Free online courseGeneral Philosophy: From Descartes to Hume, Knowledge, Perception and Free Will

Course Description

Build a clear, confident foundation in philosophy by following the debates that shaped how we think about knowledge, reality, and human freedom. This free online course uses the early modern period as a practical starting point because it is where classic questions become especially vivid: How can we know anything about the world? What, exactly, do we perceive? Are mind and body different kinds of things? And if nature is governed by laws, what room is left for choice and moral responsibility?

You will move through the scientific and intellectual shift from Aristotelian explanation to the mechanistic outlook associated with figures such as Galileo and Descartes, then see how later philosophers respond, refine, or resist that picture. Along the way, the course connects big metaphysical claims to everyday assumptions: what it means to say an object causes an effect, why secondary qualities like color feel so immediate, and why sceptical challenges are harder to dismiss than they first appear.

The learning experience is designed to strengthen reasoning, not just memorization. Each section invites you to test your understanding with targeted questions that mirror the style of philosophical argument: spotting hidden assumptions, distinguishing what follows logically from what merely feels intuitive, and evaluating whether a proposed solution really addresses the original problem. This approach makes classic texts and positions accessible even if you have never studied philosophy before.

As you progress, you will see how questions about induction, the external world, and perception lead naturally into contemporary discussions, including thought experiments in the philosophy of mind and modern responses to dualism. You will also examine competing accounts of free will, determinism, and responsibility in a way that clarifies what is at stake in terms of agency, blame, and praise, rather than treating the debate as abstract wordplay.

Finally, the course ties these themes to the puzzle of personal identity: what it takes to remain the same person over time, how memory might ground that continuity, and why edge cases force us to be precise about what we mean by same. By the end, you will have a coherent map of the major moves from Descartes through Hume and a set of analytical tools you can apply far beyond philosophy class, from reading and writing to science, law, and everyday decision-making.