Netherlands HAVO 5 (eindexamenjaar) Philosophy
Chapters: 2
1. Social philosophy
Key concepts of social philosophy · Scarcity, desire and power · Ideology
- 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.
- Political Ideology: How People Answer the Big Questions of Politics – A political ideology is a connected set of ideas about people, society and the state, plus a plan to keep or change society. People pick up political ideas through political socialisation (family, school, friends, media, events). The words left and right come from seating in the French assembly of 1789. Core ideologies are liberalism (individual freedom and rights), conservatism (tradition, order, careful change) and socialism (equality and shared wealth). Others include feminism, ecologism, anarchism, multiculturalism and nationalism. A two-axis model (economy and freedom vs authority) shows positions better than one line. Ideologies shape party programmes, economic and social policy, and can be measured through opinion polls.
2. Exam topic: human, animal and nature
Issue 1: are humans different from other animals? · Issue 2: how should we treat animals? · Issue 3: what is the value of nature? · Issue 4: fair sharing of natural resources · Issue 5: technology or a new relation to nature?
- Philosophical Anthropology: What Is a Human Being? – Philosophical anthropology asks what a human being is. The human is both the one who asks and the one studied (subject and object). Thinkers compare us with animals: some see a deep gap (reason, language, an open world), others only a difference of degree. Classic views call the human a rational animal, a union of body and mind (dualism) or one living being (monism), a social and cultural being, and, for existentialists, a free and unfinished being who makes itself through choices. Science and technology (evolution, brain research, AI) keep reopening the question.
- Environmental Ethics: Who Deserves Our Care? – Environmental ethics asks what we owe to nature, animals and future people. Picture a circle of moral concern. Anthropocentrism keeps only humans inside; nature has instrumental value (useful to us). Sentientism (Singer, Bentham) adds animals that feel pain: animal welfare says reduce suffering, animal rights (Regan) says animals must not be used as mere tools. Biocentrism (Schweitzer, Taylor) gives every living thing value. Ecocentrism (Leopold's land ethic, deep ecology) values whole ecosystems. Many Eastern and Indigenous traditions see humans as part of nature. Intergenerational justice and sustainability add future people. Real cases (dams, forests, animal testing, climate) often bring these views into conflict.
- Climate Justice: Who Causes Climate Change and Who Pays the Price? – Climate justice is the idea that climate change is not only a science problem but also a fairness problem. Emissions and harms are shared very unequally. The richest 10% of people cause roughly half of global emissions, while the poorest half cause about an eighth. Yet poorer countries, communities, women, children, older people, outdoor workers and Indigenous peoples are often the most vulnerable, because vulnerability depends on exposure, sensitivity and the ability to adapt. Today's emissions also affect future generations. Fair responses include: those with more historical responsibility and more ability to pay cutting faster (common but differentiated responsibilities), climate finance and technology for adaptation, a loss and damage fund, a just transition for workers in polluting industries, and fair sharing of resources such as water, land and the remaining carbon budget.