Balearic Islands PAU History of Philosophy study guide
Balearic Islands PAU History of Philosophy · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The History of Philosophy exam in the Balearic Islands' university entrance procedure (PBAU/PAU) is a written test taken by Batxillerat students who want to raise their access score or satisfy subject requirements for humanities and social-science degrees. It is an open-response exam: you read a philosophical passage, explain its ideas and terminology, situate it in its author's thought, and sometimes relate it to another author or write a reasoned argument of your own. The Balearic Islands PAU History of Philosophy study guide has 5 sections and about 2,095 words.
01Ancient and Medieval Philosophy: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas
The Ancient and Medieval block asks you to reconstruct doctrines rather than recite biographies. You need Plato's theory of Forms and its epistemological and political consequences, Aristotle's hylomorphism and virtue ethics, Augustine's account of interiority, evil and grace, and Aquinas's synthesis of Aristotle with Christian theology.
428 words, about 2 min02Modern Philosophy: Rationalism and Empiricism (Descartes and Hume)
The Modern block tests the rationalist-empiricist contrast through two central authors. For Descartes you must explain methodic doubt, the cogito, clear and distinct ideas, the proofs of God and mind-body dualism.
411 words, about 2 min03Enlightenment and German Idealism: Kant, Rousseau and Hegel
This block covers the Enlightenment's political and moral turn and the idealist response to Kant. You must explain Rousseau's state of nature, general will and social contract; Kant's Copernican revolution, synthetic a priori knowledge, categories, phenomena and noumena, and the categorical imperative; and Hegel's dialectic, historical reason, master-slave relation and critique of the thing-in-itself.
415 words, about 2 min0419th- and 20th-Century Philosophy: Marx, Nietzsche, Ortega y Gasset and Existentialism
The contemporary block tests historically situated critiques of modern philosophy. For Marx you need historical materialism, alienation, ideology and surplus value.
425 words, about 2 min05Text Commentary, Philosophical Vocabulary, Author Comparison and the Reasoned Essay
This cross-cutting domain tests the skills that carry the written exam: commenting on a short philosophical text, defining technical vocabulary precisely, comparing two authors on a stated problem, and constructing a reasoned essay. The exam rewards argumentative structure and textual evidence, not biographical narrative or unsupported opinion.
416 words, about 2 min