By Oliver Leech

Surrounded by the vast collection of philosophy texts in Blackwell’s book shop in Oxford, I asked the assistant where I could find some material on the philosophy of history. ‘Do you mean the history of philosophy?’ he replied. An understandable response since the history of philosophy is a premier league topic with shelves of books to choose from whereas the philosophy of history is at best half way down the next division. Indeed, since it overlaps with historiography, books about it tend to be stocked in the history section.

 

By Rob James

The question of whether philosophy should be taught as part of religious education arguably comes down to a decision between teaching either on their own merits, or whether ongoing threats to religious education in schools can be best dealt with by making the subject more relevant for students. The recent introduction of an English Baccalaureate controversially removed RE as one of the core subjects, in contrast to its use within the GCSE as a short course and full option. In effect, students no longer require some form of RE as an important part of their secondary education.

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By former Philosophy Foundation pupil Alfie Blagg, age 13.

This scary question may make our head hurt or make us panic. What actually makes a human person an individual and what changes through our lives effects who we are. Seven billion people live on Planet Earth today and every single one of them is different; by their facial features, skin colour, personal opinions, size, weight, height, DNA and many other differences. But we can’t deny the change our bodies and minds encounter through our lives. If one was to say that what defines us is our cells and how they are, that would be very incorrect because cells change every seven years.

 

By Tim Raynor, author of

Life Changing: A Philosophical Guide

Stoic philosophers were the first to see how our judgments and beliefs shape our emotional lives. They understood how an irrational judgment could turn an isolated incident into an all-consuming passion. This idea is commonplace among psychologists today. It forms the basis of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a popular and effective form of psychological treatment. CBT shows us how to redress and correct the irrational judgments at the basis of distressing and disturbing experiences. By changing our thinking, we can change how we are affected by life itself.