<p>Research in the philosophy of science has primarily emphasized how philosophical reflection can aid students in understanding the history of science, rather than directly introducing them to the ideas of philosophers. This study, positioned as a pilot study, examines the performance of high school students in China on socioscientific issues (SSIs), such as the COVID-19&#xa0;vaccine and local nuclear power plants taught according to the Toulmin argumentation pattern (TAP), Karl Popper’s “falsificationism,” and the game of Eleusis. The research method includes a deductive thematic analysis of students’ dialogues in the classroom and interviews with some students after class. Compared with the performance of the comparison group, which was taught only the TAP, the performance of the students in the treatment group with the TAP and “falsificationism” on socioscientific issues improved significantly in terms of both the structure and content of argumentation. Surveys of the students who had participated in the course revealed that the concept of “falsificationism” and corresponding practices played in the course improved the participants’ argumentation ability. In addition, the discussion of local SSI prompted students to participate better in the argumentation process. While the small number of groups necessitates caution in generalizing the findings, the study provides preliminary evidence for the role of philosophy in SSI-based argumentation instruction.</p>