Philosophy For Beginners

2500 Years of Philosophy Explained Simply

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.
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.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Introduction

Lecture 2 Why have humans invented philosophy?

Lecture 3 Branches of Philosophy

Lecture 4 Easter Philosophy and Western Philosophy

Lecture 5 Greek Philosophers -Socrates, Plato and Aristotle

Lecture 6 Eastern philosophers - Lao Tzu, Buddha and Confucius

Lecture 7 Is the purpose of human civilisation equality or compeition?

Lecture 8 Is the purpose of life to seek knowlede or happiness?

Lecture 9 How do we understand reality

Lecture 10 Sociological motivation for human action-Hegel, Marx & Sartre

Lecture 11 Psychological motivation for human action-Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard & Nietzsche

Lecture 12 Conclusion and Assignment

Beginner philosophy learners