Epistemology – Understanding Knowledge

Epistemology is the study of how we know things. Students explore what knowledge is, how we gain it, and whether we can ever be truly certain about anything. Students start by asking how knowledge might be defined and are then introduced to the debates about whether perception can count as a source of knowledge where they will meet thinkers such as Locke and Berkeley.

Reason as a Source of Knowledge

Here, students explore whether we can gain knowledge through thinking alone, without relying on experience. They study rationalist philosophers like Descartes, who argued that some truths (like maths or logic) are known through reason. They also examine the idea of innate knowledge—things we might be born knowing, such as basic moral truths or logical principles.

Limits of Knowledge

This section explores how far our knowledge can go.

Students consider skepticism—the idea that we might not know anything for certain. They look at arguments that challenge whether we can trust our senses, memories, or even our reasoning. The aim is not to make students doubt everything, but to help them think carefully about what counts as reliable knowledge.

Moral Philosophy

Students are introduced to the question of “what do we mean by good and bad?” They then study utilitarianism presented by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill and the issues raised in objection to their idea that morality is linked to causing the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

Moral Philosophy: Kant’s Categorical Imperative

Students explore Kant’s view that morality can be established through rational, logical reasoning using his two formulas suggesting how we should act. Again, asking whether the arguments for Kant or in objection to his views are successful.

Moral Philosophy: Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics

The final topic in moral philosophy argues that moral action is only that action which is done by moral people.

In this section, students explore what we mean when we say something is “right” or “wrong." They ask whether moral statements are facts, opinions, or emotional expressions.

Students study different views, such as:

• Cognitivism (moral statements can be true or false);
• Non-cognitivism (moral statements express feelings or commands).

This helps students think more deeply about how we talk about ethics and whether moral debates can ever be resolved.