I really needed answers to some questions about life about equality, justice, empathy, morality, etc. After finishing this course I still do not have the answers, but I feel I am in a better position to read and think more about these questions. These questions are not just for academic interest. I feel it is difficult to along in life without some answers about these fundamental aspects of our day to day life. Philosophy should be a part of our school curriculum. I really appreciate the way it has been taught in this course and the dedication of the teachers to their subject.

I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in this course. The modules covered a multitude of diverse branches of philosophy which helped me to broaden my knowledge of the subject overall and the lecturers were incredibly helpful in explaining simply, and with useful examples, new information. The course has further deepened my love for the subject and the platforms of assessment were challenging, but did not feel labourly. I would without a doubt recommend anybody, regardless of former experience of the subject, to partake in this course and I am highly glad to have had the experience.

A nice and flexible course, in which you can explore the wide range of possibilities from the minimum basic level of subject to studying all the additional material and problematics. Rather interesting functional approach to the structure of philosophical knowledge. For the foreigners (as I am) the English is quite understandable (It is subtitled, but the subtitles are not necessary if you are above B2 / IELTS 7.0 level) and at the same time sufficiently sophisticated to acquire also some useful listening practice for academic IELTS / PTE Academic tests.

Amazing introduction to the basics of philosophy - I wish I had such in university or at some other early point. It shows you breadth, scope and problems philosophy deals with. Course tries to maintain simplicity and clarity of explanations even for very complex things and this is exactly what you need for a subject which is normally deemed too complex for beginners or gives an explanations which for uninitiated do not add clarity and rather raise even more questions.

Loads of fun and topics which may make you think more and induce your curiosity.

I must say its a wonderfully helpful short course for beginners. The best thing about this course to my understanding is that:

Its made easy for all those who want to study philosophy

Its modules are well wittingly selected to make such an enticing introductory course for all those who have rather a cynical opinion about philosophy as science or subject

and the free access to those reading materials and websites

I enjoyed truly every bit and parts of the this introduction to philosophy by the institute for which I will be evergrateful.

Great course to introduce non-professionals/beginners into major fields or topics of philosophy. Excellent quality of lessons: teachers were always good to understand, even for non-native speakers, and eager to get across main themes to disciples inexperienced in philosophical studies. Only critique: difficulty levels of exams could have been more evenly balanced.

I can only recommend this course to anyone interested in the study of philosophy; great job by the University of Edinburgh and its staff for organizing this on Coursera.

I loved the course, I've been reading, for many years, about economics, models of economics, Marx, Mises, Hegel, Hayek, anyway, suddenly, unintentionally I watched a documentary of classical Greek philosophy and began to think differently about of things; I started reading about moral philosophy, political philosophy, philosophy of science, theory of knowledge, in short, I decided to make the course and I see it as a beginning to continue preparing in philosophy. As an academic, I have changed the focus of my classes in college.

I've found this course interesting and engaging, as well as its lecturers. What I've appreciated most is the way as the course has been developed; questions for every single part of the lesson help the learner to reflect if the bulk of what you heard has been well understood; it's like when at school you raise your hand asking an explanation. In my opinion, I'd increase these moments of reflexion. Tests at the end of every single week allow the students to deepen into the topic. Congratulations to all.

There is a lot in the Indian Philosophy but it revolves around existence of God. Provided we accept this, the other dimensions of thoughts in Philosophy, should be added in the course content. The different theories are nonetheless very abstract ideas, at least from point of view of a person who generally studies technology, like me. So I think that must also be studied and added in the course content. The course was really enjoyable and enlightening. Thanks coursera and all professors. Thanks again.

The course renders us an insight into philosophy by introducing several branches of contemporary philosophy with some mainstream ideas and arguements, and amazingly in a clear and concise way. And many philosophical questions haven't any clear answer so that we have to think them ourselves(the start of philosophical thinking!), yet with these ideas introduced we are more targeted. Also the extra readings are really helpful and enlightening. Thanks for all your hard work to present us the course.

A great introductory course on philosophy. It is designed and organized in a pretty scholarly manner which makes it accessible to everyone providing a clear and simple understanding of the subject. Nonetheless, I must say that this is a fairly short course, there is much more that could be added into it—such as thoughts of contemporary(20th century) philosophers. I highly recommend this to the newbies; it should provide them with an academic-like head start in the realm of philosophy.

