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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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301 - 325 of 2,120 Reviews for Introduction to Philosophy

By Hung W C C

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Jul 10, 2020

This introduction bring in a lot of theories and information in relating to Philosophy. This is important to someone who want to understand what Philosophy is. The section of time travel is the most interesting section I experienced.

By Juan E L S

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Nov 25, 2020

I really like this course, All the topics proposed here had an enourmous impact on my understanding. I really appreciate the work of all the philosophers who give the lectures. Withouth hesitation, I will recommend it every time!!!

By Richard B

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Nov 13, 2017

A wonderful experience. My most important takeaway was thinking more about the questions beyond the asked question. This course will make me a better and more informed reader, especially combined with my readings about rhetoric.

By Ujjawal S

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Nov 9, 2018

Great Course. I loved the content, it covered few of the topics i used to wonder about. Really engaging teachers, they seemed that they were passionate about their topic and also had a deep understanding of the matter. Thank You.

By Halim M

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Sep 27, 2015

Such a eye-opener. Philosophy was a hobby until I ran into this course. It structure my thinking. It made me realize the schools of thought that have tackled the questions I've dived into are as many angles to view a given issue.

By Manuel G P R

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Mar 27, 2019

Es perfecto para quien le gusta y quisiera tener una idea organizada de la filosofía. Las conferencias son con profesores calificados y utilizan un lenguaje claro. E invita a seguir profundizando en la materia o esta actividad.

By Siddhesh D

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May 15, 2020

It has widened my horizons extensively. As long as you are someone who is even so slightly interested in thinking deeply about the wordly aspects of the world you should enroll for this course or atleast try to learn philosophy

By Benjamin C

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Apr 13, 2017

It is very complete and wide in the optional themes treated on the course. Also you are provided with link to forums, debates, guides, and bibliography to investigate further more what caught your interest. Highly recommended!!

By Alexis O

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Dec 14, 2015

I love the way this course let you embrace the basics notions of philosophy.

The only bad thing it's that I haven't found a course like this (That talks of philosophy) in this site, so I think Coursera need more of this courses.

By Marco R

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May 26, 2020

Great way to get to know the big branches of philosophy, great examples, great questions to think about. This course offers the opportunity to learn to understand the world around us and to understand ourselves a little better

By Z R

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Aug 21, 2020

thank you Coursera and faculty of the University of Edinburgh for allowing me to get for my first time an official certificate for learning something, growing up without any kind of formal education I can't withhold my tears.

By marc k

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May 27, 2019

The course was a good introduction to parts of philosophy allowing for a non philosopher to begin learning the thought processes needed to want to take the next steps in a philosophic education. Thank you to the entire staff.

By Busisiwe S

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Sep 11, 2023

i really enjoyed the course & i have learned things that i didn't know .Thank you so much for the opportunity and the wild knowledge

I would love to further this course to do bachelor on Philosophy and be a credited course .

By Atif G

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Jun 27, 2020

Amazing Course

This course taught me the basic concept of philosophy, The way of teaching of all the teachers was very nice and interesting, the lectures were accompanied with examples which really helped a lot. Great course.

By Martín P C

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Jan 26, 2018

Very interesting class. Includes several pathways to engage understanding of philosophy in classical and contemporary ways. The videos are clear and effective. The quizzes are really interesting. A great introductory course.

By Nikita K

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Jun 12, 2022

Great introduction course. Will suggest for everyone who want to dig into Philosophy from scratch and figure out foundation topics, e.g. philosophy of mind, epistemology or even time travel from philosophical perspective.

By Dženan M

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Jan 8, 2021

I have gained some new and great insights into the way philosophy works. I learned new methods and recalled a lot of what I previously knew. Lecturers are brilliant and so are modules in which various topics are discussed.

By Duygu B

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Dec 29, 2016

Dave is a great narrator. He talks in an impressive way. So, everyone who watches the videos can understand it more easily. In addition to videos, there are also helpful documents. It was a very enjoyable course for me. :)

By Salem H

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Apr 18, 2022

An excellent course that brilliantly summaries some of the main topics in Philoshophy. The lectures are concise and easy to digest and the format of the course is helpful in encouraging you to interact and actively think.

By 花Diya C

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Sep 15, 2020

This course is really amazing, because I've learnt about so many interesting facts, theories and they are all very necessary for my further studies. It's really fruitful. Thank you Coursera for such an amazing opportunity

By Edison C

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Mar 18, 2020

I really enjoyed the course, even though Im coming from a different branch of knowledge (engineering), its been a very nice approach. Absolutely recommended for those want to know more and explore the world of philosophy.

By Jiaxin W

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Dec 17, 2022

It was very informative and I felt like this course gave a very broad introduction to philosophy while being very interesting. I'm surprised to see that many of the professors are authors of papers that I've read before!

By mahmood s m

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Dec 1, 2018

great course , and i would love to thank the teachers of Edinburgh university , they helped a lot to understand and pass the course , i had a great time with those great teachers and subjects ,

thank you thank you so much

By Francisco P

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Oct 30, 2015

I really enjoyed this course because contents were very interesting and contemporaneous. Reading about travelling time was a real pleasure. Teachers nice, quizzes and texts supported well my development. Congratulations.

By Viviana L

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Dec 8, 2022

Fué muy interesante, me generó nuevas formas de observar y analizar la realidad y nuevas formas de buscar argumentos para defender mis ideas.

Muchas gracias a todo el equipo de docentes y apoyo!!!

Saludos desde Argentina.