Resource list
This list provides details on the key philosophical texts and resources for A-level Philosophy. Use these alongside the scheme of work and specification.
While it is not an expectation for the exam, first-hand knowledge of the central arguments contained in the anthology texts can be advantageous for students as they are able to become directly familiar with particular philosophers preferred language and writing style. A familiarity with the texts more broadly is also a great opportunity for students to extend their knowledge and understanding, and to further develop key skills of philosophical analysis and evaluation.
Directly quoting from these texts is not necessary.
Epistemology
Berkeley, G, Three dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, 1713
Descartes, R, Meditations on first philosophy, 1641
Gettier, E, Is justified true belief knowledge?, 1963
Hume, D, An enquiry concerning human understanding, 1748
Leibniz, G, New essays on human understanding, 1705
Locke, J, An essay concerning human understanding, 1690
Russell, B, The problems of philosophy, 1912
Moral philosophy
Annas, J, Virtue ethics, in Copp, D, The Oxford handbook of ethical theory, 2006
Aristotle, Nicomachean ethics, 350 BC
Ayer, A J, The central questions of philosophy, 1973/1991
Ayer, A J, Language, truth and logic, 1936
Bentham, J, Introduction to the principles of morals and legislation, 1789
Diamond, C, Eating meat and eating people, 1978
Foot, P, Morality as a system of hypothetical imperatives, 1972
Hare, R M, The language of morals, 1952
Hume, D, Treatise of human nature, 1739-40
Kant, I, Foundations of the metaphysics of morals, 1785
Mackie, J L, Ethics: inventing right and wrong, 1977
Mill, J S, Utilitarianism, 1863
Moore, G E, Principia Ethica, 1903
Smart, J J C, Williams, B, Utilitarianism: for and against, 1973
Metaphysics of God
Aquinas, T, Summa Theologica – whether God is omnipotent?
Aquinas, T, Summa Theologica – whether God exists?
Ayer, A J, The central questions of philosophy, 1973/1991
Ayer, A J, Language, truth and logic, 1936
Descartes, R, Meditations on first philosophy, 1641
Hick, J, Evil and the God of love, 1966/1978
Hume, D, Dialogues concerning natural religion, 1779
Hume, D, An enquiry concerning human understanding, 1748
Malcolm, N, Anselm’s ontological arguments: the philosophical review, 1960
Midgley, M, Wickedness: a philosophical essay, 1984
Plantinga, A, God, freedom and evil: essays in philosophy, 1975
Stump, E, Kretzmann, N, Eternity: journal of philosophy, 1981
Swinburne, R G, The argument from design, 1968
Metaphysics of mind
Avramides, A, Other minds, 2001
Block, N, Readings in philosophy of psychology – troubles with functionalism, 1980
Chalmers, D, The conscious mind: in search of a fundamental theory, 1996
Chalmers D, Blackwell guide to the philosophy of mind – consciousness and its place in nature, 2003
Churchland, P S, Brain-wise, 2002
Churchland, P M, Eliminative materialism and propositional attitudes, 1981
Descartes, R, Meditations on first philosophy, 1641
Jackson F, Epiphenomenal Qualia, 1982
Putnam, H, Mind, language and reality: the nature of mental states, 1975/1986
Ryle, G, The concept of mind, 1949/2000
Shapiro, L, The correspondence between Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia and René Descartes, 2007
Smart, J J C, The philosophical review: sensations and brain processes, 1959
General resources
British Philosophical Association (BPA)
Internet encyclopedia of philosophy
Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy
Baggini, J, Fosl, PS, The philosopher’s toolkit: a compendium of philosophical concepts and methods, 2nd Edition, Wiley-Blackwell,
ISBN: 978-1-4051-9018-3, 2010.
Bruce, M, Barbone, S, Just the arguments: 100 of the most important arguments in western philosophy, Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN-10: 144433638X/ ISBN-13:978-1444336382, 2002.
Hospers, J, An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis, 4th edition, Routledge, ISBN-10: 0415157935/ ISBN-13: 978-0415157933, 1997.
Morton, A, Philosophy in practice: an introduction to the main questions, 2nd edition, Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN-10: 1405116188/ ISBN-13: 978-1405116183, 2003.
Warburton, N, Philosophy: the essential study guide, Routledge, ISBN-10: 0415341809/ ISBN-13:978-0415341806, 2004.