Core Notions of the Terminale Philosophy Curriculum
The French Terminale philosophy program is organized around 17 notions spanning five fields: the subject, culture, reason and reality, politics, and morality.
The Subject: Consciousness, the Unconscious, Desire
- Descartes — The cogito ("I think, therefore I am") establishes self-consciousness as the foundation of certainty.
- Freud — The unconscious (id, ego, superego) reveals that the self is not master in its own house. Dreams and slips betray repressed desires.
- Sartre — Consciousness is always intentional. Bad faith means lying to oneself to escape freedom.
- Plato — Desire is lack (myth of Eros in the Symposium). Epicurus teaches that happiness lies in ataraxia (absence of disturbance).
Truth, Reason, and Science
- Plato — The Allegory of the Cave illustrates the ascent from opinion (doxa) to knowledge (episteme).
- Nietzsche — "There are no facts, only interpretations." Truth serves the will to power.
- Popper — A scientific theory must be falsifiable. Science advances through conjectures and refutations.
Freedom, the State, and Justice
- Rousseau — The social contract reconciles freedom with collective life. The general will is not the will of all.
- Hobbes — The state of nature is "war of all against all"; the State guarantees security.
- Sartre — "Man is condemned to be free." Freedom implies total responsibility.
- Aristotle — Distinguishes distributive justice (by merit) and corrective justice (arithmetic equality). Rawls proposes the "veil of ignorance" for fair principles.
Morality: Duty and Happiness
- Kant — The categorical imperative: act only according to maxims you could will as universal laws. Duty is grounded in reason, not inclination.
- Mill — Utilitarianism judges actions by their consequences: maximize the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
Exam Method
The Bac philo offers two dissertations and one text commentary. The dissertation requires a problematic, a dialectical plan (thesis/antithesis/synthesis), and precise philosophical references. The text commentary demands rigorous linear analysis of an excerpt, confrontation with other thinkers, and an assessment of the argument's scope and limits.
