📚 A-Level AQA Philosophy: 2026 Exam Changes and Trends | A-Level AQA 哲学：2026年考试变化与趋势
The AQA A-Level Philosophy qualification is undergoing its most significant transformation since 2017. Students preparing for the 2026 summer examinations will be the first cohort to sit a redeveloped specification designed to broaden the philosophical canon, deepen analytical skills, and reflect contemporary debates in the discipline. This article explains the key changes, explores emerging trends, and offers practical guidance for teachers and learners navigating the transition from specification 7172 to the new model.
AQA 的 A-Level 哲学资格考试正经历自 2017 年以来最重大的变革。准备 2026 年夏季考试的学生将成为第一批参加全新修订版大纲考试的群体，该大纲旨在拓宽哲学经典、深化分析技能，并反映当代学科讨论。本文梳理关键变化，探讨新兴趋势，并为教师和学习者由 7172 大纲向新模式的过渡提供实用指南。
1. The Drivers of Change | 变革的驱动力
The reform was triggered by widespread calls from universities, teachers, and the philosophical community to decolonise the curriculum and include a wider range of voices. AQA’s 2022 consultation revealed strong support for embedding non-Western traditions, feminist philosophy, and perspectives from philosophers of colour, moving beyond the historically Eurocentric and male-dominated syllabus.
此次改革源于大学、教师和哲学界的广泛呼吁，要求课程去殖民化，纳入更多元的声 音。AQA 2022 年的咨询显示，人们强烈支持纳入非西方传统、女性主义哲学以及有色人种哲学家的视角，走出历史上以欧洲为中心、男性占主导的课程框架。
2. Timeline and First Teaching | 时间线与首次教学
The new AQA A-Level Philosophy specification will be taught from September 2025, with the first AS examinations in summer 2026 and the first A-Level examinations in summer 2026. This means that current Year 11 students entering sixth form in autumn 2025 will be the pioneers of the updated programme. The legacy 7172 specification will see its final A-Level assessment in 2025.
新的 AQA A-Level 哲学教学大纲将从 2025 年 9 月开始授课，首次 AS 考试于 2026 年夏季举行，首次 A-Level 考试同样在 2026 年夏季。这意味着目前在读 11 年级、将于 2025 年秋季进入 sixth form 的学生将成为更新课程的先行者。旧的 7172 大纲将在 2025 年进行最后一次 A-Level 考评。
3. Overview of Content Expansion | 内容拓展概览
The core four themes — Epistemology, Moral Philosophy, Metaphysics of Mind, and Metaphysics of God — are retained but substantially revised. Each theme now integrates a ‘diverse philosophical traditions’ strand, requiring students to compare, for example, Western theories of knowledge with classical Indian epistemology or Ubuntu ethics with Kantian deontology. Additionally, a new mandatory ‘Methods and Issues in Philosophy’ component aims to sharpen meta-philosophical reflection.
原有的四个核心主题——认识论、道德哲学、心灵形而上学和上帝形而上学——被保留，但进行了大幅修订。每个主题现在都融入了「多元哲学传统」线索，要求学生例如将西方知识论与古典印度认识论进行比较，或将 Ubuntu 伦理学与康德义务论并置。此外，新增了必修的「哲学方法与问题」板块，旨在强化元哲学反思。
4. Epistemology Reimagined | 认识论的重塑
The revised Epistemology unit no longer focuses exclusively on the tripartite definition of knowledge and Gettier cases from a Western analytic lens. Students must now engage with non-propositional knowledge in Buddhist philosophy, the concept of prama (valid cognition) in Nyaya, and the role of testimony in African epistemology. Direct realism, indirect realism, and idealism remain, but are examined alongside epistemic frameworks that challenge the primacy of individual knowers.
修订后的认识论单元不再仅从西方分析哲学的视角聚焦于知识的三元定义与葛梯尔问题。学生现在必须研习佛教哲学中的非命题知识、正理派哲学中 prama（有效认知）的概念，以及非洲认识论中证词的作用。直接实在论、间接实在论和观念论依然保留，但将与挑战个体认知者首要地位的认识框架一同考察。
5. Moral Philosophy for a Plural World | 多元世界的道德哲学
Alongside utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, and Aristotelian virtue ethics, the 2026 specification includes African communitarian ethics (Ubuntu), Confucian role ethics, and eco-feminist approaches to moral considerability. Meta-ethics now requires comparison of moral naturalism and non-naturalism with the ethics of care and Buddhist moral phenomenology. Applied ethics topics may explore global justice, climate responsibility, and postcolonial critiques of human rights discourse.
除功利主义、康德伦理学和亚里士多德德性伦理学之外，2026 年大纲还纳入了非洲社群主义伦理学（Ubuntu）、儒家角色伦理以及生态女性主义对道德关怀的进路。元伦理学现在要求将道德自然主义和非自然主义与关怀伦理学及佛教道德现象学进行比较。应用伦理学选题可能涉及全球正义、气候责任以及对权利话语的后殖民批判。
6. Metaphysics of Mind beyond the Physicalist Consensus | 超越物理主义共识的心灵形而上学
While substance dualism, behaviourism, mind-brain identity theory, and functionalism are preserved, the new specification broadens the debate with panpsychism, embodied cognition, and non-Western conceptions of self such as the Buddhist anatta (no-self) doctrine. The problem of consciousness is enriched by phenomenological traditions and the hard problem discussion is linked to the ontological status of the ‘mind’ in Vedanta philosophy.
