Philosophical Foundations

Overall Expectations

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.

Specific Expectations

Students will:

• 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
• describe critical thinking skills (e.g., detecting bias and point of view, systematic and analytical thinking) and habits of mind (e.g., open-mindedness, truth seeking, inquisitiveness) that support philosophical reasoning, and demonstrate the ability to use them in various contexts
• correctly use terminology related to logic (e.g., logical consistency, contradiction, deduction, induction, inference, relevance, ambiguity, presumption, validity) when formulating and analysing arguments
• explain common fallacies of reasoning (e.g., denying the antecedent, affirming the consequent, an ad hominem argument, an appeal to pity, an appeal to authority, equivocation, false cause, begging the question, the complex question fallacy), and identify them when formulating and analysing arguments
• explain how philosophical reasoning and critical thinking skills can be applied in everyday life (e.g., logical thinking skills can be used to detect fallacies in arguments, advertisements, the media; critical and analytical thinking skills can be used in questioning and analysing assertions and assumptions made in debates, speeches, editorials; systematic thinking skills can be used to solve problems and weigh decisions), and demonstrate the ability to apply these skills in various contexts

Lessons that meet Grade 12 expectations

Diversity and Media Ownership

Free Speech and the Internet

Online Propaganda and the Proliferation of Hate

The Pornography Debate: Controversy in Advertising

Violence on Film: The Ratings Game

Who’s Telling My Story?

Student Tutorials (Licensed Resource)

MyWorld

Core topics: Ethics

Overall Expectations

Understanding Ethics: demonstrate an understanding of the main questions in ethics, and of the positions of major philosophers and schools of philosophy with respect to some of these questions;  

Making Connections to Ethics: demonstrate an understanding of connections between ethics and other areas of philosophy, other subject areas, and various aspects of society, including everyday life;  

Philosophical Reasoning in Ethics: use philosophical reasoning skills to develop, communicate, and defend their own responses to philosophical questions in ethics.

Specific Expectations

• demonstrate an understanding (e.g., in class discussions, debates, presentations, written work) of some of the main questions in ethics (e.g., Are there objective standards for determining good and evil, right and wrong, or are these concepts based on entirely subjective opinions? What is duty? What is the nature of responsibility? How should I live my life? What is a good life? Is morality separable from religion? Are there, or should there be, universal moral norms for all individuals and cultures? What is virtue?)
• demonstrate an understanding of the influence that ideas related to ethics have on their everyday life
• describe forces that have helped shape the evolution of ethics over time (e.g., the separation of theology and ethics, changing roles of women in society), and analyse their impact
• formulate and explain, using philosophical reasoning skills, their own clear and cogent responses to some of the main questions in ethics
• evaluate and defend, in philosophical exchanges with others, their own responses to some of the main questions in ethics, and anticipate and respond logically to counter-arguments
• evaluate and defend, in philosophical exchanges with others, their own responses to some of the main questions in ethics, and anticipate and respond logically to counter-arguments

Lessons that meet Grade 12 expectations

Free Speech and the Internet

Online Propaganda and the Proliferation of Hate

The Pornography Debate: Controversy in Advertising

Violence on Film: The Ratings Game

Student Tutorials (Licensed Resource)

MyWorld

Research and Inquiry Skills

Overall Expectations
Exploring: explore topics related to philosophy, and formulate questions to guide their research

Investigating: create research plans, and locate and select information relevant to their chosen topics, using appropriate social science research and inquiry methods

Processing Information: assess, record, analyse, and synthesize information gathered through research and inquiry

Communicating and Reflecting: communicate the results of their research and inquiry clearly and effectively, and reflect on and evaluate their research, inquiry, and communication skills.
Specific Expectations
Students will:

explore a variety of topics related to philosophy (e.g., the relationship between body and mind; the existence of an afterlife; the nature of a just society; the basis for moral behaviour; the nature and reliability of perception; the relationship between science and metaphysics; the nature of human rights; the relationship of humankind to other animals and the environment; the relationship between religious and secular authority in politics; the function of art) to identify topics for research and inquiry

identify key concepts (e.g., through discussion, brainstorming, use of visual organizers) related to their selected topics

formulate effective questions to guide their research and inquiry

create appropriate research plans to investigate their selected topics (e.g., outline purpose and method; identify sources of information), ensuring that their plans follow guidelines for ethical research

locate and select information relevant to their investigations from a variety of primary sources

based on preliminary research, for each investigation formulate a hypothesis, thesis statement, or research question, and use it to focus their research

assess various aspects of information gathered from primary and secondary sources (e.g., accuracy, relevance, reliability, inherent values and bias, voice)

analyse and interpret research information

synthesize findings and formulate conclusions

demonstrate academic honesty by documenting the sources of all information generated through research

demonstrate an understanding of the general research process by reflecting on and evaluating their own research, inquiry, and communication skills

Lessons that meet Secondary expectations

Deconstructing Web Pages

Hate or Debate

I heard it ‘round the Internet: Sexual health education and authenticating online information

Suffragettes and Iron Ladies

Taming the Wild Wiki

Student Tutorials (Licensed Resource)
MyWorld