Page 41 - Seaford Sixth Forms Option 2025 Entry

Philosophy, Ethics and Religion A Level
(OCR)
Head of Department:
Mr A Stark
Teaching Staff:
Mr A Stark
Miss M Hamilton
Overview
The Philosophy, Religion and Ethics A Level explores the
development of Christian theology through cultivating an
understanding of and appreciation for the related disciplines
of ethics and philosophy. Being both literature-rich and highly
discussion based, this course will engage learners in critical
and reflexive analyses in order to construct balanced, informed
arguments and responses to religious and philosophical ideas
and long-standing ethical conundrums. By examining both
ancient and modern philosophies, students engage with
newly-emerged and contemporarily relevant discussions such
as, for example, liberation theology and post-modern critiques
of language and power, making the course both academically
and practically stimulating.
Course Content
1. Philosophy (33.3%)
Topics covered: Plato
and Aristotle; Soul, Mind
and Body; Empiricism;
Rationalism; Religious
Experience; The Problem
of Evil; The Nature of God;
Religious Language; 20th
Century Perspectives on
Religious Language.
2. Ethics (33.3%)
Topics covered: Natural
Moral Law; Situation Ethics;
Kantian Ethics; Utilitarianism;
Euthanasia; Business Ethics;
Metaethics; Conscience;
Sexual Ethics.
3. Christian Developments
(33.3%)
Topics covered: Augustine;
Death and the Afterlife;
Knowledge of God; The
Person of Jesus; Christian
Moral Principles; Christian
Moral Action; Pluralism and
Theology; Pluralism and
Society; Gender and Society;
Gender and Theology;
Secularism; Liberation
Theology and Karl Marx.
Expectations
Students should be highly
philosophically inquisitive
and possess an aptitude
for abstract thinking self-
reflexivity. Autonomy,
organisation, as well as a
thorough discursive and
academic engagement
will be critical for students
seeking to excel. To this
end, all students are given
access to a digital course
companion to supplement
their classroom experience
and which they are expected
to utilise independently.
Future Pathway
The breadth of this course
and skills it typically cultivates
positions it as an excellent
preparation for a variety of
academic and professional
pursuits, be that within
the fields of Philosophy
and Theology or within the
human sciences. It can also
prepare students interested
in law, economics, marketing,
journalism, teaching and
social work.
Key Skills
Students will develop skills
in critical and contextual
analysis, extended essay
writing, textual analysis
and an appreciation for a
diversity of world views.
Recommended Entry
Requirements
Grade 6 at GCSE English
Literature or Language, and
in a Humanities subject;
Religious Studies is ideal but
not essential.
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