Philosophy What would I study and how do courses differ? Why should I be governed and what is the best political structure? Is something good because we think it is good, or do we think it is good because it is? Can we talk meaningfully about God and things of which we cannot have any empirically experience? What is a good argument? Is knowledge a justified true belief? In order for us to know something, must we also necessarily know that we know it? Is there a difference between the mind and the brain? Do the theories of the natural sciences get closer and closer to uncovering the truth, or is there no mind-independent truth to be uncovered? What is the relationship between language and the world? What is the relationship between the perceiver and the perceived? How do we know that we are not in the Matrix? What is justice? Philosophy asks a legion of questions which are most often pigeonholed into the disciplines of: Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics, and Logic The arguments of past philosophers will form a point of entry into most philosophical problems and you can be expected to read at least one ancient philosopher (Plato or Aristotle) along with Descartes, Locke, Hume, and Kant during your first years, in which The History of Philosophy will form part of the core syllabus. Questions of how language and reality hang together are often raised in the second or third year and you can be expected to read some Russell or Wittgenstein. Many students study Philosophy as part of a Joint Honours degree together with a very wide range of other subjects such as Economics, Politics (see the entry on PPE), Mathematics, French, German, Italian, Classics, War Studies, Physics, Computer Science, History of Art, Linguistics, Management, and Psychology (this list is not exhaustive). Oxford, unlike Cambridge, offers Philosophy only as part of a Joint Honours programme. If you do a Single Honours degree in Philosophy, you will gain a BA, but if you do Philosophy as part of a degree where Science forms a substantial part, you might gain a BSc. What are the typical entry requirements? Entry requirement for UCL, KCL, Bristol, and Durham is AAA. Cambridge requires A*AA. Oxford requires AAA. Warwick, Nottingham, and Birmingham typically want AAB. Manchester and Leeds require ABB. Are there any essential or recommended A Levels? In short ‘no’!
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