What is First Philosophy?
With the shift of our educational focus away from the arts and humanities, first philosophy seeks to reorient our conversations around topical and contemporary issues back to key fundamentals of the human experience: Reason, and our desire for knowledge.
Each of us harbours a fundamental desire to know. At first philosophy, we build on that desire to examine who we are and the world we inhabit.
We are inspired by the belief that action that leads to sound, happy, and flourishing human lives and societies is always underpinned by knowledge.By following the conversation at first philosophy, we hope to help you understand what is shaping our world by examining foundational and highly theorised ideas in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Our Courses
Being Human
This course introduces philosophical inquiry through online lectures and guided critiques of readings, film and art drawn from a variety of genres. The course deals with several key themes: wonder, truth, the human being, knowledge, purpose, desire, freedom, being with others, and science, in turn connecting the past, present and the future. Here we will think about 10 inevitable and unchanging dimensions of human existence.
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The first five themes begin with the intellectual curiosity of wonder, proceeding to the philosophical quest for truth before analysing the subject who does this inquiry, the human being, and the knowledge required for such an investigation. Ending the first part by turning to the search for purpose.
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The remaining five themes: desire, freedom, being with others, science, and the present to the future, build on the first five to provide a holistic and unified understanding of our lives and the question of what it means to be human.
Understand Our World (TBC)
This course will take you through the thinkers and theories that have shaped our world in a multidisciplinary manner, This online learning program covers 18 topics over 20 weeks, from Plato to postmodernism and from Homer to hip hop, and will change the way you understand and view the world and your place in it.
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Covering 3 central themes including ‘Understanding Foundations’, ‘Understanding the Human Being’ and ‘Understanding Knowledge’ we come to understand the foundations of almost all disciplines of the Arts and the Sciences.
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The final section, ‘Understanding our World’, exposes us to the topics that explain the world – its theories, ideas, past, present and future. The humanities and the social sciences with interdisciplinary weaving through contributions by polymaths and specialists create the civilisations which we witness today.
Short Courses (TBC)
Our short course are designed to cut through the busyness of your everyday life to provide timeless, topical, and practicable knowledge.
Learning online at First Philosophy will give you:
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Analytical & Critical Thinking
Rigorous and critical thinking is prized by any number of employers, but more importantly, deepens one’s insight of the world as it is, as it could be, and as it should be.
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Cultural & Social Sensitivity
Seeing things from diverse perspectives builds rapport with people from different cultures and intellectual backgrounds. We can only question or reconcile with the other once we truly understand where they are coming from.
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Understanding Decision Impacts
The human world is complex. Examining the various causes and their effects from the past to the present and into the future enriches one’s decision-making capabilities.
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Lateral Thinking & Creativity
Cross-disciplinary study in the arts and humanities develops lateral thinking, fostering novel ways to imagine and reimagine the problems of our age, and how to solve them.
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Ethical & Moral Reasoning
Come to terms with the major disagreements of humanity, from way back when down to today, by exploring the origins, histories, and trajectories of why we argue over the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Course Packages
Being Human
Not Currently Running
Understand Our World (TBC)
Not Currently Running
Hear from past students
Contact us
If you would like more information on the courses we offer, course commencement dates or anything else, feel free to email or call us. Our live chat is a great way to stay in touch!
