The course introduces you to the major areas of contemporary philosophy research. In each module, a different philosopher will discuss the key questions and problems in his or her area. All of us start by understanding what philosophy is. What are the aims, methods and differences it has from other subjects? We will then spend the remainder of the course learning about a variety of areas of philosophy. The topics you will all learn about are:
Epistemology is where all of us consider our knowledge about the world, as well as how it came to be.
Philosophy of Science, in which we all investigate fundamental conceptual issues in scientific research.
Philosophy of Mind is a forum where people can ask questions about the meaning of mind and explain how it should be understood.
We'll be exploring political philosophy and whether or not we are required to follow the law.
Moral philosophy is the study of how we all understand our moral judgments and responses.
Metaphysics is where all of us think about fundamental concepts such as free will and reality.
This MOOC was developed by University of Edinburgh's Eidyn research center.
We are happy to announce the release of a Routledge tie-in book, titled 'Philosophy for Everyone.' The Edinburgh Philosophy team created this companion course to the "Introduction to Philosophy" course with MOOC students in view. The 'Philosophy for Everyone' course contains easy-to-use chapters and chapter summaries. It also includes study questions and suggestions for additional reading. For more information, please click on "Start Here", and then navigate to "Optional Reading".
