22 Best Free Online Philosophy Courses
Looking to learn Philosophy?
Then I've got the resource for you!
There is an incredible amount of high-quality resources and courses online from a variety of platforms and institutions.
So I've gone and made a shortlist of the best free courses around.
Be sure to check out the entire list as you'll find courses for all philosophy fundamentals for free at a high level in this article.
Happy learning!
Our Favorite Free Online Philosophy Course
This course in English with subtitles in 9 other languages. Traces the origin of philosophy as expounded by the ancient Greek thinkers, regarding matters of Science, Religion and other aspects of human discourse. The course looks at philosophers who were active in Ionio in 6BC, who are also considered the first Scientists. You will look at the proposals of Thales, Anaximines and Heraclitus amongst others. It looks at Socrates fundamental ethical questions (How should I live) and his pupil Plato, and Plato’s pupil Aristotle, who developed elaborate philosophical systems to explain reality, knowledge and happiness. You will study the major doctrines of all these thinkers with this part covering Plato and his Predecessors. Duration: Approx 13 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.9/98%
What are the Top Free Online Philosophy Courses
After much research on all online Philosophy Courses on offer, we have found the top 22 business courses to make it easier for you to choose
22 Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
The course is in English consisting of videos, In this course we look at issues as they pertain to science and the dissemination of information like verificationism which means that there is enough research and evidence to back up as statement, also explored is falsificationism which is a philosophy based on he premise that hypotheses must be falsifiable to be scientific, if a claim cannot be dis proven, it is not a Scientific claim. Also covered are normal and revolutionary Science constructivism meaning experiencing rather than learning it. Finally it looks at Quantum theory and Science and value judgments. Duration: 11 videos between 40-60 minutes each. Rating: 3 374
21 Ideas of the Twentieth Century
Ideas of the Twentieth Century
These English videos from Austin, University of Texas, looks at the works of the following recent times philosophers like Hume, Mathew Arnold, Nietzsche, Dostevsky, and characters like Sherlock Holmes and George Bernard Shaw. Some of the topics covered are progressiveness in the 21st century and world war 1, Marx and Lennon. You will look at the philosophies behind William Yates, T S Eliot, Scotts Fitzgerald, Art and photography between the wars, fascism, styling, the Depression, the Rise of Hitler, World War 11, The Cold War and John Rawls. Finally, you will be listening to the philosophy behind J K Rowling’s, Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone. Duration: 48 Videos approx variation 10 – 50 minute. Rating: 13 629
20 The Analytic Tradition
This course is in English made up of various videos recorded at the University of Texas. The course introduces analytic philosophy which has been the foremost style since the 1900’s. Some of the key thinkers and texts will be examined to evaluate the arguments. Aristotle Descartes, Locke, Hume and Mill all fall into this category, along with Kant who were countered by Gottlob Frege using logic. The likes of Bertrand Russel and Whitehead joined the attack. They took the use of scientific language using Hume as their model and as a result Metaphysics and Ethics became bad words. The counter-attacks continued until finally introduced ways by Kripke and David Louis introduced ways of understanding that brought basic question of Metaphysics back to the fore. Duration: 37 videos of around 50 minutes each. Rating: 99 276 view.
19 Rick Roderick: Self Under Siege
Rick Roderick: Self under Siege
This course is a series of videos in English. This series was recorded by Rick for The Teaching Company, and is considered one of the highlights of his teaching career. The course is covered in 8 segments and Roderick includes the philosophies of Jacques Derrida, Foucault, Jean-Paul Sartre and Habermas, amongst others. This course is very entertaining and interesting, as Roderick has his own opinions about how these philosophers through into question Human knowledge and identity. Some of the items covered include Rejection of Humanism, The Road to Freedom, One Dimensional Man, The disappearance of the Human, The Ends of Man and Fatal Strategies. Duration: 8 videos of about 45 minutes each. Rating: 290 622 views.