I like this course a lot and have spent several days following all the lectures, for a feeling that the whole course is formulated not with a historical/overwhelmed view but aims to inspire a true interest in the ways of thinking. A discursive thought path and I've really enjoyed it. Thank you for your sharing knowledge and kind design. Besides, the materials for independent learning are good guide! At least, I know where to find trustworthy information. THANKS!

This was my first MOOC course that I completed successfully. It will inspire me to take more. I am an engineer and I joined this course to improve my clarity of thinking. At the very beginning the instructor Dave's definition of philosophy as the activity of working out the best way to think about things caught my interest and I learned a lot about common topics but in an intellectual way. To all the instructors and forum moderators of this course, thank you!

Very good course, Offers insights from various domains of Philosophy, which one doesn't go in usually. And ends up discovering that there are in fact various ways to look at this subject which is an essential tool for living and constant improving our quality of life.

The University of Edinburgh has structured this course well, and the faculties, bright and deep in their domains makes you understand the contents more easily then they are.

Thank you.

I have learnt about a number of fundamental topics in philosophy through lectures and materials. I have also been able to test my knowledge via practice questions and quizzes. Finally, I have conducted my own research and engaged in philosophical analysis for the final essay assignment, as well as evaluated my peers' submissions. Of particular interest and impact to me were the topics of Morality, Law, Knowledge and Testimony. Thanks, @Edinburgh.

Couldn't have asked for a better introduction to Philosophy. The handouts and videos matched very well and gave option for different styles of learning. The text book (Philosophy for everyone) I bought on Amazon was also very interesting for extra reading and I can refer to that when learning more about Philosophy. Perfect amount of options for how much detail I wanted to learn and plenty of resources for me to check out in my spare time.

This course is an introduction to the topics that philosophers are talking about. It addresses, for instance, questions about the nature of knowledge, morality, philosophy of science, etc. It emphasizes on Scottish philosopher David Hume, but it does not omit other philosophical traditions on the topic they aboard. I strongly recommend it for those who are interested in developing philosophical curiosity about some specific topics.

This course is a great start to induce thinking about things around us. It is very mind provoking course that opens wide room of discussion concerning something we might simply take for granted in life. It also challenges the very essence of dogmatic belief or even scientific 'fact' that seems at first glance satisfies our senses but not an inquisitive mind. A highly recommended and intellectually enjoyable course.

I found this course very interesting, informative, and engaging. The instructors and lectures are interesting, and the topics covered are fascinating. The quizzes cover the most important concepts of the course without being unnecessarily difficult. I have recommended this course more than once already, and would do so again. If I found that another course were created to follow this one, I would definitely take it.

This course gets you on the right track to understanding philosophy. It explores several interesting topics and provides reading material for anyone who wants to take a deeper dive into these subjects. I like the course's flexibility, progression and guidance. The videos provide clear information on introductory ideas, arguments and their explanations in particular areas of the philosophical realm.

It touched lots of the topics in what is called philosophy; however it didn't go any further on any of the topics...i expected to learn some of basic terms of fundamental concepts of this subject, this cause certainly doesn't go that further. With all this having said, this is still a very good cause in terms of how it was prepared and presented, I like most of the lecture and lecturers very much.

Es un curso muy interesante para aquellos que no hemos tenido acercamientos previos a la filosofía, plantea temas de gran interés y los profesores describen los problemas y formas de abordarlos sin que necesariamente sea seguir a un autor en particular, en cambio dan un panorama general de abordaje aunque, claro usan propuestas de autores para ejemplificar las formas de pensamiento.

Me pareció un curso bien estructurado, con coherencia temática y rigurosidad científica. Se nota bastante el esfuerzo de cuidar cada detalle, desde la producción audiovisual, la transmisión de ideas, proporción de fuentes bibliográficas, etc... Gracias a todos los que hacen posible Coursera, a la Universidad de Edimburgo y a la excelente plantilla de filósofos que preparó este curso.

Very good teaching strategy. Takes you through ideas and gives you examples. Has a couple of questions each video to keep your attention. It is a very interesting subject, even if the teaching was bad, but the lectures add even more by taking their time with concepts. Keep doing what you're doing. I would take other courses by this school if they were similarly designed. Thank you.