This course surveys the major schools and periods in the history of philosophy, covering the most influential thinkers of the discipline. We begin with Ancient Chinese Philosophy, examining the works of Lao-Tzu, Confucius and Sun-Tzu, before going on to examine early Buddhist Philosophy. Next, we look at Ancient and Classical Greek Philosophy: the Pre-Socratic Philosophers, the Sophists, Plato and Aristotle, before going on to Hellenism and the Philosophy of the Roman Empire, including the Cynics, the Epicureans, Neoplatonism, the Stoics and St. Augustine. We then go on to examine Persian Philosophy, including Zoroaster, Avicenna, Rumi and Jami. Next, we examine Medieval Philosophy, Renaissance Philosophy, Philosophy of the Baroque and British Empiricism, before going on to the philosophy of the French Enlightenment and early British Liberalism. We shall study the philosophers of Europe’s Age of Revolution, including Kant, Hegel, Burke, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard and Marx and the great philosophers of the nineteenth century. Twentieth century French Existentialism, the Vienna School and its influence and the debate between analytic and continental philosophy round off the course. 

This course is ideal for those who appreciate the vastness of Philosophy and would like an overview, perhaps as a way to choose an area of specialisation or to explore ideas and thinkers they would otherwise have no opportunity to study. It is a good foundation for any of our courses on single philosophers and can be incorporated into our interdisciplinary online courses on the Medieval period, the Renaissance, the Baroque or the Age of Revolution. We are aware that the cannon is dominated by male thinkers and appreciate the value of other perspectives, so there is also an option to study additional female philosophers as well as thinkers from other backgrounds. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world class universities, including a PhD in Philosophy, an MA in the History of Political Thought and an MSt. in Tibetan and Himalayan Thought.

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Ancient fallacies, rhetoric, early atomism and the birth of political realism will be explored in this course, before we go on to investigate Plato’s theory of Forms, Aristotle’s empiricism and Epicurean arguments against the fear of death. Uncover the meaning behind Heraclitus’ famous dictum that “you cannot step into the same river twice” and Protagoras’ “man is the measure of all things.” Many of today’s biggest political, philosophical and moral debates began in Ancient Greece: this course will equip you to handle them. 

This course is ideal for someone with an interest in Ancient Philosophy or in the way that arguments work – and how to win them. It is an excellent complement to our interdisciplinary course How to Win an Argument. Options for tailoring the course include the incorporation of extra material from courses on the history of philosophy or other cultures in the ancient world. Your personal tutor has three research degrees in the history of ideas from world-class universities, including a PhD in Ancient Philosophy, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience. Listen to Dr. Orton's lecture on Plato's philosophy on our research page and read her post about the development of philosophy and mathematics here.

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We begin by examining the influence of Plato’s acclaimed teacher, Socrates, and his debates with the Sophists - the legendary teachers of Ancient Athens - on subjects such as justice, rhetoric and virtue. We shall go on to discuss Plato’s treatment of the trial of Socrates, who was put to death for challenging the ideas of the day. Next, we shall examine the development of Plato’s philosophical method and epistemology, and his thoughts on the dialogue form. At the heart of the course will be Plato’s own great contribution to metaphysics, the intriguing theory of Forms, which we shall discuss through the memorable philosophical allegories of the Republic, the detailed analysis of the Symposium and the admirable self-criticism of the Parmenides. Plato had a great deal to say about ethics, so you will also have the opportunity to study his work on themes such as piety, restraint, courage, lying and pleasure. Finally, we shall investigate Plato’s political thought – including his famous idea of the Philosopher Kings. 

This course is ideal for anyone wishing to understand the thought of (for many) the quintessential philosopher and his unique take on reality and what it takes to understand it. It is an excellent follow-on from our Ancient Philosophy course and is a perfect complement to our Platonic Dialogue studies, which allow you to become intimately acquainted with the texts. Your personal tutor has a PhD in Plato’s philosophy, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience. Listen to Dr. Orton's lecture on Plato's philosophy on our research page and read her post about the development of philosophy and mathematics here.