18 Foundations of Modern Social Theory
Foundations of Modern Social Theory
This course is available through Yale University open courses in English and covers an overview of the major works of thought from the beginning of the modern era and though the 1920’s, you will look in depth at the social and intellectual contexts, conceptual frameworks and methods, and the contributions that were made to contemporary social analysis. The philosophers that will be studied include Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Marx, Weber and others. Some of the items you will look at in this series of videos is Hobbes’ authority, human rights and social order, Locke's equality, freedom, property and the right to dissent. You will also look at Marx’s theory of alienation and this theory of historical materialism. Freud is also explored regarding sexuality and civilization. Duration: 25 videos of about 45 minutes- 55 minutes each. Rating: 312 121 views
17 Introduction to Political Philosophy
Introduction to Political Philosophy
The course in English is presented by open Yale courses introducing Political Philosophy thorough investigation of the major books and philosophers of the Western political side. There are three themes central to political life which are focused upon, being polis experience by Plato and Aristotle, the sovereign state by Machiavelli and Hobbs and finally constitutional Government by Locke and democracy as expounded by Rousseau and Tocqueville. Ways of life and the types of political institutions are examined through the different political philosophies. The course includes videos like What is Political Philosophy?, Plato’s Republic, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Hobbe’s Leviathan, Rousseau’s Social Contract, and Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. Duration: 24 videos of 40-45 minutes each. Rating: 647 505 views.
16 Arthur Holmes: A History of Philosophy
Arthur Holmes:A History of Philosophy
This video course is in English and looks at the complete history of Philosophy. It proceeds from the philosophies of the Ancient Greeks all the way though to modern times. The philosophers covered include Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Thomas, Aquinas, Ockham, Hobbs, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Dewey, Satre, and many others of that time. Topics that will be covered in the history include God, the Human Soul, Ethics, Metaphysics, Stoicism, the Church Fathers, and Christian Philosophy as well as Existentialism. Duration: 81 videos with average time of one hour each. Rating: 1 360 850 views
15 Justice: Whats the right thing to do?
This course in English from Harvard University is a very popular course which has been taken by over 14 000 students in the past 30 years. It takes a close look at our understanding of Justice by exploring moral dilemmas for example “Is it always wrong to steal”, “Is it sometimes wrong to tell the truth”, the questions posed are broad and challenging to say the least. It covers topics like the moral side of murder and hired guns, a lesson in lying, what is a fair start, debating same sex marriage, the ultimate choice. Duration: Consists of 19 videos of varying length but on average 55 minutes. Rating: 3 226 124 views
14 What does it Mean to be Human? An Introduction to the Humanities
This course in English inquires What it means to be Human, and how do we acquire knowledge and how to we make sense of the World around us. This course will equip you with the skills and knowledge to start answering these deep question, consideration will be given to the complexity of the World as we know it and engage in debate. Further, skills will be developed in the study of the Humanities, and will include Intercultural awareness and evidence-based problem solving. In short you will be covering critical and ethical thinking, epistenologies and how knowledge is shared through writing. Skills Acquired: Study of the Humanities, Awareness, Problem Solving and Ethical Thinking
Duration: Approx 3 hours per week for 3 weeks. Rating: 4.3
13 Think Again II: How to Reason Deductively
This beginner course is in English with subtitles in 8 different languages. Each week consists of video segments to be viewed separately or in groups followed by ungraded quizzes to check your comprehension. In this course you will learn about truth- tables and their use, together with Venn diagrams to present the information in the premises and conclusion of an argument as to determine the validity. If you want deeper explanation you might want to consult Understanding Arguments: An Introduction to Informal Logic, 9th edition, concise, chapter 6 and 7 by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Robert Fogelin. Skills Acquired: Deductive Reasoning. Duration: Approx 13 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.4/89%
12 Philosophy, Science and Religion: Science and Philosophy
Philosophy, Science and Religion
In English with subtitles in 8 different languages. Philosophy, Science and religion are the most fundamental ways of thinking about the world and how we fit. Are they compatible? Or are they complementary? or does each support the other?
