A Level Philosophy AQA

This subject is broken down into 49 topics in 5 modules:

  1. Metaphysics of Mind 10 topics
  2. Philosophy of religion and ethics 11 topics
  3. Moral Philosophy 12 topics
  4. Metaphysics of God 6 topics
  5. Epistemology 10 topics
Study this subject in the Adapt App →
  • 5
    modules
  • 49
    topics
  • 18,987
    words of revision content
  • 2+
    hours of audio lessons

This page was last modified on 28 September 2024.

A preview of A Level Philosophy AQA in the Adapt app

Adapt is a revision planning app with full content coverage and unlimited past paper questions for 1,200+ GCSE and A Level subjects.

Study this subject in the Adapt app →

Philosophy

Metaphysics of Mind

Eliminative Materalism

🤓 Study

📖 Quiz

Play audio lesson

Eliminative Materalism

Introduction to Eliminative Materialism

  • Eliminative materialism is a radical view within the philosophy of mind.
  • Contrary to the majority of philosophical theories, it outright denies the existence of some or all types of mental states.

Key Principles of Eliminative Materialism

  • Mental states that we believe and speak of, like desires, beliefs, or emotions, do not actually exist. They are simply folk psychology concepts.
  • The term 'folk psychology' refers to our everyday understanding and explanation of mind and behaviour based on mental experiences and states.
  • Eliminative materialists argue that folk psychology is a deeply flawed and outdated theory; a remnant from a prescientific age.
  • Mental states will not be found and explained by future neuroscience because these 'states' are not real phenomena, but rather linguistic conveniences.

Key Figures and Arguments

  • Paul and Patricia Churchland are key proponents of eliminative materialism.
  • The Churchlands argue that as neuroscience progresses, we will eventually eliminate the need for folk psychological explanations in favour of neuroscientific accounts.
  • They liken mental states to obsolete theories in science, such as the four humours in medicine or the phlogiston theory in chemistry.

Criticisms of Eliminative Materialism

  • Some argue that eliminative materialism makes a category mistake by considering folk psychology to be a theory. Instead, they suggest it might be a different kind of knowledge, such as know-how.
  • Many philosophers question the coherence of eliminative materialism, arguing that it is self-refuting. If beliefs do not exist, then the belief in eliminative materialism itself cannot exist.
  • The extreme nature of eliminative materialism makes it a contentious and controversial viewpoint within the philosophy of mind. Despite this, its challenge to mainstream cognitive theories makes it a significant part of the metaphysics of mind discussion.

Course material for Philosophy, module Metaphysics of Mind, topic Eliminative Materalism

Philosophy

Moral Philosophy

Moral Realism

🤓 Study

📖 Quiz

Play audio lesson

Moral Realism

Overview of Moral Realism

  • Moral realism is the philosophical view that postulates the existence of objective moral values and duties.
  • This standpoint rejects subjectivism, asserting instead that ethics are mind-independent, rather than purely existing as constructs.
  • It is a position that falls within cognitivism, meaning it proposes moral statements as capable of being true or false.

Pillars of Moral Realism

  • Objectivity: Moral realism posits that moral truths are objective truths, independent of any individual's opinions or perceptions.
  • Intrinsic Value: According to moral realism, certain actions or situations possess intrinsic value, meaning they are good or bad in and of themselves, irrespective of consequences.
  • Universality: This philosophical viewpoint maintains that if something is morally true, it is true universally and transcends cultures, times, and situations.

Forms of Moral Realism

  • Ethical naturalism: This approach to moral realism suggests that moral facts can be reduced to non-moral facts. For example, a statement like "kindness is good" could be objectively measured by physiological responses to kind acts.
  • Moral non-naturalism: This version of moral realism insists that moral values are irreducible to natural properties or facts. Instead, moral truths are self-evident.

Criticisms of Moral Realism

  • Moral disagreement objection: This criticism asserts that moral realism cannot justify the widespread and persistent moral disagreements in the world.
  • Open question argument: This argument is a challenge to ethical naturalism. It states that defining "good" in terms of natural properties is inadequate because the question "Is good itself good?" is always an open question.
  • For moral non-naturalists, the criticism lies in the view being intuitively unappealing and hard to comprehend, particularly the concept of moral facts as irrefutable and self-evident.

Responding to Criticisms

  • Moral realists argue that moral truth is complex, and so disagreement is not surprising. This can be paralleled with disagreements in science, which do not make scientific knowledge less real or objective.
  • Realists counter the open question argument by suggesting that "Is good itself good?" is a misguided query, with an affirmative answer being almost tautological.
  • As for non-naturalism being intuitively unappealing, some moral realists argue that moral intuitions are not always reliable guides to moral truth. They may instead advocate for a form of enlightenment view, suggesting our moral understanding might be enhanced or corrected by reason, evidence, and dialogue.

Course material for Philosophy, module Moral Philosophy, topic Moral Realism

Can I trust Adapt’s expertise?

Adapt is already used by over 600,000 students and trusted by over 3,000 schools. Our exam-specific content and assessments are meticulously crafted by expert teachers and examiners. To date, 1,968 students have studied for their A Level Philosophy AQA exams on the Adapt App.

Find out more about the Adapt app →

Planner

An always up-to-date revision timetable.

A personalised, flexible revision timetable that stays up-to-date automatically.

Content

All the exam resources, in one place.

Over 20,000 topics broken down into manageable lessons with teacher-written, exam-specific lessons.

Assessment

Past-paper questions, with instant feedback.

Unlimited past paper questions with instant examiner feedback on how to improve.

Progress

Track progress, together.

Progress tracking to stay motivated, with real-time updates to the Parent Portal.

Download the app today to start revising for free.