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Philosophy for Beginners
Rating: 4.6 out of 5(296 ratings)
1,580 students

Philosophy for Beginners

2500 Years of Philosophy Explained Simply
Created byMatt Kyoto
Last updated 6/2022
English

What you'll learn

  • You will learn about the entire human philosophy of the past 2500 years.
  • You get to know some of the most influencial philosophers from around the world.
  • You will understand some of the most important philosophical ideas, schools and approaches.
  • You will be able to understand a philosophical discussion or a book.

Course content

1 section • 12 lectures • 2h 34m total length

  • Introduction2:28

    Explore the evolution of philosophy over 2500 years, covering branches such as ontology, epistemology, rationalism, empiricism, existentialism, and influential thinkers from east and west.

  • Why have humans invented philosophy?17:35

    Explore how humans built philosophy from instinct, emotion, and reason, its rise and decline as physics, biology, and psychology took over, and why intuition offers a new path.

  • Branches of Philosophy14:45

    Explore core branches of philosophy, including ontology and epistemology, metaphysics and physics, rationalism and empiricism, and ethics and political philosophy, with debates on egalitarianism and elitism.

  • Easter Philosophy and Western Philosophy18:18

    Explore the eastern versus western philosophies of reality, truth, and beauty, and show how climate, trade, and farming shape change versus accepting fate and self-change, with spiritual and material focuses.

  • Greek Philosophers -Socrates, Plato and Aristotle16:11

    Explore Socrates' dialectic and the unexamined life in ancient Athens, sparking rational Western philosophy. See Plato's ideal forms, the cave allegory, and Aristotle's empirical telos guiding science.

  • Eastern philosophers - Lao Tzu, Buddha and Confucius18:04

    Explore Lao Tzu, the Buddha, and Confucius as they frame Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism—emphasizing flow with nature, detachment, social hierarchy, and east-west philosophical contrast.

  • Is the purpose of human civilisation equality or compeition?13:31

    Explore humanism and elitism, arguing for equality and universal rights versus power and dominance. Trace ideas from Voltaire, Rousseau, Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Marx.

  • Is the purpose of life to seek knowlede or happiness?14:02

    Explore the debate between knowledge and happiness, tracing empirical and rationalist ideas from Bacon and Heidegger to Erasmus, Montaigne, Russell and Foucault, and discuss ontology and epistemology.

  • How do we understand reality11:10

    Explore the rationalist and empiricist debate on knowledge, Kant's synthesis, and how reason and experience shape reality through our inner mental structures.

  • Sociological motivation for human action-Hegel, Marx & Sartre12:37

    Explore how history and individual choice shape human action through Hegel, Marx, Sartre, and Zizek, linking rationality, materialism, existential freedom, and critical Marxism.

  • Psychological motivation for human action-Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard & Nietzsche12:35

    Explore how the will and representation motivate action, tracing Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and how art and suffering relate to freedom.

  • Conclusion and Assignment2:53

    Trace the evolution of philosophy from ancient rational inquiry to eastern and western approaches. Examine major branches, knowledge theories, and the question of philosophy's future.

Requirements

  • No prior knowldge of philosophy is required.

Description

In this course, I will teach you the story of human philosophy encompassing an incredible 2500 years of philosophical history. By the end of this video, you will know all the basic philosophical ideas, schools and approaches, as well as some of the most influential philosophers from around the world. The video has 4 major parts and each with 2 or 3 sections, just like chapters in books.


In part 1, I will answer the most fundamental question. Why are humans the only species that have invented philosophy? Or where does philosophy really come from? Also how has philosophy evolved in the past 2500 years? And why philosophy has so many branches such as ontology, epistemology, rationalism, empiricism, humanism, utilitarianism, existentialism, postmodernism and more?


In part 2, I will look at the origin and differences between eastern philosophy and western philosophy. Why one emphasises spirituality, and changing yourself, while the other emphasises rationality, and changing the world . I will look at the Greek giants of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, as well as the three giants of eastern philosophy, the Buddha, Lao Tzu and Confucius.


In part 3, I will look at the philosophy of life and human civilisation. Is the purpose of human civilisation to promote equality or competition? Is the purpose of human life to seek knowledge or happiness? I will discuss philosophers such as Sun Tsu, Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacque Rousseau, Voltaire, Erasmus, Michel de Montaigne, Francis Bacon, Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, and Bertrand Russell.


In part 4, I will tackle the question of knowledge and human motivation. How do we know reality? I will discuss the school of European rationalism versus British empiricism and Kant’s reconciliation of the two. After Kant two distinct schools of philosophy emerged to explain human motivation. One sociological and one psychological. Hegel’s sociological philosophy argued we are motivated by historical forces, while Schopenhauer’s psychological philosophy argued we are motivated by a blind subconscious will.

Who this course is for:

  • Beginner philosophy learners

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