The details speak for themselves. To gain some clarity you will investigate current thought and what these thinkers are actually doing. This course is followed, by 2 others in the philosophical triangle, being Philosophy and Religion and Religion and Science. Items you will cover in the course will include Neuroscience and Free Will, are Science and Religion in conflict, do Scientific claims constitute absolute truths and Evolution and Creationism. Duration: Approx 15 hours over 5 weeks. Rating: 4,5/95%
11 Know Thyself – The Value and Limits of Self-Knowledge: The Examined Life
This beginner level course in English with subtitles in 9 different languages, you will be discovering self-knowledge, why is it valuable and what limitations it might face. What is missing from someone with little or no self-knowledge that makes them less wise, moral, or competent in certain areas than others who have self-knowledge, and what might that individual do to close that gap. Recent philosophical research experimental social psychology, history and neuroscience will guide you along the path where we will become students of our own dreams and cultivate meditative practices. You will become familiar with Western, Chinese, Buddhist approaches to our knowledge of self and in-so-doing you will gain an understanding of the relationship, self-knowledge to wisdom, the value of humility and methods of self learning that do not depend on introspection. You will become familiar with contemporary research and experimental social psychology, philosophy and neuroscience into the emotions, the unconscious and self-deception. Skill Acquired: Knowing yourself. Duration: Approx 19 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.6/97%
10 Think Again I: How to Understand Arguments
In this course in English with subtitles in 12 different languages. You will learn what an argument really is and be able to identify when you are hearing an argument and when you are not. You will break an argument up into its parts, order them, and reveal their connections and also how to plug gaps in an argument by adding subdued premises. By the end of the course you will better understand and appreciate arguments that you and others present. More indepth study can be gained by consulting Understanding Arguments: An Introduction to Informal Logic, 9th edition, concise chapters 1 – 5 by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Robert Fogelin. Skills Acquired: Evaluation, Interpretation, Language and Linguistics. Duration: Approx 25 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.6/97%
09 Skepticism
In English this beginners course has subtitles in 5 different languages. Skepticism surrounds us daily. There are doubts about vaccinations being harmful, the trustworthiness of our politicians and our media etc Is this warranted and when does it enter into the realm of the u reasonable. How widespread can this skepticism get and still be coherent? How might radical skepticism have harmful and detrimental consequences socially. Socially, leading to relativism which is also studied in the course and the problems that stem from this.You will also be considering topics such as What is the Nature of Knowledge and Whether there are any good arguments showing knowledge is impossible. The course will satisfy your need to learn more about philosophy along with strategies to combat extremism.
Skills acquired: Contrast Skepticism. Duration: Approx 15 over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.7
08 Effective Altruism
In this beginner level course in English with subtitles in 5 different languages, effective altruism premises that living a fully ethical life involves doing the most good one can do. You will be looking at the underpinning philosophies behind this idea and meet some people who have restructured their lives to live accordance with it and you will be able to consider how you can implement effective altruism in your own life. The course entails a study into poverty and affluence, what is the best cause? Or meaning How do you get the most value for your charity donations> How do you compare charities and how do you choose the charity? Finally you will look at effective altruism and your career choose, the giving game and why act ethically. Skills Acquired: Ethics and Discernment. Duration: Approx 12 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4,7/98%
07 Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle and His Successor
This course in English with subtitles in 6 difference languages, looks at how philosophy differs from Science, Religion, and other Human discourse modes. You will trace the origins of philosophy through the thinkers of ancient Greece regarding matters of Science, Religion and other aspects of human discourse. The course looks at philosophers who were active in Ionio in 6BC, who are also considered the first Scientists. You will look at the proposals of Thales, Anaximines and Heraclitus amongst others. It looks at Socrates fundamental ethical questions (How should I live) and his pupil Plato, and Plato’s pupil Aristotle, who developed elaborate philosophical systems to explain reality, knowledge and happiness. You will study the major doctrines of all these thinkers with this part covering Aristotle and his successors. Duration: Approx 15 hours over 5 weeks. Rating: 4.8/96%
06 The Modern and the Postmodern (Part 2)
The Modern and the Postmodern (2)
