Philosophy VCE Unit 3
This unit considers the crucial question of what it is for a human to live well. It explores questions of relevance to our own good lives – what is happiness? What role should pleasure and self-discipline, friendship and love play in the good life? – as well questions regarding the good life as it may be understood within the context of our relationships with others beyond our immediate communities.
Students consider the implications of adopting particular perspectives, viewpoints and arguments for questions of relevance to contemporary living, such as our relationship with those beyond our immediate communities, non-human animals and the broader natural world.
Students engage with the set texts to develop perspectives on questions relating to the good life, including questions of relevance to contemporary living. Through critical reflection on ideas, perspectives, viewpoints and arguments, students develop and defend their own philosophical positions.
Philosophy VCE Unit 4
In recent decades, developments in information and communication technologies have changed the way we share beliefs and acquire and justify knowledge. More than ever, we rely on the testimony of others, in particular, those we judge to be experts. But what is an expert? What qualities must testimony have to be trusted? And, in a world filled with multiple and often contradictory sources, how do we separate good beliefs from poor beliefs?
This unit focuses on interpersonal aspects of belief and belief formation, considering what it means to believe well by examining the nature of belief and the grounds for accepting or rejecting beliefs. Across 2 areas of study, students explore what our obligations are in relation to belief; when we should adjust or change our beliefs; and to what extent we should take responsibility for fostering the good beliefs of others and the conditions that make them possible. Through so doing, students are invited to consider the interrelationship between believing well and living well. Students use concepts, arguments and viewpoints from the set texts to develop perspectives and justified philosophical positions on belief formation and justification in relation to a range of general questions. Students also apply their learning to identify and engage with epistemological issues that arise from case studies suggested by selected contexts.