South 고등학교 3학년 Philosophy
Chapters: 4
1. Self
Who am I as a teenager and student · Living with others · Philosophy in limit situations
- Self-Identity: Who Am I, and How Do I Live It? – Identity is your sense of who you are: your roles, values, strengths and dreams. We know ourselves through reflection. Self-esteem is how much we value ourselves. A strong moral identity means our actions match our values.
- Existentialism: You Are What You Choose – Existentialism is a 19th–20th century way of thinking about human life. Its main idea: for a person, existence comes before essence. A tool is designed for a purpose first; a human is born first and then makes a self through choices. So we are free, and with freedom comes anxiety and full responsibility. Jaspers showed that limit situations (death, suffering, struggle, guilt) wake us up to ask what matters. Hiding behind the crowd or fate is bad faith; owning one's choices is authenticity. Key thinkers: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Jaspers, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus; in Spanish thought Unamuno and Ortega y Gasset.
2. Human beings
Body and personhood · Thinking and communication · What it means to live
- Philosophy of Mind: How Are Mind and Body Linked? – Philosophy of mind asks what the mind is and how it links to the body. Dualism (Descartes) says mind and body are two different things, which raises the problem of how they interact. Physicalism says the mind is what the brain does. Consciousness is our inner experience, like a torch that lights what we attend to. The unconscious (Freud) holds wishes, memories and habits we are not aware of. Related questions: what makes me the same self over time, how emotions join body and mind, and whether machines could ever think.
- Value of Life: Why Life Matters and How to Live Well – Every human life is limited: we are mortal. Many thinkers say this is exactly why time is precious. Ethics separates two kinds of value: instrumental value (useful for getting something else, like money) and intrinsic value (worth in itself). Most traditions say a human life has intrinsic value, so it deserves respect whatever a person can do or earn. Purpose gives direction: Viktor Frankl found that people can bear a lot if they see a "why"; Japanese ikigai and the Indian four aims of life (dharma, artha, kama, moksha) are ideas about purpose. Philosophers also separate merely surviving from flourishing: living well means growth, relationships, contribution and meaning, not only staying alive. Views on death differ: Epicurus said death is nothing to the living person; Buddhism teaches impermanence; Confucius told a student to first understand life; many faiths speak of what comes after. This lesson helps you think about your own purpose with care, and with the help of people you trust.
3. World
Cosmos, nature, life · Coexistence with others · Past, present, future
- Metaphysics: What Is Really Real? – Metaphysics is the part of philosophy that asks what reality is like at the deepest level. Ontology asks what exists: concrete things, abstract things like numbers, or both. Metaphysics studies substance and properties, change and identity (the Ship of Theseus), mind and body (dualism, materialism, idealism), time and causation, and free will versus determinism. It also asks big questions about the cosmos, nature and life. Thinkers from Parmenides and Heraclitus, Plato and Aristotle, Descartes, Hume and Kant, to Indian schools like Nyaya and Advaita Vedanta, gave different answers.
- Political Philosophy: The State, Power and Justice – Political philosophy asks big questions about living together: Why do we need a state? What makes power rightful (legitimate)? What is justice? How much freedom and equality should people have? Social contract thinkers (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau) explain the state as an agreement. Plato and Aristotle described the ideal state and the forms of government; Cicero saw the republic as the people's shared property under law. Rawls, Mill and thinkers from many traditions (Confucius, Kautilya, Ubuntu) help us weigh liberty, equality, property and community.
- Philosophy of History – Philosophy of history asks big questions about the past: Why do we remember some events and forget others? Does history move in circles or climb forward as progress? Can one event be told in different true ways? And what does the past teach us about the future? There are no single answers, but clear reasons matter.
4. Values
Beyond social usefulness · More than surviving · The good life
- Ethics: How to Decide What Is Right – Ethics (moral philosophy) asks what we ought to do and why. Values such as honesty, kindness, fairness and respect guide choices. Three main theories help: consequences (utilitarianism, Bentham and Mill: most good for most people), duty (Kant: act on rules you could want everyone to follow; treat people as ends, never only as means) and virtue (Aristotle: build good character; virtue is the mean between extremes). Conscience is our inner sense of right and wrong. Freedom brings responsibility. Meta-ethics asks what "good" means and whether values are universal or relative. Applied ethics deals with the environment, animals, work, friendship and peace.
- Value of Life: Why Life Matters and How to Live Well – Every human life is limited: we are mortal. Many thinkers say this is exactly why time is precious. Ethics separates two kinds of value: instrumental value (useful for getting something else, like money) and intrinsic value (worth in itself). Most traditions say a human life has intrinsic value, so it deserves respect whatever a person can do or earn. Purpose gives direction: Viktor Frankl found that people can bear a lot if they see a "why"; Japanese ikigai and the Indian four aims of life (dharma, artha, kama, moksha) are ideas about purpose. Philosophers also separate merely surviving from flourishing: living well means growth, relationships, contribution and meaning, not only staying alive. Views on death differ: Epicurus said death is nothing to the living person; Buddhism teaches impermanence; Confucius told a student to first understand life; many faiths speak of what comes after. This lesson helps you think about your own purpose with care, and with the help of people you trust.
- Virtue Ethics: Becoming a Good Person – Virtue ethics asks "What kind of person should I be?" rather than only "Which rule should I follow?". An action has an intention, means, the act and consequences. Socrates taught that virtue is knowledge. Plato linked the three parts of the soul (reason, spirit, desire) to four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, moderation and justice. Aristotle said every aim points to a final end, eudaimonia (living well), and that each moral virtue is a golden mean between two vices, learned by habit and guided by practical wisdom.