The course is English with subtitles in 4 different languages, it examines the idea of how the modern develops at the end of the 18th century in philosophy and literature, and how being modern became crucial for understanding and evaluating cultural change. Are we still in modernity or have we moved to postmodern? You will also study Intensity and the Ordinary in sex, death, aggression and guilt, art, loss, and forgiveness. Finally, you will also look at postmodernism, Postmodern identities and Postmodern Pragmatism. There is an optional writing assignment at the end of this course. Duration: Approx 14 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.8/96%
05 Soren Kierkegaard – Subjectivity, Irony and the Crisis of Modernity
The course is in English with subtitles in 10 different languages.Modern philosophical problems that appear with the breakdown of traditional values and ways of life and customs are relativism, subjectivism and nihilism. This causes an absents of meaning, a lapse of religious faith and the feeling of alienation which is so common place in today's society. This Danish thinker gave a very complex and penetrating analysis of this modern phenomenon. He seeks insight in the Greek philosopher Socrates. You will explore how the problem associates with relativism is dealt with, the lack of meaning and the undermining of religious faith so typical of today. These analyses are relevant today and are used as insight for leading philosophers in Existentialism, Post-Structuralism, and Post-Modernism. Some of the items that will be covered include Kierkegaard’s view of Socrates, the development of Pseudonymous works. Duration: Approx 17 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.8/98%
04 The Modern and the Postmodern (Part 1)
The Modern and the Postmodern 1
This course is in English with subtitles in 8 different languages, it examines the idea of how the modern develops at the end of the 18th century in philosophy and literature, and how being modern became crucial for understanding and evaluating cultural change. Are we still in modernity or have we moved to postmodern? The course begins with contributions of Kent, Jean Rousseau and concludes with Nietzsche and Baudelaire. A quick look at paintings at the time they wrote. Also you will learn about the modernity and intellectual History, What is enlightenment?, the movement from enlightenment to revolution modernism and art, re-imagining the world and fro struggle to intensity.
Duration: Approx 12 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.8/98%
03 Think again II: How to Reason Deductively
In this beginner course which is in English with subtitles in 8 different languages, you will learn by the end of this course to reason deductively. You will also learn the use of truth, tables and Venn diagrams to represent information contained in the premises and subsequent conclusion of an arguments to determine whether the arguments is deductively valid or not. For an more indepth study consult Understanding Arguments: An Introduction to Informal Logic, 9th edition, concise, chapters 6 and 7 by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Robert Fogelin. The format of this course is that each week will be divided into video segments that can be viewed separately or binge watched. There will be short u graded quizzes to check comprehension and longer graded quiz at the end of the course. Topics covered will include propositional logic and truth tables, categorical logic and Syllogisms, representing information. Duration: Approx 13 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.4/89%
02 The Moral Foundation of Politics with Ian Shapiro
This course is in English with subtitles in 10 other languages, discussed in this course will be when Governments deserve our support and when should they be denied. The course explores the answers to this question and starts with a survey of the political theory’s of Utilitarianism, Marxism, and Social Contract Tradition. You will look at classical concepts in their historical context and then shift to contemporary debates as they associate to politics. Thereafter, the course then shifts to the rejection of this enlightened thinking again surveying the classical and contemporary ideas. The last ;part of the course covers the nature of and justification for democratic politics. Throughout the course you will be devoting attention to the different authors and their theories and the practicality.A diverse view of concrete problems, debates about economic inequality, affirmative action, health care, limits of State power, and Freedom of Speech and Religion are discussed.
Duration: Approx 44 hours over 8 weeks. Rating: 4.9/97%
01 Ancient Philosophy: Plate & His Predecessors
Ancient Philosophy: Plato
This course in English with subtitles in 9 other languages. Traces the origin of philosophy as expounded by the ancient Greek thinkers, regarding matters of Science, Religion and other aspects of human discourse. The course looks at philosophers who were active in Ionio in 6BC, who are also considered the first Scientists. You will look at the proposals of Thales, Anaximines and Heraclitus amongst others. It looks at Socrates fundamental ethical questions (How should I live) and his pupil Plato, and Plato’s pupil Aristotle, who developed elaborate philosophical systems to explain reality, knowledge and happiness. You will study the major doctrines of all these thinkers with this part covering Plato and his Predecessors.. Duration: Approx 13 hours over 4 weeks. Rating: 4.9/98%