Philosophy

In this course, Professor John Cottingham (University of Reading) explores of the key issues in the philosophy of religion: the problem of evil. We begin by thinking about the attributes of god and the logical problem of evil. Is it...

In this course, Professor Catharine Edwards (Birkbeck, University of London) provides an introduction to Seneca the Younger and his Epistulae Morales. We begin by providing a broad introduction to Seneca's life, career, and literary output, before moving on in the...

In this course, Dr Frisbee Sheffield (University of Cambridge) explores Plato's Symposium. We begin by providing a broad introduction to the Symposium, including the historical, social, cultural and philosophical context. After that, we go through each of the speeches in...

In this course, Professor David Sedley (University of Cambridge) explores Plato's Phaedo, in which several arguments are made for the immortality of the soul. We begin by providing a broad introduction to the dialogue, focusing in particular on the historical...

In this course, Professor John Cottingham (University of Reading) explores some of the classic arguments for the existence of God – and their criticisms. In the first module, we think about some of the Classical antecedents to later Christian arguments...

In this course, Professor Genia Schönbaumsfeld (University of Southampton) explores the philosophy of the 19th-century Danish philosophy, Søren Kierkegaard. In the first module, we provide a brief introduction to Kierkegaard himself, before thinking about his reasons for presenting his philosophy...

In this course, Professor Helen Beebee (University of Manchester) explores one of the most foundational texts of modern philosophy, David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. The course begins by exploring Hume's explanation of how we come to know what...

In this course, Professor Anthony Price (Birkbeck College, London) explores Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. In the first module, we explore the central concept of eudaimonia, or happiness, in Aristotle's ethics, before turning in the second module to the concept of egocentricity:...

In this course, Professor John Marenbon (University of Cambridge) explores Medieval Philosophy through seven key thinkers. In the first module, we explore the philosophy of Avicenna, thinking in particular about his proof of existence of God and his views on...

In this course, Professor Terrell Carver (University of Bristol) introduces the political thought of Karl Marx. In the first module, we think about the way in which Marx has been re-interpreted over the last century and make some attempt to...

In this course, Professor Angie Hobbs (University of Sheffield) explores Plato's Apology, his account of Socrates' trial for 'corrupting the youth' and 'not believing in the gods the state believes in' in Athens in 399 BC. The course begins by...

In this course, Professor Adrian Moore (University of Oxford) explores Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals through eight key questions. In particular, we think about the fundamental difference between the three main strands of moral philosophy (consequentialism, deontology and...