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Protégé of Plato, tutor to Alexander the Great and founder of the distinguished Lyceum, Aristotle is one of history’s most accomplished philosophers. This course examines the epistemology, metaphysics, physics, ethics and political theory of Aristotle, whose work was used to revolutionise medieval thought over a millennium after his death and whose influence remains strong on the philosophy of today. In addition, you will study Aristotle’s work on rhetoric, literature and the arts and his writings on perception, imagination and thought. 

This course is ideal for anyone wishing to understand one of the most famous and industrious philosophers in history. It is an excellent follow-on from our Ancient Philosophy course and can be combined with our course on Plato’s thought, which will acquaint you with the other philosophical giant of Ancient Greece. Your tutor has a PhD in Classics and Philosophy, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.

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If you were to flick a light switch an infinite number of times in two minutes, would the light be on or off at the end of the two minutes? Why is it that we can recognise things in the physical world that derive from abstract concepts that we have never actually seen? How is it possible that identity persists through time? These and other mind-bending questions form the study of metaphysics, one of the most fundamental areas of philosophy. Find out how philosophers use the idea of possible worlds to investigate complex metaphysical issues and explore topics such as universals and tropes, necessity and essentialism, causation and conditionals, space and time, agents, action and events. Throughout this course, we will discuss some of the most iconic and ancient thought experiments in philosophy, such as Zeno’s paradoxes of motion and the ship of Theseus.

This course is ideal for anyone who is curious about the workings of reality and the way our minds deal with abstract concepts. It is a natural complement to our epistemology course, which explores the concept of knowledge itself. You might also like to include material from our course in Ancient Philosophy, which will give you more insight into how philosophers dealt with metaphysical problems in the Ancient world. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.

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Epistemology addresses some of the most fundamental questions in philosophy and explores the nature of knowledge itself. We will investigate the ancient distinction between a priori and a posteriori knowledge and the problems of each; we shall ask whether one can possibly know that one is not simply a disembodied brain in a vat (being fed false information by an evil scientist) and we shall battle with the problem of infinite epistemic regress, which has flummoxed philosophers for millennia. We shall explore the sources of knowledge: perception, introspection, memory, reason and testimony and we shall delve into some of philosophy’s most powerful thought experiments.

Options for tailoring this course include the incorporation of material on social, moral and religious epistemology. You might also like to include material from our online philosophy courses in Ancient Philosophy or Mathematics and Philosophy in the Ancient World, which will deepen your understanding of the origin of epistemological inquiry. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world class universities, including a PhD in the history of mathematical epistemology, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.

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Descartes is known for what is perhaps philosophy’s most famous catchphrase, “cogito, ergo sum,” and this course takes an in-depth look at the intellectual grounding for this statement. We begin by exploring Descartes’ intellectual climate of the Baroque and his reaction to the ancient theories of Aristotle and Plato. We go on to examine The Meditations and fundamental truths and the nature of a priori vs a posterori knowledge. Discover the role that Descartes attributed to the senses after his critique of sensory knowledge and judge for yourself whether Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia was correct in her assessment of his work. We will explore the nature of reality according to Descartes, his views on God and the problem that has vexed philosophers for centuries: the relationship between the mind and the body. 

This course is ideal for those who wish to understand one of philosophy’s most influential thinkers. Options for tailoring include the incorporation of material on Descartes’ legacy, or an in depth look at the contemporary debate surrounding the mind-body problem. We also recommend looking at our intellectual history course on the Baroque and our epistemology course for more options. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, two degrees in Politics and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.

