Poland Liceum ogólnokształcące, klasa IV Philosophy (extended level)

1. Selected problems of philosophy

Branches of philosophy · Metaphysical disputes · Epistemological disputes · Anthropological disputes · Ethical and bioethical disputes · The dispute about God · Aesthetic and political disputes

• What Is Philosophy? Questions, Branches and Reasoning – Philosophy means "love of wisdom". It asks big questions (what is real, how we know, what is right, what is beautiful) and answers them with clear reasons. It has branches like metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, logic and aesthetics, and it shapes our world view.
• 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.
• Epistemology: What Is Knowledge? – Epistemology is the part of philosophy that asks what knowledge is, how we get it and how sure we can be. A classic answer: knowledge is a belief that is true and well justified (justified true belief), although lucky cases (Gettier cases) show this may not be enough. Knowledge comes from reason (rationalism) and from experience through the senses (empiricism); Kant argued we need both. Theories of truth include correspondence (matches the facts), coherence (fits with other beliefs) and pragmatic (works in practice). Scepticism reminds us that senses and reasoning can mislead, so we test, check sources and stay open to correction.
• 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.
• Bioethics: Deciding What Is Right in Biology and Medicine – Bioethics asks whether we should do what biology and medicine now let us do. It uses four principles: autonomy (respect choice), beneficence (do good), non-maleficence (do no harm) and justice (fairness). Human dignity means a person is never only a means to an end, so informed consent is needed. Therapeutic cloning may be allowed under strict rules; reproductive human cloning is banned in most countries. Start-of-life and end-of-life questions are weighed as benefits against risks and values.
• 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.