Philosophy for AS and A Level: Epistemology and Moral Philosophy

479 Pages·2017·8.653 MB·English

by  Michael Lacewing

Philosophy for AS and A Level
Philosophy for AS and A Level is an accessible textbook for the new 2017 AQA Philosophy syllabus.
Structured closely around the AQA specification this textbook covers the two units shared by the AS
and A Level, Epistemology and Moral Philosophy, in an engaging and student-friendly way. With
chapters on ‘How to do philosophy’, exam preparation providing students with the philosophical
skills they need to succeed, and an extensive glossary to support understanding, this book is ideal for
students studying philosophy.
Each chapter includes:
q argument maps that help to develop students’ analytical and critical skills
q comprehension questions to test understanding
q discussion questions to generate evaluative argument
q explanation of and commentary on the AQA set texts
q ‘Thinking harder’ sections
q cross-references to help students make connections
q bullet-point summaries of each topic.
The companion website hosts a wealth of further resources, including PowerPoint slides, flashcards,
further reading, weblinks and handouts, all structured to accompany the textbook. It can be found
at www.routledge.com/cw/alevelphilosophy.
Michael Lacewing is a teacher of philosophy and theology at Christ’s Hospital school, and a former
Reader in Philosophy and Vice-Principal Academic at Heythrop College, University of London. He is
founder of the company A Level Philosophy (www.alevelphilosophy.co.uk), and advises the British
Philosophical Association on matters related to philosophy in schools.