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If any philosopher knows how to stoke controversy and fuel debate, it is Nietzsche. Throughout this course, we will study his major works and ideas, including Nietzsche on Christianity in The Antichrist, Nietzsche’s Hermeneutic Methodology and Knightly-aristocratic as opposed to Priestly Morality in The Genealogy of Morality, his thoughts on Masters and Slaves in Beyond Good and Evil and the famous concept of The Will to Power in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. We will compare his ideas to some of history’s other major thinkers, such as Aristotle, finding that there are surprising points of similarity as well as divergence. 

This course is ideal for those who wish to wrestle with the thought of one of history’s most provocative thinkers. Options for tailoring include the incorporation of material on Nietzsche and the Ancient Greek State, philosophy and religion in Nietzsche’s Europe and Nietzsche’s work on the Modern State. We also recommend looking at our course on Political Ideas for more options. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, two degrees in Politics and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.

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Hume is a master of thought-provoking counter arguments and any student of his will inevitably develop their analytical capacity. He is also responsible for one of the most relatable arguments in the debate concerning political obligation. The course begins by examining the intellectual climate of the Baroque, British Empiricism and the Scottish Enlightenment, going on to look at Hume’s Philosophy of Science. You will discover Hume’s views on a priori and a posteriori assertions, the scientific study of human nature and his empiricist alternative to traditional metaphysics. Hume sought to plot out a mental geography or anatomy of the mind, which will form a central part of our discussion. Study Hume’s reaction to Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Descartes and Locke, his relations of ideas and matters of fact (Hume’s Fork) and his principles of association. Next, we shall examine Hume’s moral philosophy and his naturalistic explanation of the moral sentiments. Finally, Hume’s philosophy of religion and his political philosophy will be explored.

This course is ideal for anyone who appreciates a philosopher with a great deal to say on a wide range of issues. Options for tailoring include the incorporation of material on other thinkers from Hume’s tradition, such as John Locke or George Berkeley. We also recommend looking at our Philosophy of Religion and Philosophy of Science courses, as well as our intellectual history course on the Enlightenment, for more options. Your tutor has a PhD in philosophy, two degrees in politics and the history of political thought and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.

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Karl Marx challenged the intellectual world at a time when mainstream philosophy was dominated by Hegel. His writings have inspired major revolutions and changed the way we see history, religion, economics and the human experience. A proper understanding of Marx’s theory of historical materialism is a must, so this course will make great use of his economic and philosophical manuscripts to explore concepts such as private property, communism and labour. We will of course study the famous Communist Manifesto, Capital and Preface to A Critique of Political Economy, but we shall also contextualise this with his lesser known works. Marx has been one of the most influential, innovative and controversial philosophers in world history and this course will help you to come to grips with his ideas.

This course is ideal for anyone wishing to understand the modern world and political history. There is plentiful opportunity to include material from our politics and history courses to examine how Marxism was applied and misapplied during the Russian and Chinese communist revolutions and discuss other historical events, including the Marxist readings of the French Revolution and the unique case of communism in Kerala. We also recommend looking at our Political Ideologies course for more options. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, two degrees in Politics and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.

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Notorious, cantankerous and undeniably influential, Wittgenstein is one of the giants of twentieth century philosophy. This course begins by examining the Seven basic propositions of the Tractatus and the concepts of language, logic and the nature of representation. Wittgenstein’s idea of propositions as pictures will be discussed, as well as his later theory of language-games and family resemblance. Wittgenstein wrote about mathematics, epistemology and psychology and had a good deal to say about religion: we shall consider these topics in turn. Throughout this course, you will become intimately acquainted with the philosopher whose respect for the depth of both language and life should make us think twice before espousing any grand theory of philosophy.

This course is ideal for those who wish to understand the development of twentieth century philosophy while having their own ideas challenged by one of history’s most prolific thinkers. Options for tailoring include the incorporation of material on philosophy’s response to Wittgenstein, or an in depth look at the idea of language games. We also recommend looking at our courses on Religious Language and Argument and Epistemology for more options. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, two degrees in Politics and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.

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