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

4.7
stars
9,093 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.

CC

Oct 7, 2015

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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126 - 150 of 2,120 Reviews for Introduction to Philosophy

By Peter P

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Sep 29, 2021

I enrolled in The Introduction to Philosophy on a whim and this course became my most favorite course in the history of my attendance of Coursera courses.  The processors at the University of Edinburgh blew my expectation, maintained my interest, and generated further philosophical thought and curiosity I never knew existed in me.  Awesome course and I highly recommend for anyone who might have the slightest interest in the subject.

By Abner O S S

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Nov 9, 2018

This course is an introduction to the topics that philosophers are talking about. It addresses, for instance, questions about the nature of knowledge, morality, philosophy of science, etc. It emphasizes on Scottish philosopher David Hume, but it does not omit other philosophical traditions on the topic they aboard. I strongly recommend it for those who are interested in developing philosophical curiosity about some specific topics.

By Aedrian A

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Jan 19, 2021

As someone in grad school whose first and only formal exposure to academic philosophy was a single introductory course in college, this course was extremely useful in helping me keep up with the general trends and concepts in the field. The readings and the optional lectures are impressively engaging; while the course lets you choose 1 of 2 options for the final weekly material, I highly recommend taking both for more learning.

By Muhammad A Z

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Dec 12, 2017

This course is a great start to induce thinking about things around us. It is very mind provoking course that opens wide room of discussion concerning something we might simply take for granted in life. It also challenges the very essence of dogmatic belief or even scientific 'fact' that seems at first glance satisfies our senses but not an inquisitive mind. A highly recommended and intellectually enjoyable course.

By Mary L

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Oct 18, 2016

I found this course very interesting, informative, and engaging. The instructors and lectures are interesting, and the topics covered are fascinating. The quizzes cover the most important concepts of the course without being unnecessarily difficult. I have recommended this course more than once already, and would do so again. If I found that another course were created to follow this one, I would definitely take it.

By Tonim T K

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Aug 17, 2020

I always have tried to observe the world in a scientific way but this time I have removed my science goggles and started to learn about how to observe the world and our lives through Philosophy. And found that science and Philosophy is vastly related to each other. The Amazing thing about Philosophy is that even you can create reasoning and theories just sitting and thinking on your armchair. Well decorated course.

By Anne

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Feb 21, 2021

I'm glad I took this course. I realize now that philosophy is truly complex! I took the tests and retook them until I got all of the questions correct or at least understood them better. The tests were an excellent learning tool as well as those short answer questions during the videos. I appreciate the printable notes for the videos. The topics were fascinating and I learned so much. Good introductory course.

By anant t

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Jul 6, 2020

It was truly amazing. Thank you so much to the professors, to the university of Edienburgh .

I really loved the way they explained everything. After taking this course my view to look things changed a lot. my thought are different now. I am sad also that this course ended but truly it was amazing .

Thank you so much to Cousera team for providing such a great platform to everyone. ITs changing peoples life.

By Xia Y

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Jun 3, 2022

Probably the best problem based philosophy introduction on the internet. These lectures really give me a roadmap of the philosophy world, instead of diving into the mass philosophy books without a map.

Magically, after taking the course I realized that I can automatically think philosophically. It might help someone who is not interested in academic philosophy but has a mind of philosophical thinking.

By Ricardo L d A d R

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Aug 18, 2020

It is an excellent course for anyone interested in knowing more about philosophy and philosophical questions. The lectures are short and very informative! I would highly recommend this course.

After the first week, there are two different threads, I chose Epistemology and Science of Mind, and they were awesome. The team of professors and researchers did a fantastic job on the lectures and the quizzes.

By Javier M

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Jun 11, 2017

This course gets you on the right track to understanding philosophy. It explores several interesting topics and provides reading material for anyone who wants to take a deeper dive into these subjects. I like the course's flexibility, progression and guidance. The videos provide clear information on introductory ideas, arguments and their explanations in particular areas of the philosophical realm.

By Myca R

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Jun 26, 2020

It was hard to understand at first, it can get on your nerves. Lot's of reading here and there but if you do read, you will understand the instructors point. One of the best philosophy MOOCS out there. I've learned a lot of philosophy given that I have been introduced to philosophy for a couple of times. Materials are worth revisiting if you are the type who is curious and wants to re-learn again.

