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

4.7
stars
9,091 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.

IH

Feb 21, 2023

I already had a Bachelor's in Philosophy degree. But, this course has the potential to comprehensively elaborate on the aspects that were lacking and that I was unable to comprehend in a unique way.

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151 - 175 of 2,120 Reviews for Introduction to Philosophy

By Yurii P

Feb 19, 2017

Курс замечательный. В некоторых местах не понравилось, когда лекторы подсматривали, читая с листочка или с экрана. Для 5-10 минутных видео можно было и подготовиться. Но на сам материал это никак не влияет, так что отлично. Закончил все темы, которые необходимы для завершения курса, но планирую ознакомиться со всем, что предлагает университет. Спасибо огромное за знания!

By Doradistria R

Feb 28, 2016

Really good course! Very much enjoyed it! Thank you for an amazing month! The only thing I would mention, was that at times the computer would sometime move the selected answer on the quiz, which made it frustrating on the last week's quiz and on week 2 (or 3 I think, can't remember it correctly) when it occurred, but apart from that everything else was fine! Thank you!

By Jonathan M

Feb 28, 2021

I was asked to take this course by the Kibbutz Seminar College in Israel

I am studying to become an English teacher and this is one of the courses we are required to take. It was well presented, fascinating and educational

I was pleasantly surprised and the course went well and i am sure that i will be thinking about some of these issues for some time to come

Thank you

By David P

Oct 9, 2023

This was a fantastic course with several awesome lecturers. I appreciated the course material and the additional resources offered as well. The best part of this course was the lecture on Time Travel because it's a confounding theory with many logical loopholes. The lecturer was able to dissolve the several bases for time travel theories down to digestible concepts.

By Akash

Jul 30, 2020

Course is quite good. I am studying political science in graduation where a lot of philosophers are mentioned. I had joined this course to develop an understanding towards them. Therefore this course was quite important. It can be applied not only in the field of political science and philosophy but in every field. The topic is explained very clearly in the course.

By AMANDA J S T

May 25, 2020

Philosophy has always seemed to be a subject that was academic and unrelated to daily life. This course showed me that this was untrue. Philosophy is at the heart of how we live our lives as individuals and members of the communities to which we belong. It informs all of our choices and decisions. This fascinating introduction to the topic is suitable for everyone!

By Andy V

Feb 7, 2022

The course really helped to give a fresh overview of both the historical development of philosophical thought and how different aspects fit together. It also heightened my appreciation for philosophical argument and I trust sharpened my own thinking skills. Grateful for this learning opportunity and also it has given an avenues for further study and application.

By Cindy B

Feb 27, 2021

My Review of this course is that it is full of very valuable information that needs to be studied over a long long period of time. Each concept and theory was explained precisely and clearly. You can not learn and master this course in just five weeks. It was fun to know this subject . Thank you for the knowledge and it will be with me for the rest of my life.

By Самойлов П А

Apr 27, 2021

Великолепная подборка философских проблем в кратком и интересном изложении, которые в совокупности действительно заставляют задуматься и мыслить - то есть в итоге сформировать свое видение, свой подход по проблеме. Особенно интересны были блоки: обязаны ли мы должны подчиняться закону, блок о знаниях и блок о детерминизме. Получил истинное удовольствие от курса

By Jose A P M

Dec 10, 2016

I loved taking this course, although at the end it became a little difficult for me to understand the accent of that Italian Professor (for me particulally it would be easier if she spoke Italian, it's my second mother tongue!). It was the hardest test because I couldn't understand very well. But in general terms it was very nice! Thank you and congratulations.

By Nicola F

Nov 5, 2020

It was a fantastic course. Even If I have a historical background, I was able to understand the various dynamics of understanding on contemporary philosophy. The professors of the course are well prepared. They have an excellent teaching of method with the aim of making us ask the questions and reflect on the answers concerning the human being understood.

