MATSEC IM Philosophy study guide
MATSEC IM Philosophy · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
MATSEC IM Philosophy is an Intermediate Level (IM) subject offered under the MATSEC Examinations Board, which is part of L-Università ta' Malta and is listed on the University's own site as the body responsible for syllabi, past papers and marking schemes. Candidates typically take IM subjects alongside their advanced-level choices to broaden their portfolio, and Philosophy suits students who want to reason carefully about arguments, ethics, knowledge and reality rather than memorise a body of facts. The syllabus content covers classic areas of philosophy, and the exam is delivered in the language of instruction, so you should expect to write structured, argued prose in English. Because the Board publishes its own syllabi, regulations, past papers and marking schemes and exemplars, the most reliable preparation route is to download the current syllabus for your session, work through past papers under timed conditions, and compare your answers against the published marking schemes. There is no substitute for practising essay construction and learning to state a position, defend it with reasons and anticipate objections. Always confirm the current syllabus, session dates, application deadlines and any fees directly with the MATSEC Examinations Board before you register, since details change between sessions. Topics on this exam: Philosophy (Intermediate Level syllabus content). The MATSEC IM Philosophy study guide has 1 section and about 409 words.
01Philosophy (Intermediate Level syllabus content): Arguments, Positions and Evaluation
The Intermediate Philosophy paper rewards one skill above all: reconstructing an argument in explicit form, then testing it. Content spans the standard areas - knowledge and justification, mind and body, moral theory, free will, and arguments about God - but marks are given for precise use of terms and for evaluating, not summarising, the positions you name. Prose rewritten as numbered premises and a conclusion, with validity judged separately from the truth of the premises. Technical terms defined exactly: a priori , supervenience , categorical imperative , compatibilism , no-false-lemmas .
409 words, about 2 minMore study resources for MATSEC IM Philosophy
- Practice questionsIn Plato's Allegory of the Cave, what do the shadows on the wall primarily represent?
- FlashcardsValidity. A property of deductive arguments: it is impossible for all the premises to be true while the conclusion is false.
- Cheat sheetArgument anatomy: premises are the reasons offered, the conclusion is what they are meant to support; indicator words such as 'because', 'since', 'given that' mark premises, while 'therefore', 'so', 'hence', 'it follows that' mark conclusions.
- Key termsSocratic method. A way of doing philosophy through persistent questioning that exposes contradictions in a person's beliefs, rather than through lecturing.
- Study planMap the full Intermediate Level syllabus into a topic checklist and rate your confidence (1-5) on each item before studying anything else.
- Common mistakesRevision is often done by memorising textbook summaries and flashcards of positions, so the candidate knows labels and slogans but has never practised extracting an argument from a set text.
- Exam-day guideBring the ID the exam centre requires (typically a passport or national ID card).