Philosophy for
AS and A Level
Epistemology and Moral Philosophy
Michael Lacewing
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Michael Lacewing
The right of Michael Lacewing to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lacewing, Michael, 1971- author.
Title: Philosophy for AS and A level : epistemology and moral philosophy / Michael
Lacewing.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2017. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016057926 | ISBN 9781138690394 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Knowledge, Theory of--Textbooks. | Ethics--Textbooks.
Classification: LCC BD161 .L26 2017 | DDC 121.076--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016057926
ISBN: 978-1-138-69039-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-17186-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Frutiger
by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
Visit the companion website: www.routledge.com/cw/alevelphilosophy
Contents
List of illustrations xv
Introduction 1
How to use this book 2
How to do philosophy 2
Following the syllabus 2
Additional features 3
Set texts 3
Glossary 4
Companion website and further resources 4
Acknowledgements 5
1 How to do philosophy 6
Philosophical argument 6
Deductive argument 7
Inductive argument 8
hypothetical reasoning 9
Understanding arguments and argument maps 10
Evaluating arguments 13
Evaluating claims 14
An aside: why reason? 15
Fallacies 16
Reading philosophy 16
Approaching the text 17
Engaging with the text 17
Beyond the text 18
Writing philosophy 19
What you need to know 19
Planning an essay 20
Writing an essay 21
vi Contents
A standard essay structure 22
General advice 23
2 Epistemology 25
I. What is knowledge? 30
A. Knowledge and its definition 30
Types of knowledge 31
propositional knowledge 32
The definition of knowledge 32
The purpose and nature of definition 32
Can propositional knowledge be defined? 36
Key points: knowledge and its definition 37
B. The tripartite view 37
The tripartite definition of knowledge 37
why justified true belief? 38
Thinking harder: a note on certainty 41
Are the conditions individually necessary? 41
justification is not a necessary condition of knowledge 42
truth is not a necessary condition of knowledge 42
Thinking harder: relativism about truth 43
belief is not a necessary condition of knowledge 44
Gettier’s objection: are the conditions jointly sufficient? 47
Key points: the tripartite view 49
C. Responses 50
Add a ‘no false lemmas’ condition (J+T+B+N) 51
Infallibilism 53
Thinking harder: rejecting the argument for infallibilism 54
Reliabilism (R+T+B) 55
truth and the third condition 57
Virtue epistemology (V+T+B) 58
zagzebski’s analysis of knowledge 59
Key points: responses 64
Summary: what is knowledge? 65
Contents vii
II. Perception as a source of knowledge 66
A. Direct realism 67
The argument from perceptual variation 68
responses 70
The argument from illusion 71
Thinking harder: the argument from hallucination 73
The disjunctive theory of perception 73
The time-lag argument 74
Thinking harder: direct realism and openness 76
Key points: direct realism 77
B. Indirect realism 78
What are sense-data? 79
Why indirect realism? 79
Locke’s distinction between primary and secondary
qualities 80
Scepticism about the existence of mind-independent
objects 83
The existence of the external world is the best
hypothesis 84
two supporting arguments 87
Thinking harder: the existence of mind-independent objects is
not a hypothesis 90
Representation, resemblance and the nature of physical
objects 90
berkeley’s argument that mind-dependent ideas cannot be like
mind-independent objects 91
Key points: indirect realism 95
C. Berkeley’s idealism 96
Berkeley on primary and secondary qualities 96
Berkeley on secondary qualities 97
Berkeley’s attack on the primary/secondary quality
distinction 98
The immediate objects of perception are mind-dependent
objects 99
Three arguments against mind-independent objects 100
Berkeley’s ‘master’ argument 102
Idealism and God 104
viii Contents
Thinking harder: idealism and the cause of our
perceptions 105
Issues with Berkeley’s idealism 108
Problems with the role played by God in Berkeley’s
idealism 108
Arguments from illusion and hallucination 110
Idealism leads to solipsism 111
Key points: Berkeley’s idealism 112
Summary: perception as a source of knowledge 113
III. Reason as a source of knowledge 114
Rationalism, empiricism and innatism 114
a priori/a posteriori knowledge 115
analytic/synthetic propositions 115
necessary/contingent truth 116
defining rationalism, empiricism and innatism 117
Key points: rationalism, empiricism and innatism 119
A. Innatism 120
Two arguments for innate knowledge 121
plato’s slave boy argument 121
leibniz on knowledge of necessary truths 123
Locke’s arguments against innate knowledge 125
leibniz’s response to locke 127
Thinking harder: experience triggers innate knowledge 130
alternative empiricist accounts 132
Locke’s argument against innate concepts 133
rejecting locke’s definition of ‘innate concept’ 134
leibniz’s defence of innate concepts 135
The mind as a ‘tabula rasa’ 137
locke’s two sources of concepts 137
hume on impressions and ideas 137
simple and complex concepts 139
Issues with the empiricist theory of concepts 141
Thinking harder: challenging the copy principle 141
leibniz on ‘intellectual ideas’ 142
Thinking harder: the concept of substance 143
Key points: innatism 148
Contents ix
B. The intuition and deduction thesis 150
Rationalism and empiricism revisited 150
the meaning of ‘intuition’ and ‘deduction’ 150
empiricist alternatives 151
Hume’s fork 152
Descartes’ theory of rational intuition 154
The cogito 155
Clear and distinct ideas 156
empiricist responses to the cogito 157
clear and distinct ideas and god 160
Descartes’ Trademark argument 161
Thinking harder: degrees of reality 165
empiricist responses to the trademark argument 166
Descartes’ cosmological argument 168
empiricist responses to descartes’ cosmological argument 171
Descartes’ ontological argument 171
empiricist responses to descartes’ ontological argument 173
Descartes’ proof of the external world 174
The concept of a physical object 175
Thinking harder: the existence of physical objects 177
empiricist responses to descartes’ proof of the external
world 179
Key points: the intuition and deduction thesis 181
Summary: reason as a source of knowledge 184
IV. The limits of knowledge 185
A. Philosophical scepticism 185
The particular nature of philosophical scepticism 185
am i a brain in a vat? 185
the distinction between philosophical scepticism and normal
incredulity 187
the role/function of scepticism within epistemology 187
local and global scepticism 188
Descartes’ sceptical arguments 189
On doubt and certainty 189
An argument from illusion 190
The argument from dreaming 190
The evil demon 191