AQA A-Level Philosophy Past Papers & Mark Schemes

The fundamental skill AQA Philosophy rewards — and the one that separates top-band from mid-band responses — is the ability to construct a valid philosophical argument and then identify exactly which premise an objection targets. Consider the ontological argument: Anselm's version can be expressed as (1) God is defined as the greatest conceivable being; (2) a being that exists in reality is greater than one that exists only in the mind; therefore (3) God must exist in reality. Gaunilo's Perfect Island objection targets premise (2) — by applying the same logic structure to a perfect island and generating an absurd conclusion, it challenges whether 'existing in reality is greater than existing in mind' is a coherent criterion of greatness at all. Kant's objection targets a different issue entirely: the claim that existence is not a predicate that can be coherently added to a concept. Knowing which objection attacks which premise — and why — is philosophical precision. Writing 'Kant objected to the ontological argument' without explaining this mechanism earns AO1 marks for knowledge but no AO2 marks for analysis. For Paper 1 epistemology, practise reconstructing the Gettier cases in your own words and then explaining why they undermine the traditional JTB analysis. The examination rewards students who understand why this matters: if knowledge cannot simply be 'justified true belief', then what must be added? This opens into discussions of reliabilism, the no-false-lemma condition, and causal theories of knowledge — and the ability to evaluate these responses to Gettier is exactly the kind of philosophical engagement that reaches the top assessment band. For ethics questions, understand the internal logical relationships within each theory before applying it. Mill's distinction between higher and lower pleasures was introduced specifically to address the objection that utilitarianism would, if consistent, endorse a pig satisfied over Socrates dissatisfied — understanding why this is a problem for Bentham (his hedonic calculus has no qualitative dimension) and how Mill attempts to resolve it (by introducing a competent judge standard) is the kind of theoretical engagement the mark scheme rewards. Similarly, Kant's two formulations of the categorical imperative are meant to be analytically equivalent — a fascinating philosophical claim that is itself worth examining in essays on Kantian ethics. Time management in Philosophy is structurally important in a way that varies from most A-Levels. With 3 hours for four substantial sections (roughly 40–45 minutes each), a long introduction that restates the question and outlines what you will argue costs you around 5 minutes of analytical time per section. Skip extended introductions. State the argument immediately, develop your analysis, and use any remaining time on evaluation.