IB PHILOSOPHY CORE THEME STUDY GUIDE
2026 QUESTIONS SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ Normative Answer: how we should be/what we should do
◉ The Tri-partite soul (Plato) Answer: Reason (control), Spirit
(emotions like pride and courage), Appetite (bodily and wordly
desires)
◉ The Materialist view (Hobbes) Answer: Every can be explained in
terms of the motions and interactions of material bodies. We are
essentially robots.
◉ Psychological egoism (Hobbes) Answer: Primary motivation for
humans is self-interest
◉ State of War (Hobbes) Answer: Humanity is forced into
competition. We pursue power and glory to make ourselves more
secure.
◉ Leap of faith (Kiekegaard) Answer: How people acted in love or
believing in God
, ◉ Subjectivity (Kiekegaard) Answer: Things affect people in
different ways (truth is subjectivity, subjectivity is truth)
◉ Freedom (Kiekegaard) Answer: "if man can give any reasons for
his choice, then the choice is determined by the reasons and is not
truly free"
◉ Nihilism (Nietzsche) Answer: "God is dead". There is no
transcendental being or truth. We must live our lives of now
◉ Ubermensch (Nietzsche) Answer: aim to supreme being
◉ Amor Fati (Nietzsche) Answer: Love is fate (everything that
happens is among the facts of ones existence)
◉ Aphoristic style Answer: encapsulates a wide idea
◉ The crowd (Beauvoir) Answer: Our individuality can't be at odds
to those in society. Existentialism important in social and political
situations
◉ "Existence precedes essence" (Sartre) Answer: how we act
determines our apparent "qualitites" not the essence of oneself
2026 QUESTIONS SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ Normative Answer: how we should be/what we should do
◉ The Tri-partite soul (Plato) Answer: Reason (control), Spirit
(emotions like pride and courage), Appetite (bodily and wordly
desires)
◉ The Materialist view (Hobbes) Answer: Every can be explained in
terms of the motions and interactions of material bodies. We are
essentially robots.
◉ Psychological egoism (Hobbes) Answer: Primary motivation for
humans is self-interest
◉ State of War (Hobbes) Answer: Humanity is forced into
competition. We pursue power and glory to make ourselves more
secure.
◉ Leap of faith (Kiekegaard) Answer: How people acted in love or
believing in God
, ◉ Subjectivity (Kiekegaard) Answer: Things affect people in
different ways (truth is subjectivity, subjectivity is truth)
◉ Freedom (Kiekegaard) Answer: "if man can give any reasons for
his choice, then the choice is determined by the reasons and is not
truly free"
◉ Nihilism (Nietzsche) Answer: "God is dead". There is no
transcendental being or truth. We must live our lives of now
◉ Ubermensch (Nietzsche) Answer: aim to supreme being
◉ Amor Fati (Nietzsche) Answer: Love is fate (everything that
happens is among the facts of ones existence)
◉ Aphoristic style Answer: encapsulates a wide idea
◉ The crowd (Beauvoir) Answer: Our individuality can't be at odds
to those in society. Existentialism important in social and political
situations
◉ "Existence precedes essence" (Sartre) Answer: how we act
determines our apparent "qualitites" not the essence of oneself
