AQA A Level Philosophy (7172) Past Papers 2026
Download free AQA A Level Philosophy 7172 past papers, mark schemes. 6 exam sessions from 2019–2026.
June 2024
Latest Session
6
Sessions
2019–2026
12
Question Papers
12
Mark Schemes
100% coverage
0
Inserts
4
Specimen Papers
Components & time pressure
Marks per minute shows how fast you have to work — the higher the number, the tighter the time pressure in that paper.
| Paper | Component | Marks | Duration | Marks / min | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 7172/1 — Epistemology and Moral Philosophy | 100 | 3h | 0.56 | Steady |
| Paper 2 | 7172/2 — Metaphysics of God and Metaphysics of Mind | 100 | 3h | 0.56 | Steady |
Component structure extracted from 4 official AQA documents (2022–2023). Timings and mark totals are taken from the papers themselves.
Yearly Exam Sessions
Topical Past Papers
AQA Philosophy questions organised by specification topic — perfect for targeted revision.
How is AQA A Level Philosophy (7172) examined?
AQA A Level Philosophy is examined through 2 paper components. Understanding each component helps you allocate revision time effectively.
Paper 1
100 marks7172/1 — Epistemology and Moral Philosophy
Duration: 3h
Paper 2
100 marks7172/2 — Metaphysics of God and Metaphysics of Mind
Duration: 3h
What AQA examiners say about Philosophy
Verbatim quotes from 4 official AQA examiner reports (2022–2023). Every quote is attributable to a specific paper and session — these are the things AQA markers flag year after year.
25-mark essays that juxtapose theories instead of…
juxtaposing and describing a range of views without sufficient engagement in ongoing evaluation or replacing argument and counter-argument with very brief assertion with little supporting reasoning.
Stock evaluative phrases ('strong'
too many stock uses of phrases such as 'this is a strong response' or 'this is a weak argument' without ever explaining why it is weak/strong with evidence / clear supporting reasons.
12-mark answers that explain only one half of a two-part…
A response that only addressed the requirement to outline indirect realism but did not provide any relvant material on Berkeley's objection (or the other way around) could not demonstrate the level of detail required
Most Common Mistakes — Philosophy (7172)
Based on analysis of 4 official AQA examiner reports (2022, 2023). Avoid these errors to maximise your marks.
25-mark essays that juxtapose theories instead of integrating argument and counter-argument
Paper 1, Paper 2 · June 2022 and June 2023, both papers
Stock evaluative phrases ('strong', 'weak', 'incredibly') used without reasons
Paper 1, Paper 2 · June 2022 and June 2023, both papers
12-mark answers that explain only one half of a two-part question
Paper 1, Paper 2 · June 2022 and June 2023, both papers
Lengthy descriptive introductions that delay or replace evaluation
Paper 1, Paper 2 · June 2022 and June 2023, both papers
Imprecise or carelessly mixed-up technical definitions
Paper 1, Paper 2 · June 2022 and June 2023, both papers
Topics Students Struggle With Most
Gettier counter-examples and 'no false lemmas'
Common weaknesses involved incorrect explanations of a Gettier case (eg that Smith is told by the boss that 'the person with 10 coins will get the job') or by not understanding what the false lemma was or, in some cases, what a lemma is.
Paper 1
Naturalistic fallacy and the moral naturalism / non-naturalism distinction
Some common errors of understanding included students stating that one theory was a 'realist theory' and the other an 'anti-realist', or similarly that one was a 'cognitivist theory' and the other 'non-cognitivist'.
Paper 1
Intentionality in philosophy of mind
Others focused on the failure of eliminative materialism to argue persuasively for the elimination of intentionality from our conceptions of the mind, arguing that intentionality lay at the root of the self-refuting objection.
Paper 2
Qualia, phenomenal properties and property dualism
Sometimes there was blurring and confusion with 'intentional states'. It was open to students to say that even intentional states have phenomenal properties, but where there was clear conflation of the concepts, students did not reach full marks.
Paper 2
Religious language and Ayer's verification principle
Sometimes 'verification' and 'falsification' were used interchangeably, and in some cases the arguments were blurred with those of Flew. Occasionally students answered the question with reference to 'moral language' rather than religious.
Paper 2
Aristotelian virtue ethics — application beyond rote examples
students who scored in the lower bands who tried to utilise Kant and utilitarianism to criticise Aristotle often incorporated far too much description of these theories rather than using them to specifically demonstrate a critical point.
Paper 1
Hare's prescriptivism and other meta-ethical anti-realisms
more students did not even attempt to respond to this question than any other on the paper, and nearly 15% failied to score marks whether they attempted it or not.
Paper 1
Eliminative materialism vs mind-brain type identity theory
Eliminative materialism was sometimes blurred with mind-brain identity theories (because of their shared emphasis on neuroscience), and it was not unusual to find eliminative materialism characterised as a radical 'reductive' theory.
Paper 2
AQA A Level Philosophy (7172) — Full Archive 2019–2026
This page contains all 31 AQA A Level Philosophy (7172) past papers available for free download — 6 exam sessions from 2019 to 2026. Each session includes question papers (QP), mark schemes (MS), and where available, insert materials (INS). No registration or payment required.
AQA A Level Philosophy is graded A*–E. The A* grade requires achieving an A on the overall qualification and 90%+ on the A2 units. AQA is the UK's largest exam board, making these past papers the single most relevant resource for your revision.
AQA A Level Philosophy has no tiers — all students sit the same papers. Papers are split into components (Paper 1, Paper 2, etc.), each testing different areas of the specification. Focus on components where you score lowest to maximise grade improvement.
AQA mark schemes use a clear notation: M marks are for method (your working), A marks are for accuracy (correct answer), and B marks are awarded independently. Understanding this system helps you maximise marks even when you don't reach the final answer — showing clear working can earn method marks. After attempting each Philosophy past paper under timed conditions, mark it against the official scheme and categorise every dropped mark as a knowledge gap, method error, or misread question. Target your remaining revision at the category where you lose the most marks.
Questions, answered.
PapersDaddy provides 31 free AQA A Level Philosophy (7172) past papers from 2019–2026. Download question papers and mark schemes as PDF — no registration needed.
We have 31 papers across 6 exam sessions for AQA A Level Philosophy (7172). This includes question papers and mark schemes, plus 4 specimen papers.
AQA filenames follow the pattern AQA-[CODE]-[TYPE]-[SESSION]. For example, AQA-71721H-QP-JUN19 means: specification 7172, Paper 1, Higher tier, Question Paper, June 2019. QP = Question Paper, W-MS = Mark Scheme, INS = Insert, SQP = Specimen Question Paper.