Philosophy
The philosophy class is supposed to make the students deal with philosophical questions. Origins, history and topics of philosophy can be studied at the Gymnasium Steglitz especially because of the knowledge of ancient languages. The students get to know the primary texts of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca, and many more. They are able to handle ancient philosophies and incorporate this knowledge into later periods, such as humanism, enlightenment and modern life. Thus, questions of conceptual history and logical thinking will be discussed at a comparatively high level.
The mandatory ethic classes for the grades 7-10 is the precursor to the philosophy of teaching and deals with the six thematic areas of knowledge / hope / faith, guilt / obligation / conscience, discrimination / violence / tolerance, equality / rights / justice, freedom / responsibility / solidarity and identity / friendship / happiness. It asks, for example: What is justice for students, what function has it in the coexistence of people and cultures and do they understand what philosophers mean by that? Both subjects such as ethics and philosophy involve the individual experiences of students who consider the social context and convey to college and high school orientation knowledge. Ethics becomes more and more experienced as the basis of teaching philosophy.
The qualification phase of the 11th grade disputes over the self-definitions of philosophy in relation to the sciences and social environments, the destiny of man, the problems of perception and thinking and of acting and judging.
The following four areas are handled strictly after each other:
ethical and practical: “values and norms,”
historically, socially and anthropologically, “Man and Society”,
philosophy of language and epistemology: “knowledge and truth,”
metaphysically: “Being and becoming.”
Dealing with philosophical aspects of various objects reflecting areas are included. The first semester “values and norms” is the subject of ethics. It touches topics such as responsibility and the faith of other subjects such as Physics and Religious Education and is enriched by the collaboration of these disciplines. Philosophy includes much more than ethics, what becomes clear in the last four semesters.
The students perceive something, interpret, judge and argue and help shape the forms of instruction. So students take some moderating duties, work in groups, create thesis papers, and prepare essays and term papers for discussion and complement and deepen philosophical statements by other activities such as role-plays, drawings and films.
The goal is the ability to think philosophically. It guides the achievement evaluation.