AQA A-Level Philosophy | Paper 1 | 2026 Predicted Paper | Mark Scheme: Questions 1, 2 and 3
Question 1
What does Descartes mean by ‘deduction’?
[3 marks]
What is expected in the answer?
This is a 3-mark definition question, so the student should give a precise account of what Descartes means by the term rather than discussing or evaluating his rationalism. A full-mark response can be very short, provided it identifies the essential features accurately and without unnecessary material.
AQA's subject-specific vocabulary states that, for Descartes, deduction is an argument that is both deductive and a priori.
Levels of response
Marks | Descriptor |
3 | A full and correct answer, given precisely, with little or no redundancy. |
2 | The substantive content is correct, but there is some minor imprecision or redundancy. |
1 | One or more relevant but fragmented points are made. |
0 | Nothing written worthy of credit. |
Indicative content
Students may explain that:
for Descartes, a deduction is an a priori deductive argument
it is a priori because its justification does not depend upon experience
it is deductive because, if the premises are true, the conclusion follows necessarily
deduction is inferential, unlike an intuition, which is non-inferential
within Descartes' intuition and deduction thesis, deductions ultimately depend upon a priori intuitions.
Students do not need all of these points for full marks. The central requirement is a precise understanding that Cartesian deduction is both deductive and a priori.
Example student answer
Descartes means an a priori deductive argument. It is a priori because it does not depend on experience, and it is deductive because the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises.
Example commentary
3/3
This is a full and precise answer. The student identifies both essential aspects of Descartes' meaning of deduction, that it is a priori and deductive, and briefly explains each. There is no irrelevant material.
This matches an important theme in AQA's examiner guidance for 3-mark questions: more writing does not automatically mean more marks. AQA's published example responses show that additional correct but irrelevant material can introduce redundancy and prevent an otherwise correct answer from being fully precise.
A weaker answer such as "Deduction is when Descartes uses reason to gain knowledge" would probably receive only 1 or 2 marks, because although reason is relevant, it does not precisely identify either the a priori nature of the reasoning or its deductive form.
Question 2
Explain why, according to Leibniz, experience cannot account for our knowledge of necessary truths.
[5 marks]
What is expected in the answer?
The command word explain requires the student to do more than state Leibniz's conclusion. They need to show the reasoning that connects the nature of experience with his claim that necessary truths cannot originate from it. For 5 marks, AQA expects a full, clear and precise explanation with logical links between the points.
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