A Level Philosophy Topics: Full List

If you're studying A Level Philosophy, it’s important to understand exactly what topics you need to revise. Philosophy explores fundamental questions about knowledge, reality, morality, the mind, and the existence of God. The course requires both detailed subject knowledge and strong evaluation skills.

This guide provides a complete overview of the topics covered in A Level Philosophy and explains how they are organised within the specification.

Key Takeaways

• A Level Philosophy is currently offered as a standalone qualification by AQA.

• The course is divided into four main areas: Epistemology, Moral Philosophy, Metaphysics of God, and Metaphysics of Mind.

• Each topic contains key philosophers, arguments, criticisms, and debates that students must understand and evaluate.

• Knowing the full topic list can help you plan revision and identify areas that need more attention.

Why It's Important to Know Your Exam Board

Different exam boards can teach similar subjects in different ways. Topic content, assessment structure, and terminology may vary between specifications.

For standalone A Level Philosophy in England, AQA (opens in a new tab) currently offers the main specification (7172). Other exam boards offer Philosophy through A Level Religious Studies qualifications, where Philosophy of Religion forms part of a broader course.

Before planning your revision, make sure you know which specification you are studying.

AQA A Level Philosophy Topics (7172)

The AQA A Level Philosophy specification is divided into four core areas.

Epistemology

This topic explores the nature of knowledge, how we acquire it, and whether certainty is possible.

What is Knowledge?

• Acquaintance knowledge

• Ability knowledge

• Propositional knowledge

• The nature of definition

• Analysis of propositional knowledge

The Tripartite View

• Justified True Belief (JTB)

• Individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions

Issues with the Tripartite View

• Gettier challenges

• Lucky true beliefs

Responses to Gettier

• Infallibilism

• No False Lemmas

• Reliabilism

• Virtue epistemology

Perception as a Source of Knowledge

• Direct realism

• Arguments from illusion, perceptual variation, hallucination, and time-lag

• Indirect realism / representative realism

• Locke's primary and secondary qualities

• Russell's response to scepticism

• Berkeley's idealism

• Berkeley's Master Argument

• Solipsism

• The role of God in Berkeley's idealism

Reason as a Source of Knowledge

• Innatism

• Plato's rationalism

• Leibniz's rationalism

• Locke's empiricism

• Impressions and ideas

• Intuition and deduction

• Descartes' rationalism

• The cogito

• Descartes' arguments for God and the external world

The Limits of Knowledge

• Philosophical scepticism

• Local and global scepticism

• Descartes' waves of doubt

• Responses to scepticism

• Locke's response

• Berkeley's response

• Russell's response

• Reliabilist responses

Moral Philosophy

This topic examines ethical theories, moral reasoning, and the origins of moral judgements.

Normative Ethical Theories

Utilitarianism

• Bentham's quantitative utilitarianism and the utility calculus

• Mill's qualitative utilitarianism and higher and lower pleasures

• Preference utilitarianism

• Act and rule utilitarianism

• Criticisms of utilitarianism

Kantian Ethics

• The good will and duty

• Acting in accordance with duty and acting out of duty

• Hypothetical and categorical imperatives

• Universalisation

• Humanity as an end

• Criticisms of Kantian ethics

Aristotelian Virtue Ethics

• Eudaimonia

• The function argument

• Virtues and vices

• Habituation

• The doctrine of the mean

• Moral responsibility and practical wisdom

• Criticisms of virtue ethics

Applied Ethics

• Stealing

• Simulated killing

• Eating animals

• Telling lies

Meta-Ethics

Moral Realism

• Naturalism

• Non-naturalism

• Intuitionism

• Moore's open question argument and the naturalistic fallacy

Moral Anti-Realism

• Error theory

• Emotivism

• Prescriptivism

Key Debates

• Cognitivism and non-cognitivism

• Hume's Fork

• Ayer's verification principle

• Hume's is-ought gap

• Mackie's arguments from relativity and queerness

• Moral progress and moral nihilism

Metaphysics of God

This topic explores the nature of God, arguments for God's existence, the problem of evil, and religious language.

