Religious Studies: Buddhism, Philosophy of Religion, & Ethics

Transcription

1 Name: Preparation for: Religious Studies: Buddhism, Philosophy of Religion, & Ethics At Long Road aete Aa You will need to complete the tasks set in this booklet before your first lesson. You will need to submit the completed booklet in order to receive feedback from your teacher. There are three tasks one from each area in the course and all work is to be completed in the booklet.

2 Buddhism: Task 1 It is very important that, as an A level student, you can conduct your own quality, independent research. You are going to be covering a lot of content throughout your study of the course there will be lots of thinkers and traditions you will be expected to be familiar with. Therefore, you will be expected to research the various areas of the course, in order to both bolster your knowledge and understanding acquired in class, but also to develop this key skill in the process (one especially important if you are aiming to progress to higher education). We would like to see how you as an individual go about researching a new topic, or how you would proceed in developing your knowledge/interest if you have studied Buddhism before. Therefore, your first task is to produce some research on several significant areas within Buddhism: the religion s emergence and history, key figures (the Buddha) and its various branches and developments in the modern world. In the order below, research the following: A) The beginnings and history of Buddhism: research the emergence and early history of the religion that came to be known as Buddhism using the timeline provided, try and select at least six key events in the history of Buddhism, and explain their significance. B) Key figures in Buddhism: research the historical Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama), his early life and experience of the four sights, which massively affected him, and marked the beginning of both his spiritual journey and the teaching of Buddhism as a religion use the following two links to help you with this, and answer the questions provided: & C) The various traditions that make up Buddhism: research the various traditions of Buddhism in order to gain an understanding of the vastness and uniqueness of its teachings, whilst also looking at more modern developments use the table provided to document details on the specific history and teachings of the various forms of Buddhism found across the world.

3 A: The beginnings and history of Buddhism

4 B: Key figures in Buddhism 1. Who was the Buddha? What was his name and where was he born? 2. What was the Buddha s early life like? Why was it like this? 3. What importance experiences did the Buddha have that altered massively altered his life? What are the four sights? 4. How and when did Gautama become the Buddha? 5. What is the Buddha s middle way? 6. Suffering, and overcoming it, are central to Buddhism: what causes it and how do we overcome it according to the Buddha?

5 C: The various traditions that make up Buddhism Mahayana Theravada Vajrayana Zen Pure Land Nichiren

6 Philosophy of Religion: Task 2 This section of the course will see you grappling with the key arguments and ideas from some of the greatest minds ever to have existed: from the father of modern philosophy (Rene Descartes) to the man who revolutionised biology and our understanding of humanity and its development (Charles Darwin). However, before you actually delve into those, it s best that you understand some of the language philosophers and other thinkers use themselves when putting forward their views. We would like to see how you deal with new concepts, terminology, and distinctions for most, if not all students coming into the world of Philosophy for the first time, most of the following will be completely new to you. In the order below, complete the following: A) Key definitions and distinctions in Philosophy: watch the videos provided (they only last ninety seconds each) and attempt to define the terms and provide examples for each of them in order to acquire an understanding of some of the specialist language used in philosophy: I. The different areas of philosophy: II. Necessary/contingent distinction: III. A priori/a posteriori: IV. Analytic/synthetic: V. The groupings: B) Look into some key philosophers, their work, and their minds: research the following key thinkers and produce biographies for them, listing their most famous ideas and theories where possible: I. Socrates II. Plato III. Aristotle IV. Descartes V. David Hume VI. John Hick C) Extension activity: choose from one of the above thinkers you have researched and produce a biographical poster featuring their key ideas, theories, quotations, and images complete this on a separate piece of paper and not in the booklet provided.

7 A: Key definitions and distinctions in Philosophy Necessary Contingent A priori A posteriori Analytic Synthetic

8 B: Key philosophers Their work and their minds Socrates Plato Aristotle Descartes David Hume John Hick

9 Ethics: Task 3 Your study of Ethics will involve you looking at many different ethical theories and perspectives so that you can subsequently apply them to particular ethical scenarios. Whatever difficult moral situation that may be, you will be expected to back up your position/view by drawing on your knowledge of the ethical theories covered during your study of the course. It is also extremely important that you are capable of considering multiple points of view and assessing them according to the factors at play in the provided moral scenarios. Ultimately, what is key concerning this part of the course, is that you can refer to ethical and religious teachings to justify your line of argument and chosen approach to some moral problem. We would like to see, therefore, how you approach moral problems via written responses. Use the following moral problems to clearly present your own arguments take your time, and draft responses that have clear lines of justified argumentation. In the order below, complete the following: A) Written response to Heinz problem: should Heinz have stolen the drug? B) Written response to the doctor and their patients: should you leave the one to die? C) Written response to the accidental Samaritan: to confess or not to confess? D) Written response to the trolley problem: flick the switch/push the man? A: Heinz and his wife A woman is near death suffering from a particular type of cancer. There is one drug that doctors think might save her. It is a form of radium that is rare, but one that a local druggist has in the same town as they have recently discovered it. The drug was expensive to produce, but the druggist is charging ten times what the drug actually cost to produce. The druggist paid 200 for the radium but charges others 2000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman s husband, Heinz, visits everyone he knows to borrow the money, but only manages to amass about 1000 half of what the drug costs from the druggist. Heinz tells the druggist that his wife is dying, and asks him to sell it cheaper, or let him pay the rest later. But the druggist replies: No I discovered the drug and I m going to make money from it. Heinz, therefore, gets desperate he breaks into the druggist s shop and steals the drug for his wife. Should Heinz have broken into the store to steal the drug for his wife? Why? Why not?

10 B: The doctor and their patients You are a doctor at a top hospital. You have six gravely ill patients, five of whom are in urgent need of organ transplants. You can't help them, though, because there are no available organs that can be used to save their lives. The sixth patient, however, will die without a particular medicine. If s/he dies, you will be able to save the other five patients by using the organs of patient 6, who is an organ donor. What do you do? C: The accidental Samaritan You're involved in a two-car crash on your way to work one morning in which you accidentally hit and kill a pedestrian. As you get out of the car, you are intercepted by a tearful woman who seems to think that she hit and killed the pedestrian. You're not sure why she thinks she hit the person, but she is convinced. There's only you, the woman, and the person you hit on the road; there are no witnesses. You know that whoever is deemed responsible will probably be sent to jail. What do you do?

11 D: The trolley problem What following video and consider your response: What do you do in each scenario?

12 Student What I have done well? Questions I have about Religious Studies: Buddhism, Philosophy of Religion & Ethics Teacher feedback Buddhism task completed Knowledge is clear and accurate At least two resources have been used Evidence of significant levels of research Philosophy task completed Key terms are defined, and examples are accurate Research is thorough on key thinkers Presentation is clear Reference has been made to the videos provided Ethics task completed Clear opinion has been given Opinion is supported with reasons Alternative views are considered Ethical/ religious teachings are included in reasoning Tick if done Teacher Comment: Teacher Agreed target for GCSE- A Level transition