Why learn Philosophy in High School?

The better question would ask why not? Philosophy can and should be taught
in high school because this is the ideal time for students to engage its
questions, arguments, and methods of thinking. High school students have
not yet fully formed their habits of mind. They remain open, inquisitive, and
intellectually playful. For many adolescents, the perennial questions posed by
philosophy have urgency and personal significance. At the same time, high
school students have developed the skills that enable them to begin serious
work in reading philosophical texts, identifying and evaluating arguments,
and constructing arguments of their own. They learn how to pose a good
question, how to inspect and scrutinize their deeply held beliefs, and how to
work out their own ideas with care and rigor.

Philosophy can be invaluable because the skills it imparts are transferable to

every part of the curriculum that emphasizes clear thinking, reading, and
writing. Philosophy also supplies connective tissue, since its fundamental
questions apply to all disciplines and address the full range of human
experience. For example, questions about ethics and free will deepen
students’ appreciation for great literature, and analysis of the mind-body
problem and free will afford students a critical perspective when they study
the brain in psychology.

Course Overview
The term “philosophy” derives from a combination of the Greek words philos
meaning love and sophia meaning wisdom. Philosophy is concerned with
difficult and controversial questions that have kept man debating for
centuries. Some pertain to “WHAT IS… (What makes me what I am? How is
my mind related to my body? Do all events, including the choices I make,
have causes?) Others pertain to “WHAT OUGHT TO BE”… (If the choices I
make have causes outside me, can they be judged right or wrong?) Yet,
others pertain to what is knowable… “WHAT IS TRUTH”…(Are there truths
that cannot be known at all?) Other topics covered include ethics, free will of
man, and the existence and nature of divine beings. Skills acquired by
studying philosophy can be useful in all careers. The main benefit, however,
lies in learning to think in an organized way about confusing and
controversial questions; to react to criticism not with outrage or fear but with
a willingness to state the grounds for one’s views and to listen and learn from
the views of others. The success of this introductory course depends greatly
on the willingness of the student to be mature, open-minded, and willing to
discuss their thoughts, ask questions, and listen to other points of view. This
class will be of an interactive environment in which the student is coming to
class prepared to talk, challenging each other’s ideas and feeling comfortable
expressing their opinions.

Course Details
While analyzing the viewpoints of the great philosophers, the following topics
will be discussed in class:

1. The Love of Wisdom 6. Death and the Afterlife

2. How Do We Know Anything? 7. Is There A Divine Being?

3. Good vs. Evil 8. The Meaning of Life

4. Are We Ever Really Free?

5. What Is A Person?

Required Text

Organization is a much needed skill for anyone who plans to be successful,

thus, you are required to keep a philosophy portfolio that will be provided for
you. Bring a spiral notebook to class everyday for the purpose of taking
lecture notes. You can then transfer the lecture notes into your portfolio
when you get home or during Roomwork. Required purchase is as follows:
1.

Twenty Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy [Paperback] 6Th Ed, March

2006.

G. Lee Bowie Ph.D.

ISBN-13: 978-0495007111

2.

Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric: The Use of Reason in Everyday Life (with
InfoTrac) [Paperback] 9th ed. (2001)

Howard Kahane and Nancy Cavender

ISBN-13: 978-0534535780

3.

You must also purchase a purple spiral bound notebook