The Concept and Nature of God

• Omnipotence, omniscience, and omnibenevolence

• God and time

• Eternal and everlasting views of God

• The paradox of the stone

• The Euthyphro dilemma

• Free will and divine foreknowledge

Arguments for the Existence of God

Ontological Arguments

• Anselm's ontological argument

• Descartes' ontological argument

• Malcolm's ontological argument

• Gaunilo's perfect island objection

• Kant's criticism

Teleological Arguments

• Design arguments from analogy

• Paley's design argument

• Swinburne's design argument

• Hume's criticisms

• Spatial disorder

• Whether God is the best explanation

Cosmological Arguments

• The Kalām argument

• Aquinas' First, Second, and Third Ways

• Descartes' causation argument

• Leibniz's Principle of Sufficient Reason

• Infinite regress

• Hume's criticisms

• Russell's criticism

The Problem of Evil

• Moral and natural evil

• Logical and evidential problems of evil

• The Free Will Defence

• Plantinga

• Soul-making theodicy

• Hick

Religious Language

• Cognitivism and non-cognitivism

• The verification principle and Ayer

• Eschatological verification and Hick

• Falsification

• Flew's gardener analogy

• Mitchell's partisan analogy

• Hare's bliks

Metaphysics of Mind

This topic explores consciousness, mental states, and the relationship between the mind and the body.

What Do We Mean by Mind?

• Mental states

• Qualia

• Intentionality

Dualist Theories

Substance Dualism

• Descartes' substance dualism

• The divisibility argument

• The conceivability argument

• Criticisms of substance dualism

Property Dualism

• Philosophical zombies

• Chalmers

• Mary's room

• Jackson

• Responses to Mary's room

Issues for Dualism

• The problem of other minds

• The argument from analogy

• The best hypothesis response

• Ryle's category mistake

• Princess Elisabeth's objection

• Epiphenomenalism

Physicalist Theories

Behaviourism

• Hard and soft behaviourism

• Hempel

• Ryle

• Criticisms of behaviourism

Mind-Brain Identity Theory

• Mind-brain identity theory

• Ontological reduction

• Multiple realisability

• Criticisms of identity theory

Eliminative Materialism

• Paul and Patricia Churchland

• Folk psychology

• Criticisms of eliminative materialism

Functionalism

• Functionalism

• Functional roles

• Multiple realisability

• Inverted qualia

• Block's China thought experiment

Which Papers Cover These Topics?

Both papers are 3 hours long, worth 100 marks, and contribute 50% of the final A Level grade.

Save My Exams offers A Level Philosophy Past Papers, so you can see the structure of the exam paper and the types of questions included.

How to Use Topic Lists for Revision

Topic lists are most useful when they become part of a revision plan rather than simply a checklist.

Start by identifying which areas you feel most confident with and which require more work. You can then break larger topics into smaller sections and schedule them across several revision sessions.

Many students find it helpful to:

• Use the topic list to create a revision timetable

• Track which philosophers, arguments, and key debates they have revised

• Identify weaker areas that need additional practice

• Link essay practice directly to individual topics

• Revisit difficult topics regularly rather than leaving them until the end of the course

As you complete each topic, consider whether you could explain the main arguments, key criticisms, and your own evaluation without referring to your notes. If not, that topic may need further revision.

When revising Philosophy, remember that while it's important to learn theories and arguments, it’s equally vital that you learn how to use this knowledge. You should also practise comparing viewpoints, evaluating strengths and weaknesses, and developing your own reasoned judgements.

Visit the Save My Exams Learning Hub for a wealth of revision tips.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to revise all A Level Philosophy topics for the exam?

Yes. Questions can be set from across the specification, so you should be familiar with all required topics and key debates.

Are these topics the same across all exam boards?

No. Different exam boards can organise philosophical content in different ways and may assess different philosophers, theories, or debates. 

AQA currently offers the main standalone A Level Philosophy qualification in England, while other exam boards include philosophical content within A Level Religious Studies specifications.

How do I know which topics I struggle with most?

Past papers, topic questions, and essay practice can help you identify weaker areas. Keep track of topics where you regularly lose marks or feel less confident explaining key arguments.

Do all topics come up in every exam paper?

No. Paper 1 assesses Epistemology and Moral Philosophy, while Paper 2 assesses Metaphysics of God and Metaphysics of Mind.

Final Thoughts

Understanding the full A Level Philosophy topic list is one of the best ways to organise your revision effectively. The course covers a wide range of philosophical ideas, arguments, and debates. Knowing how topics fit together can help you revise more efficiently and avoid gaps in your knowledge.

Use the topic list as a revision checklist, track your progress regularly, and make sure you spend time practising both knowledge and evaluation skills throughout the course. Save My Exams can help with expert-written A Level revision resources to make your revision more focused and less stressful.

References:

• AQA | A Level Philosophy 7172 | Specification (opens in a new tab)