What A-level Philosophy covers
Four sections across two papers, all part of AQA's specification (the only major A-level Philosophy spec in the UK):
Epistemology — theory of knowledge
- What is knowledge? The tripartite analysis (justified true belief) and the Gettier problem
- Perception — direct realism, indirect realism (and Berkeley's idealism, sometimes covered)
- Reason vs experience — rationalism (Descartes, Leibniz) vs empiricism (Locke, Hume)
- The limits of knowledge — innatism, scepticism
Moral Philosophy — normative and meta-ethics
- Normative ethical theories — utilitarianism (act and rule, Mill), Kantian deontology, virtue ethics (Aristotle)
- Applied ethics — stealing, eating animals, simulated killing, lying
- Meta-ethics — moral realism, anti-realism, naturalism, non-cognitivism, error theory, emotivism, prescriptivism
Metaphysics of God
- The concept of God — omnipotence, omniscience, omnibenevolence; the Euthyphro problem
- Arguments for God's existence — ontological (Anselm, Descartes, Plantinga's modal argument), cosmological (Aquinas's First Way, Kalam), teleological (Paley's design argument, Hume's critique)
- The problem of evil — logical and evidential forms; theodicies (Augustinian, Hick's soul-making, free will defence)
- Religious language — verificationism, falsificationism, Wittgensteinian language games
Metaphysics of Mind
- The mind-body problem — substance dualism (Descartes), property dualism, physicalism
- Behaviourism — logical and analytical behaviourism, Wittgenstein, Ryle
- Identity theory — type identity, token identity
- Functionalism — and its critics (Block's Chinese Nation, Searle's Chinese Room)
- Eliminative materialism — Churchland
What tutoring focuses on
Argument reconstruction
Philosophy mark schemes reward precise argument reconstruction — laying out an argument's premises and conclusion explicitly, identifying its logical structure, and evaluating validity and soundness. Strong students write reconstructions in numbered-premise form. Tutors drill the formal technique.
Objection-and-response dialectic
A-level Philosophy questions often ask students to evaluate whether an objection or a response succeeds. Strong essays present the objection in its strongest form, then the response in its strongest form, then a critical evaluation considering further sub-objections. Tutors coach this dialectical structure explicitly.
25-mark essay technique
The 25-mark essays are where most marks are won. Strong essays: open with a clear thesis, structure paragraphs around individual arguments, cite named philosophers and specific arguments precisely, evaluate dialectically, reach a nuanced conclusion that weighs the considered arguments. Tutors drill explicit essay frameworks.
Named-philosopher recall and citation
Mark schemes reward specific citations: not just "some philosophers argue..." but "Berkeley argues, in his Three Dialogues, that material objects exist only as ideas...". Tutors build systematic philosopher-and-argument recall.
Choosing a Philosophy tutor
- Philosophy degree background — almost essential at A-level Philosophy depth. The subject's analytical demands are too specialised for non-philosophers to coach effectively.
- Confirm the four sections — some tutors are stronger on epistemology and metaphysics than ethics, or vice versa. Find someone comfortable across all four.
- Argument-led pedagogy — strong tutors teach by arguing, not by lecturing. They challenge student arguments and require precise responses.
- For pre-PPE / pre-Philosophy applicants, tutors familiar with Oxford and Cambridge entry expectations can speak to the depth required at undergraduate interview.