Thursday 17 October 2013

Animal Testing

Thursday 10 October 2013

5. Singer on Animal Rights and Vegetarianism - Great Ideas of Science & ...

A very enlightening dialogue between the Scientist and Professor Richard Dawkins and the Philosopher and Professor specialized in Ethics, Peter Singer. Professor Dawkins specialism is Zoology and Professor Singer is author of a ground breaking book "Animal Liberation" where he defends animal rights and develops the concept of "speciesism". They talk about animal suffering, vegetarianism and how to live our lives "ethically" reflecting upon our moral responsibilities.

Monday 24 June 2013

What is Philosophy?What is Philosophy of Religion?

Hello Y10s! Welcome on board of this fascinating discipline called "Philosophy of Religion. Some of your classmates produced excellent work we have the opportunity to share some of their ideas. Please read here,  there and a series of extra ideas about Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion are presented here. Their differences are illustrated here. And after reading all try to find out some answers for those "big questions".  Think about what questions you would like to ask or those you have some answers.
I will be posting soon about more information about some of the main Philosophers of Philosophy of Religion: Renee Descartes, Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant and David Hume but you can start to read  here this very short introduction to Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant made by one of your classmates. Remember: You need to know their Philosophical concepts for GCSE next year! And finally, my sincere gratitude to all students who helped in this work! You are a star!

Friday 24 May 2013

Jesus the Philosopher by Don Cupitt

Please listen this extraordinary podcast about Jesus, the Philosopher here, thanks to Philosophy bites

Thursday 14 February 2013

Why an Atheist or Agnostic should care for the Planet?

Agnostic and Atheists called "Humanists" have beliefs and moral views on life issues. Please read here their views on "care for the environment". You can even use their views in your paper!

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Questions for revision: Religion and Planet Earth


Within this topic Religion and Planet Earth candidates should be familiar with the key teachings from the religion(s) studied and should be aware of how religious leaders and other faith members have interpreted these teachings and applied them to life in society today.
Key points for revision
religious beliefs about the origins of life;
religious views about the nature of Planet Earth, e.g. awe and wonder;
religious beliefs about care and responsibility for the planet – stewardship;
the work being done to look after the world – conservation, earth summits, international action, targets to reduce carbon emissions/greenhouse gases, sustainable development;
problems caused by pollution, such as acid rain, oil spills, toxic chemicals and pesticides;
effects of modern lifestyles – through emissions from cars, factories and waste, recycling;
the debate about and the effects of climate change (global warming) – severe weather, droughts, floods, famine, destruction of crops, effect on plants and animals;
the use and abuse of natural resources, e.g. oil;
destruction of natural habitat, including deforestation.

Past paper questions

Care for the environment, open and read here and here

Thursday 31 January 2013

Work about Climate Change

What is Climate Change? What are the religious responses to destruction of the environment?

  • (task 1)Research and create a fact file about Climate Change explaining what it is and its effects. To do this fact file research visit The Royal Society and DEFRA
  • (task 2) Research the religious attitudes and religious responses to destruction of the environment at GCSE bitsesize and BBC Religion and Ethics. Include references to Earth Summits (a meeting of representatives of different countries including religious leaders).

  • The first Earth Summit happened in Rio de Janeiro (1992) topics of discussion pollution, deforestation and the growing scarcity of water. It produced Agenda 21, a plan to save the planet in the 21st century. The plan urged countries to find alternative sources of energy, to protect animal and planet species and promote sustainable development. Countries also agreed to keep greenhouse gas emissions at a steady level.
  • The second Earth Summit happened in  Kyoto (1997). It was agreed a "Kyoto Protocol" where countries promised to cut their CO2 and other greenhouse emissions. They agreed to cut down carbon emissions. If they merely maintained or actually increased their emissions, they agreed to carbon trading - paying another country with low emissions to offset their own. 
  • The third Earth Summit happened in Johannesburg (2002). This world summit on sustainable development discussed the problems of the poor, particularly the two billion people who live without clean water. The summit was also concern about the loss of many animal and plant species, and the reduced numbers of fish in the sea. The 185 countries that attended agreed to work hard to combat these problems by 2015.
  • After agreeing to cut carbon emissions at the Earth Summits, governments had to put their promises into action. The British Government published a draft Climate Change Bill in March 2007. This promised a 60 per cent cut (from 1990 levels) in carbon emissions by 2050 and a 26 to 32 per cent reduction by 2020. The Bill is legally binding. These are challenging targets that some say will not be achieved at the current level of effort. 
  • Visit Kew, Worldlandtrust and Eden project for more information.
* Please save your work and email me (either powerpoint presentation or .doc  Good work gets 5 merits! :-)