationalism, empiricism, scepti­ cism, pragmatism, logical positivism) on some of the main questions in epistemology
By the end of this course, students will:
E2.1 explain different epistemological theories with reference to some classic and contempo­ rary texts (e.g., excerpts from Plato’s Meno, Descartes’ Discourse on Method, Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Berkeley’s Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, Hume’s Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Russell’s The Problems of Philosophy, Quine’s Word and Object)
E2.2 compare how different philosophers and/ or schools of philosophy approach the same epistemological questions/issues
Teacher prompts: “In what ways do pragmatists and verificationists differ in their approach to the issue of the distinction between the mind and the body?” “In what ways do Plato’s views about the nature and role of the senses differ from those of empiricists such as Locke and Russell?”
E. CORETOPICS:EPISTEMOLOGY OVERALL EXPECTATIONS
By the end of this course, students will:
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