Philosophy

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/philosophy

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the major western schools?Platonism, Aristotelianism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism, Existentialism, Analytic Philosophy, Continental Philosophy
2. What is the methodology?Primarily relies on rational argument, critical analysis, conceptual clarification, and thought experiments
3. What is philosophy and why do people ask big questions about it?Philosophy is like a giant playground for the brain, where we ask big questions about reality, why we exist, and how to live well.
4. Who were some of the first philosophers and what did they study?In ancient Greece, thinkers like Thales, Anaximander, and Heraclitus looked for natural explanations for the world, moving away from stories about gods.

A Priori Knowledge: Knowledge that is independent of experience, derived from reason alone.
A Posteriori Knowledge: Knowledge that is derived from experience and empirical evidence.
Dialectic: A method of philosophical argument involving the resolution of contradictions between opposing ideas.