虽然实体二元论、行为主义、心脑同一论和功能主义得以保留，但新大纲通过泛心论、具身认知以及佛教的「无我」学说等非西方自我观念，拓宽了辩论的范围。意识问题因现象学传统而更加丰富，「艰难问题」的讨论也与吠檀多哲学中「心」的本体论地位联系起来。
7. Metaphysics of God and the Diversification of Ultimate Reality | 上帝形而上学与终极实在的多样化
The concept of God is no longer confined to the classical theistic model. Students explore arguments for and against the existence of a supreme being alongside Brahman in Advaita Vedanta, the Dao in Daoism, and the idea of an impersonal absolute. The problem of evil is interrogated through both logical and evidential arguments, complemented by karmic and reincarnation-based theodicies. Religious language now includes apophatic theology and mystical discourse from multiple traditions.
上帝概念不再局限于古典有神论模式。学生在探讨支持与反对至高存在者存在的论证时，也同时学习吠檀多不二论中的梵、道家中的道，以及非人格化绝对者的理念。恶的问题通过逻辑论证和证据论证加以审问，并辅以基于业力和轮回的神正论。宗教语言现在包含来自多种传统的否定神学和神秘主义话语。
8. A New Methods and Issues Paper | 全新的方法与问题考卷
The biggest structural change is the introduction of a compulsory ‘Philosophical Methods’ component in Paper 1 or as a dedicated paper. This section assesses students’ ability to analyse thought experiments, evaluate conceptual analysis, understand reflective equilibrium, and engage with genealogical and phenomenological methods. It also requires critical reflection on the nature of philosophical enquiry itself, including questions about the universality of reason and linguistic relativity.
最大的结构性变化是在考卷一或作为独立考卷引入了必修的「哲学方法」部分。该部分评估学生分析思想实验、评估概念分析、理解反思平衡，以及运用谱系学和现象学方法的能力。它还要求对哲学探究本身的性质进行批判性反思，包括关于理性普遍性和语言相对性的问题。
9. Assessment Objectives Rebalanced | 评估目标的重新平衡
AQA has revised the weighting of assessment objectives. While AO1 (knowledge and understanding) remains at approximately 40%, the new AO2 (analysis and evaluation) is more explicitly linked to intercultural comparison. A novel AO3, ‘Critical engagement with philosophical methods and diversity,’ has been introduced, accounting for 15-20% of marks. This rewards students who can recognise the cultural situatedness of philosophical positions and reflect on the implications of reaching across traditions.
AQA 已调整评估目标的权重。AO1（知识与理解）仍占约 40%，而新的 AO2（分析与评价）则更明确地与跨文化比较联系起来。新增的 AO3「批判性参与哲学方法与多样性」占 15-20% 的分数。这一目标奖励那些能够识别哲学立场的文化处境并就跨越传统的意义进行反思的学生。
10. Implications for Teaching and Learning | 对教与学的影响
Teachers must redesign schemes of work to integrate comparative exercises from the start. Textbooks are being rewritten, and AQA will provide new sample assessment materials by early 2025. The emphasis on methodological self-awareness means that classroom practice should include regular metacognitive discussions: ‘What method are we using now, and whose voices are being centred?’ CPD opportunities will be crucial, as many philosophy teachers trained in analytic traditions may need support engaging with Buddhist, African, and Latin American philosophies.
教师必须重新设计教学计划，从一开始就融入比较练习。教科书正在重新编写，AQA 将在 2025 年初提供新的评估样题。对方法论自我意识的强调意味着课堂实践应包含定期的元认知讨论：「我们现在使用的是什么方法？我们在以谁的声音为中心？」职业发展机遇将至关重要，因为许多接受分析传统训练的哲学教师可能需要支持来接触佛教、非洲和拉丁美洲哲学。
11. Predicted Trends in Student Performance | 学生表现的预测趋势
Early insights from pilot schools indicate that students who engage with a broader range of traditions develop stronger argumentative flexibility. However, teachers report initial challenges with depth-versus-breadth dilemmas. The 2026 cohort may exhibit a wider spread of grades initially, as the mark scheme rewards genuine comparative synthesis rather than rote rehearsal of Western isms. Stronger candidates will be those who can seamlessly move from a Gettier case to a Dharmakirti analysis of false cognition, showing true intellectual sophistication.
来自试点学校的初步洞察表明，接触更广泛传统的学生在论证灵活性上更强。但教师们报告了初期深度与广度两难的挑战。2026 年考生群体最初可能会出现成绩分布更广的现象，因为评分方案奖励真正的比较性综合，而非对西方各种「主义」的死记硬背。表现优异的候选人将是那些能够从葛梯尔案例无缝过渡到 Dharmakirti 对错误认知的分析，展现出真正智识成熟度的学生。
12. The Long-Term Significance and Ethical Imperative | 长远意义与伦理使命
The 2026 AQA philosophy reform is more than an exam specification update; it reflects a global shift in philosophy education toward epistemic justice. By requiring students to take seriously the philosophical contributions of cultures often marginalised, the qualification fosters intellectual humility and a more honest understanding of philosophy as a universal human endeavour. This trend is likely to influence other exam boards and university entrance expectations, making 2026 a watershed year for pre-university philosophy in the UK.
2026 年 AQA 哲学改革不只是考试大纲的一次更新；它反映了哲学教育朝向认知正义的全球转向。通过要求学生认真对待常被边缘化的文化所作出的哲学贡献，该资格培养了智识谦逊，以及对哲学作为一项普遍人类事业的更诚实理解。这一趋势可能影响其他考试局和大学入学要求，使 2026 年成为英国大学前哲学教育的分水岭。
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