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

4.7
stars
9,388 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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2126 - 2150 of 2,197 Reviews for Introduction to Philosophy

By Alix R D

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Nov 20, 2015

Interesante pero tal vez demasiado amplio para ser una introducción y por lo tanto demasiado general.

No capté el criterio de selección de los temas, y los temas presentados no eran los que esperaba.

Muy buenos los profesores, muy entusiastas de su materia.

By Wyatt V

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Jul 20, 2024

I couldn’t take much out of this, since I’ve pretty much thought of half the things taught in here before I was twelve, but that’s not to take anything away from it. It is an excellent place to begin for someone who may not have a mind like mine.

By ISHAN S

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Jul 7, 2020

The ideas behind certain theories were explained but the basics of how to formulate an argument and checking its validity and soundness were not given. This is what I was expecting from and introductory course.

By Syed N H

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Dec 5, 2016

Too complicated for those who are new to philosophy. The basic concepts not very clearly explained. It seems that teachers had the assumption that students already had some previous knowledge of philosophy.

By Vincent G

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Apr 29, 2020

Contenido interesante y instructivo, bien presentado, con un pelín de humor y un buen orden. ¡Que pena que sea sólo con voces en inglés! Me cuesta mucho leerlo en español y luego tener preguntas en inglés.

By Luisa B

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Jul 7, 2020

Overall, I found the topics to be interesting, but many times the videos seemed boring as there is no coherence between the modules nor much depth as I expected into the philosophycal questions.

By Priyadarsi H

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Jul 13, 2021

The course was good but the certificate should have the total amount of time I spend in the topic. And also its written non-credit certificate which is causing problem in my college

By Ä°lker G

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Sep 7, 2015

The course does not have much videos and some of the lecturers (especailly week 5) talk TOO FAST. The subject is abstract and hard enough and talking too fast makes it harder.

By Renan C C

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Oct 24, 2017

Great topics and teachers! The tests could be a little more exigent, I guess, nevertheless, it's a well built and interesting course open to anyone!

By Yuzhen F

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May 3, 2024

Some terms are different to understand. Some lectures are good at explaining them, but some are not. They are so fast that I cannot follow them.

By Julia Z

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Feb 24, 2018

The first couple of tutors sounded interested in what they were doing and like they knew what they were saying. The rest didn't.

By Dharshan J

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May 13, 2018

As an introductory course this was sufficient and provided an excellent insight into the numerous areas of philosophy.

By Manoj J

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Jan 24, 2016

I have a mixed feeling about it. Sometimes I felt, this course was trying to deliver more content in short time.

By James D

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Mar 30, 2016

Some brilliant videos, but some leave much to be desired. Nice introduction but don't get too hung up on it.

By Tsering S

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Jan 19, 2017

There were a number of different instructors and it was great to have a taste of varying topics from them.

By Amira L F

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Dec 1, 2023

Me parece que existen muchos otros temas relevantes en relación a la introducción a la filosofía .

By Jasmine F

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Sep 17, 2020

Interesting topics. By the way, the university’s logo on the certificate is not printed correctly.

By Ilan M

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Jul 7, 2017

The course gives you a basic introduction to various topics in Philosophy, but lacked depth.

By Nils A

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Jun 3, 2018

The Audio recording quality of certain videos literally gave me headaches, had to skip them

By Phillip E

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Jul 3, 2021

There is frequent disconnection between the review questions and the delivered content.

By Kyu K K

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Jul 1, 2020

The lecture is short and very informative. It is a good course. I strongly recommend it.

By Ellenoor S

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Jun 2, 2020

I liked the course topics but some of the instructors were less captivating than others

By Sarthak N

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Jun 19, 2020

It is a good course and I loved it. But sometimes it seemed boring in few modules.

By Federico

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Feb 11, 2016

The course was interesting but overall very wide and didn't make a clear point.

By Kassie-Anne K

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May 1, 2020

It was a really enjoyable and deep course. I've got a lot to think about