All exam boards A2: Philosophy; Philosophy of religion
Able students of philosophy and religious studies tend to recognise philosophical issues in sources well beyond the traditional boundaries of academic study. Everything from feature films to soaps or news programmes frequently suggest moral dilemmas. Television documentaries presented by people such as Brian Cox and Marcus de Sautoy raise cosmological questions, or issues about free will and determinism. Many novels provoke the reader to engage with diverse philosophical problems. A work of fiction that reminds me of just how rich a source of philosophical ideas a novel can be is Star Maker (1937, Gollancz) by British thinker Olaf Stapleton, who was active during the first half of the last century. I would describe it as a work of futurology that provides an account of creation — past, present and future.
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