By Shifeng X

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Feb 15, 2018

It touched lots of the topics in what is called philosophy; however it didn't go any further on any of the topics...i expected to learn some of basic terms of fundamental concepts of this subject, this cause certainly doesn't go that further. With all this having said, this is still a very good cause in terms of how it was prepared and presented, I like most of the lecture and lecturers very much.

By Serenade

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Apr 13, 2022

Compelling, well presented, challenging and life changing! As someone who has always wanted to study philosophy I'm so happy I took this course. Thanks a lot to the lecturers who are amazingly different personalities but always complement the study material - you are all amazing! Thank you for putting some amazing material online! I'm getting my certificate soon and continuing to study with you!!

By Annika H

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Jun 17, 2022

Philosophy was a high wall for many people, this course is a door open to every one who want to see the world behind that wall. And you will step out with better knowledge about what philosphy is and understand how it matters to most fundamental questions like "Do we have any knowledge?" or the very frontier thinking like "Time Travel. " Very interesting and sometime a bit "brain burning".

By Ma E D L

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Nov 1, 2017

Es un curso muy interesante para aquellos que no hemos tenido acercamientos previos a la filosofía, plantea temas de gran interés y los profesores describen los problemas y formas de abordarlos sin que necesariamente sea seguir a un autor en particular, en cambio dan un panorama general de abordaje aunque, claro usan propuestas de autores para ejemplificar las formas de pensamiento.

By Tania M B D

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Feb 16, 2016

Me pareció un curso bien estructurado, con coherencia temática y rigurosidad científica. Se nota bastante el esfuerzo de cuidar cada detalle, desde la producción audiovisual, la transmisión de ideas, proporción de fuentes bibliográficas, etc... Gracias a todos los que hacen posible Coursera, a la Universidad de Edimburgo y a la excelente plantilla de filósofos que preparó este curso.

By Horacio L

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Oct 24, 2015

Very good teaching strategy. Takes you through ideas and gives you examples. Has a couple of questions each video to keep your attention. It is a very interesting subject, even if the teaching was bad, but the lectures add even more by taking their time with concepts. Keep doing what you're doing. I would take other courses by this school if they were similarly designed. Thank you.

By Vinay M

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Jun 4, 2018

This is a really engaging course that discussed several interesting old and recent questions in philosophy. One really great thing about it is that each week you have an option of doing one or both out of two different topics, based on your interest — and there's something for everyone. But the topics and presentation are so interesting that you'll probably do all of them anyway!

By Rosabel L F

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Sep 11, 2022

This course was really helpful. I did a little learning of philosophy before, and after studying this course, I found my understanding deeper and I am able to use it in my learnings of other subjects. For instance, I related political obligations with absolutism of the Sun King, which proved to be very thought-provoking and interesting. Thanks to all the teachers and Coursera!

By Christopher S

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Jul 7, 2020

I enjoyed the presenters/lecturers. The material was deep enough to be engaging and shallow enough to cover a broad range of topics that are clearly very deep and complex. For this reason, it was a very good introduction course. it introduced me to the sorts of topics, discussions and skills that would be required if "following" philosophy and "doing" philosophy in more depth.

By Hamed V

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Feb 23, 2020

This course was amazing! It covers fundamental philosophical questions that are even applicable to our current lives and issues surrounding it. Moreover, one senses that the lecturers present various viewpoints with adequate ground hence they teach you the ability think from others' perspective and support it which is essential for learning philosophical and critical thinking.

By Oliver G

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Nov 1, 2023

I really enjoyed it. The structure of the course was good and I liked that I could pick options that I was naturally drawn to (or was I?). The lecturers explained things concisely and without oversimplifying the topics. The companion book is also useful and I can see myself using it as a reference for exploring some of the topics more deeply. Thanks for providing the course.

By Semanti C

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Apr 10, 2020

It was simple and enlightening at the same time. i took the course because i wanted to understand whether or not i was suited to pursue philosophy at the masters level, since i have been fascinated by it but did not have the chance to study it in college. this course gave me a lot of insight and it was really great for introspection and thinking critically. thanks a lot!

By Ratnayake M H S R

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Oct 29, 2020

I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity taking this course as a free online course.

This course is a very interesting & well organized one. It provides us a good knowledge within many of skills like critical thinking, logical thinking, creativity etc.

I have learned a lot. it was a new experience for me.

I'm grateful to the instructors & designers of this course.