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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Philosophy by The University of Edinburgh

4.7
stars
9,085 ratings

About the Course

This course will introduce you to some of the main areas of research in contemporary philosophy. Each module a different philosopher will talk you through some of the most important questions and issues in their area of expertise. We’ll begin by trying to understand what philosophy is – what are its characteristic aims and methods, and how does it differ from other subjects? Then we’ll spend the rest of the course gaining an introductory overview of several different areas of philosophy. Topics you’ll learn about will include: Epistemology, where we’ll consider what our knowledge of the world and ourselves consists in, and how we come to have it; Philosophy of science, where we’ll investigate foundational conceptual issues in scientific research and practice; Philosophy of Mind, where we’ll ask questions about what it means for something to have a mind, and how minds should be understood and explained; Political Philosophy, where we'll investigate whether we have an obligation to obey the law; Moral Philosophy, where we’ll attempt to understand the nature of our moral judgements and reactions – whether they aim at some objective moral truth, or are mere personal or cultural preferences, and; Metaphysics, where we’ll think through some fundamental conceptual questions about free will and the nature of reality. The development of this MOOC has been led by the University of Edinburgh's Eidyn research centre. To accompany 'Introduction to Philosophy', we are pleased to announce a tie-in book from Routledge entitled 'Philosophy for Everyone'. This course companion to the 'Introduction to Philosophy' course was written by the Edinburgh Philosophy team expressly with the needs of MOOC students in mind. 'Philosophy for Everyone' contains clear and user-friendly chapters, chapter summaries, glossary, study questions, suggestions for further reading and guides to online resources. Please click "Start Here" and navigate to the "Optional Reading" page for more information....

Top reviews

LT

Sep 1, 2015

I thoroughly enjoyed this course and find that it encouragingly sets some directions, and of course, raises my excitement for further study into some of the different fields of philosophy. Thank you.

G

Apr 10, 2021

Great explanations that is broken down with examples for understanding. Quizzes test for your understanding of the topic rather than just the textbook explanations. Challenging and thought revoking.

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326 - 350 of 2,120 Reviews for Introduction to Philosophy

By M V

May 4, 2020

Really nice and an intuitive course. I really liked the concept of giving us the options to choose the topic which interests us the most. I learnt a lot from this course and also am very much fascinated with philosophy.

By Ravi

Aug 17, 2020

Loved the course thoroughly and so many interesting arguments in different fields of philosophy,great instructors and very explained sessions.It has gotten me more interested in the field of epistemology and free will

By Pamela P

Jul 30, 2020

I enjoyed this course. I liked having a different instructor for each section, and I really loved the incorporation of contemporary topics that made it feel relevant to my life and fostered conversations with others.

By Carlos E N V

Jun 28, 2020

Great introductory course to Philosophy, it makes you ask all the world around you, and with all these questions I guess you can make a real and positive changes to your set of mind and the societies in which we live.

By Viktorija B

Feb 3, 2020

I really enjoyed this course! All the lecturers were obviously very dedicated to their topic. The content was fascinating and clearly presented, and I feel genuinely inspired to further pursue philosophy. Thank you!

By Danny W

Jan 23, 2022

An interesting introduction to various aspects of philosophy. The course was taught well with numerous resources suggested for further reading. A good starting point for learning more about the field of philosophy.

By Viktar K

Jul 19, 2020

An excellent course that introduces a viewer to a wide range of intresting philosophical questions. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required and the explanations are mostly clear even to a newbie in philosophy.

By Norma J

Feb 20, 2018

This class provides a terrific, concise overview of basic terms and ideas, key philosophers over time, and arguments raised for and against. I appreciate especially the many links to free quality online references.

By Trang N M

Mar 3, 2017

I appreciate how some of my messy thoughts about the world is organized and justified when I finished this course. I would like to learn some more advanced courses because there are still many unanswered questions.

By Vibert A M

Sep 18, 2015

A basic teaching of Philosophy. The idea of having specialists lecture in thei indivvidual concepts was a direct enhancement in the themes presented. I consider that the course will be repeated ,for several years.

By Onur Ç

Oct 6, 2020

WONDERFUL. Thanks to this course, I discovered the relationship between fields I do not know about philosophy and especially "time travel". Can you think about everything, but can you think about every thought?

By JUAN H S B

Jul 18, 2020

Realmente un curso excelente y muy bueno, personalmente me ayudó a desarrollar nuevos planteamientos de mi ser y conciencia, obtuve nuevas herramientas para desenvolverme de mejor manera en el mundo filosófico.

By Tamsin C

Jan 19, 2016

Excellent first week! Promises to be a very interesting course. Unfortunately, I won't get back to it for a while, due to other pressing projects, but I'm looking forward to exploring it more later in the year.

By Ana K

Jan 8, 2016

Very interesting course with different approaches and topics on philosphy. Nice way to refresh knowledge or to get a new ones. Everything is really understandable with good videos and course materials provided.

By Graeme C

Jan 2, 2016

Excellent introduction to the subject from a great cast of different and interesting characters. Subject covered to a depth that was accessible enough to a novice yet deep enough to be interesting and valuable.

By Nicholas B

Jun 9, 2021

I commend the course and it's lecturers for bringing great content in a very accesible way. Their ability to truly teach fundamental concepts made it easy to grasp and encouraged further curiosity and study.

By Alberto M

Sep 27, 2020

It was an amazing course and i enjoyed it just too much! I'm an electrical mechanical engineer but i love learning from different topics and choosing "Intro to Philosophy" was definetely a wonderful decision.

By Peter B V

Nov 30, 2015

This was a most interesting short course which I found most useful as a "taster" to help me understand what philosophy was about. I especially liked the fact that we had a specialist tutor for each subject.

By Athicha C

Feb 3, 2017

Great theories. Thoughtful. Many different perspective from philosophers on a topic. There are options of the course each week for your interest. Great explanation. Gain a lot of knowledge from this class.

By Magdel C

Sep 21, 2021

Well spoken and knowledgable instructors, the course offers an interesting introduction into philosophy, without getting too technical on details. If asked about it I would recommed it without hesitation.

By Gustavo S

May 12, 2021

I loved the course, it's pretty interesting and so well supported by additional readings, I was very interested in pursuing a career in philosophy and this course sums inspiration for achieving that goal.

By Aditri B

Jan 12, 2020

I think this course works well as a broad introductory overview, and exposed me to a multitude of subfields of philosophy, effectively allowing me to figure out which aspects I'd like to explore further.

By Seemin M

Nov 1, 2015

Excellent course. Well paced and very well explained. All the teachers have the ability to explain complex things in a simple way that is easy for a philosophy beginner to understand. Highly recommended.

By Rafael P

Apr 18, 2022

I believe this course shows in a diverse way how Philosophy is really involved in so many different areas of human knowledge and even in current sophisticated investigations or epistemological theories.

By Amital P

Sep 29, 2020

Very interesting course that provides enough tools in order to understand the basics of the philosophical world. The tutors were very clear in their explanations and made much sense of what they meant.