Key Idea: Topic 9.3 turns philosophy on itself: what is philosophy, and how is it actually done? Is it a body of arguments to be judged true or false, or a way of living that changes the person who practises it? This is the HL extension. It feeds Paper 3 (HL only), the 'Philosophy and contemporary issues' extension — for this topic an unseen-text response on the nature and method of philosophy, so you argue about what philosophy is, using a passage you meet for the first time in the exam.
🧠 The three big questions, one card each
Topic 9.3 at a glance
- 9.3.1 · What is philosophy for? — The question the exam rarely asks out loud. Three things philosophy is for: questioning assumptions we take for granted, clarifying the concepts we reason with, and asking how we ought to live. It differs from science (which tests the empirical world) and religion (which rests on faith or revelation) by relying on reasoned argument.
- 9.3.2 · How do philosophers actually work? — Underneath every style sits one move: give reasons and test them — argument rather than assertion. Philosophy is written in many forms (dialogue, essay, aphorism, system) because form fits purpose. Whether there is a single philosophical method is itself contested — analysis is one method among several, not the only one.
- 9.3.3 · Thinking vs practice — Two pictures of what philosophy is. The Western picture: philosophy is argument — analysing and defending claims. The practice picture (found in Stoicism, and stressed by Hadot): philosophy is a way of life, a set of exercises that transform how you live. The best view may weave both together.
Philosophy as argument (theory) — a discipline that analyses concepts and defends claims with reasons, judged by whether the arguments are sound. Philosophy as a way of life (practice) — a set of exercises and commitments that transform how the practitioner lives, judged by the life it produces. Almost every question here turns on which of these you take philosophy fundamentally to be — and whether it must be one or the other.
✍️ Bring it together — a Paper 3 question
Evaluate the claim that philosophy is fundamentally a way of life rather than a body of arguments.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Important: Treating 'what is philosophy?' as trivia — a warm-up definition to recite — rather than a live question to argue. On this topic the exam wants you to take a position on the nature and method of philosophy and defend it: state the claim, argue for and against, weigh them, and conclude. Don't list what philosophers said; argue about what philosophy is.
✅ Check yourself
If you can answer these six, you have the spine of the whole topic.
Philosophy as argument vs as a way of life? As argument: a discipline that analyses concepts and defends claims with reasons. As a way of life: exercises and commitments that transform how the practitioner lives.
What are three things philosophy is for? Questioning assumptions we take for granted, clarifying the concepts we reason with, and asking how we ought to live.
How does philosophy differ from science and religion? It relies on reasoned argument, rather than empirical testing (science) or faith and revelation (religion).
What single move underlies every philosophical form? Giving reasons and testing them — argument rather than assertion — whether written as a dialogue, essay, aphorism or system.
Is there one philosophical method? Contested. Conceptual analysis is one method among several, not the only one — the question of a single method is itself a philosophical dispute.
What is Hadot's key point? For the ancients, philosophy was a way of life — spiritual exercises that transform the self — with written arguments serving that transformation.
Exam Tips
- For 9.3, Paper 3 is an unseen-text response on the NATURE and METHOD of philosophy — expect a passage you meet for the first time in the exam, and respond to it.
- Anchor the whole answer on the argument-vs-way-of-life distinction — it frames every question about what philosophy is.
- Name a thinker (e.g. Hadot, the Stoics) ONLY with their argument — a name on its own earns no marks.
- For an 'Evaluate' command, argue both sides then judge — end on a reasoned conclusion, never a balanced fence-sit.