By Jocelyn A

Nov 12, 2018

Absolutely brilliant, thoroughly engaging and the topics lead perfectly from one to the other. Each teacher explained their topic in unique ways which I believe really kept the interest alive and as much as leaving this review may help everything's determined so does it really?

But really thank you for this course it was lovely to engage with and complete.

By N.Srinivas

Aug 4, 2020

This introductory course is inevitably one of my best experiences so far. Topics such as free will, time travel, political obligations etc open your mind to a whole new ways of thinking. This course has given me lot of motivation to further deepen my understanding of subject. A big 'Thank You' to the wonderful professors at 'The University of Edinburgh'!

By Jeeva J S

Sep 18, 2020

An excellent course that introduces its learners to the exciting world of philosophy, starting from the basics of what philosophy is and covering a wide range of topics from determinism and free will to artificial intelligence. Easily comprehensible classes, along with explanatory transcripts and abundant resources ensures a perfect learning experience.

By Miryung S

Mar 22, 2020

The Introduction to Philosophy course was much more thorough and challenging than I expected. It developed an interest in Philosophy that I never had before and helped me gain new perspectives to knowledge. Thank you, Coursera for providing such a wonderful opportunity to continue my learning at the comfort of home. I couldn't ask for anything more.

By Ayesha H

Sep 28, 2019

This was indeed a brilliant course that provided in-depth analysis on various philosophical problems. As I will be taking my philosophy major classes in a month, this course has proven to be immensely beneficial for elucidating on the basics of philosophy. The skills that i had learned through this course will definitely be a handy for my classes .

By Pranav M

Jul 22, 2020

Being a complete novice in the field of Philosophy, this course provided a concise and intensive introduction about the different constituents of Philosophy. Taking up this course made me a better person. I would like to thank the concerned faculty members at the University of Edinburgh and Coursera for making this course available for the masses.

By Rafael C

Jun 10, 2018

This course provides users with basic concepts about Philosophy, and it introduces the (typical) questions that are discussed by different philosophers and related sub-fields in philosophy. As an introductory course, it focuses on giving learners a "big picture". I would recommend this course for learners who have little or no basis of philosophy.

By Agnieszka H K

Sep 6, 2020

In this course there are a lot of ways we can work out our own way of thinking about world. I am very happy that I could be on that course. I have learned not straight about history of philosophy, but about: how to work out way of thinking. I recommend those lessons to everyone, who want distance oneself from usual way of thinking. Thank You!

By Maria E R

Jan 11, 2021

Definitely worth taking and I honestly recommending taking the time to check, at least some of, the bibliography the professors indicate for each topic. I'm a physicist and felt like going deeper into philosophy after taking this introductory course.

Thanks to all people at the University Edinburgh involved on making this online course possible.

By John B

Nov 27, 2020

Extremely interesting! I really liked the format of giving a short intro to the basics of philosophy and then going into example questions instead of a survey of the history of philosophy. Personally, I did all the modules instead of just choosing one per week. I didn't always agree with the arguments, but found them fascinating. Nice job!

By James M

Oct 31, 2020

This course was a wonderful introduction to what philosophy is. The lectures and notes were excellent. I appreciated the numerous assessment sprinkled throughout the videos and the review assessments were helpful. I have an understanding of what philosophy is and I plan on pursuing more philosophical studies in specific topics. Thank you.

By Sharmeishtha S

Feb 21, 2020

I absolutely love the balanced approach to so many areas of philosophy in such a short course. The reading lists are pretty comprehensive so we can read up on topics we love. I wish we had looked at Calvinism and the debate around free will and its consequences in a little more depth. Nevertheless, glad to have been born in the time of MOOCs.

By Suvajanee A

May 31, 2020

As for those who interested in this course, you should try. All the topics are very complicated to understand and you need to really think and really try to think again and again to understand the concepts. For me, some topics are so complicated that I have no idea how someone can come up with it, but still, it is an enjoyable course anyway.