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Principles
of Philosophy
The questions that have driven human thought for millennia. Logic, ethics, knowledge, and reality examined with rigor and genuine curiosity.
What You'll Learn
A full semester of principles of philosophy — completed at your own pace, with no deadlines or fixed class times.
What You'll Be Able to Do
- Identify and explain fundamental philosophical concepts, including epistemology, ethics, and value theory, as a foundation for philosophical inquiry
- Classify and compare major philosophical traditions and perspectives — such as rationalism, empiricism, and feminist ethics — to understand their historical and conceptual distinctions
- Apply logical reasoning and argumentation to evaluate ethical dilemmas and contemporary societal issues
- Analyze philosophical texts and arguments, identifying key ideas, underlying assumptions, and broader implications
- Construct and defend arguments on topics such as freedom, justice, and human rights using diverse moral theories like consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics
Major Course Topics
Course chapters and lessons
Principles of Philosophy has 12 chapters across 58.5 instructional hours, as listed in the course syllabus. Expand any chapter to see the lessons inside it.
- Chapters
- 12
- Lessons
- 55
- Instructional hours
- 58.5 hrs
- Semester hours
- 3
Chapter 1
Introduction to Philosophy
- 1.1 What Is Philosophy?
- 1.2 How Do Philosophers Arrive at Truth?
- 1.3 Socrates as a Paradigmatic Historical Philosopher
- 1.4 An Overview of Contemporary Philosophy
Chapter 2
Critical Thinking, Research, Reading, and Writing
- 2.1 The Brain Is an Inference Machine
- 2.2 Overcoming Cognitive Biases and Engaging in Critical Reflection
- 2.3 Developing Good Habits of Mind
- 2.4 Gathering Information, Evaluating Sources, and Understanding Evidence
- 2.5 Reading Philosophy
- 2.6 Writing Philosophy Papers
Chapter 3
The Early History of Philosophy around the World
- 3.1 Indigenous Philosophy
- 3.2 Classical Indian Philosophy
- 3.3 Classical Chinese Philosophy
Chapter 4
The Emergence of Classical Philosophy
- 4.1 Historiography and the History of Philosophy
- 4.2 Classical Philosophy
- 4.3 Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Philosophy
Chapter 5
Logic and Reasoning
- 5.1 Philosophical Methods for Discovering Truth
- 5.2 Logical Statements
- 5.3 Arguments
- 5.4 Types of Inferences
- 5.5 Informal Fallacies
Chapter 6
Exploring the Interplay Between Religion and Philosophy
- 6.1 Substance
- 6.2 Self and Identity
- 6.3 Cosmology and the Existence of God
- 6.4 Free Will
Chapter 7
Epistemology
- 7.1 The Analysis of Knowledge
- 7.2 Epistemic Justification
- 7.3 Sources of Knowledge: Rationalism, Empiricism, and the Kantian Synthesis
- 7.4 Skepticism
- 7.5 Epistemic Value, Duty, and Virtue
- 7.6 Epistemology, Probability, and Science
Chapter 8
Value Theory
- 8.1 The Fact-Value Distinction
- 8.2 Basic Questions about Values
- 8.3 Metaethics
- 8.4 Well-Being
- 8.5 Aesthetics
Chapter 9
Normative Moral Theory
- 9.1 Requirements of a Normative Moral Theory
- 9.2 Consequentialism
- 9.3 Deontology
- 9.4 Virtue Ethics
- 9.5 Daoism
- 9.6 Feminist Theories of Ethics
Chapter 10
Applied Ethics
- 10.1 Aren't Right and Wrong Just Matters of Opinion? On Moral Relativism and Subjectivism
- 10.2 Can We Have Ethics without Religion? On Divine Command Theory and Natural Law Theory
- 10.3 How Can I Be a Better Person? On Virtue Ethics
Chapter 11
Contemporary Perspectives on Knowledge
- 11.1 Historical Perspectives on Government
- 11.2 Nature and Purpose of the State – Obligations to and From the State
- 11.3 Balancing Natural Rights, Human Nature, and the State – Contracts
- 11.4 Liberty and Justice
- 11.5 Immanuel Kant's Critique of Empiricism and Rationalism: Synthesizing Dual Perspectives
Chapter 12
Contemporary Philosophies and Social Theories
- 12.1 Enlightenment Social Theory
- 12.2 The Marxist Solution
- 12.3 Continental Philosophy's Challenge to Enlightenment Theories
- 12.4 The Frankfurt School
- 12.5 Postmodernism
These chapters come straight from the official course syllabus, which also sets out the graded assignment and the proctored final exam.
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