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Philosophy: the Basics course - booking now open for course starting in March

Booking is now open for Philosophy: The Basics, a six-session introductory course led by Nigel Warburton starting on March 11th, 2014. Further details here.

Philosophy: The Basics, a 6-session course in London, Jan. 2014

'Philosophy: The Basics', a 6-session introductory course on Philosophy, Tuesday evenings, Central London, 28th Jan - 4th March 2014. Led by Nigel Warburton. Booking now open. 35 places max. More details available here.

Philosophy in a Weekend

What is Philosophy?

Listen to a wide range of contemporary philosophers trying to answer this basic question here. 

Philosophy Bites podcasts:

You can listen to over 200 interviews with philosophers on a very wide range of topics on the Philosophy Bites podcast also on iTunes and available as an iPhone app. This series includes the following episodes which are particularly relevant:

Simon Blackburn on Plato's Cave

A.C. Grayling on Descartes' Cogito

Philip Schofield on Bentham's Utilitarianism

Roger Crisp on Utilitarianism

Peter Singer on the Life You Can Save

Other Relevant Resources 

Recommended introductions to Philosophy:  interview for The Browser for their Five Books series with 5 recommendations for further reading. There's another short interview on Philosophy here.

If you're interested in moral philosophy Jonathan Glover's website is a joy to browse.

Philosophy: The Classics podcast available free on iTunes (and also in less wieldy form here) - also available as an iPhone app: this is based on 18 chapters from my book Philosophy: The Classics and provides short introductions to key books in the history of Philosophy, beginning with Plato's Republic.

On Free Will and Compatibilism

Adina Roskies on Neuroscience and Free Will (she is sceptical about the conclusions drawn from the Libet experiments.

Daniel Dennett on Free Will Worth Wanting

On Aristotle's Ethics

Terence Irwin on Aristotle's Ethics

 

Some reliable free online Philosophy resources:

Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy 

Early Modern Texts - this is a series of paraphrases of 17th, 18th, and some 19th century philosophical works. This shouldn't really work, but it is in fact excellent, largely because run by the distinguished philosopher Jonathan Bennett who has spent many years teaching these texts to students and has a deep understanding of them. Also includes some links to reliable sources of original texts online.

 The Philosophers' Magazine online includes some fun interactive activities as well as links to some of the content from the magazine.

 Critical Thinking

 The Fallacy Files is a useful online resource (though a bit technical in places) - follow the alphabetically arranged links in the sidebar. There is also an elegant visual representation of fallacies (click on names to display content)

Over 150 answers to the question: 'What scientific concept would improve everyone's cognitive toolkit?' (The answers are better phrased than this question and range very widely. You could spend hours or even days reading through this).

Further Reading on Critical Thinking recommendations (in order of difficulty):

 

For more information and links visit www.nigelwarburton.com

Follow me on Twitter at @philosophybites

Forthcoming public events (Literary Festivals etc.)

Some of my books that are relevant to this course. 

Seven Ways of Thinking About Art - Tate Modern

Booking now open for Feb-March 2012 Tate Modern course 'Seven Ways of Thinking About Art' led by Nigel Warburton. Booking details here.

Aesthetics Courses at Tate Modern 2010 - Booking Open

Details of the 3 Aesthetics courses I'm teaching at Tate Modern are available here. Booking is open. Tickets usually go very quickly.

Aesthetics at Tate Modern - booking open

You can now book by telephone on 0207 887 8888 for my 7 Ways of Thinking About Art course on Monday evenings at Tate Modern 19th October to 30th November 2009 (7 sessions). If you need information about the sorts of topics covered and the approach, you can check out notes from a previous version of this course. Further details of the course should be on the Tate Modern website next week and in the forthcoming events leaflet.

Tate Modern Course October 2009 - 7 Ways of Thinking About Art

Tate Modern - I will be teaching the course 'Seven Ways of Thinking About Art' on  7 consecutive Monday evenings from 19th October until 30th November. Booking required.

The course explores the philosophical basis of our attempts to understand works of art. Topics covered include the question of whether works of art are simply catalysts to purely subjective responses, the relevance of an artist's intentions, a work’s historical context, its originality, and its context within the gallery.

Participants have the opportunity to explore a range of positions from a theoretical perspective and to test their application against particular works of art in the gallery.

Booking will open in September. All booking is via the Tate Modern booking office.

In the Spring I will begin the cycle of three 6-session courses on Aesthetics at Tate Modern Classic Aesthetics, Modern Aesthetics and Contemporary Aesthetics.

Free Video Lecture Courses in Philosophy

Academic Earth has two Yale Philosophy lecture courses - one on Death and one on Political Philosophy - available free from the Philosophy section of their site.

These are great times for autodidacts!

Philosophy of Art Course at Tate Modern October 2008

Tate Modern course:

Classic Aesthetics: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Art

Tate Modern, Monday evenings 20th October - 24th November 2008 (six sessions), 6.45 p.m. - 8.15 p.m followed by drinks. £95 (£60 concessions), booking required (details of how to book ). Price includes drinks afterwards.

Led by Nigel Warburton

An opportunity to explore classic aesthetics from Plato's Ion to Kant's Critique of Judgement. Each week we'll discuss a reading from Aesthetics: A Comprehensive Anthology (Blackwell, 2008). Key themes include the nature of art, beauty, the sublime and value judgements about the arts. We'll also look at works in the gallery and analyse them in relation to these ideas. No knowledge of philosophy or art is needed.

This is the first of three six-session courses I will be teaching based on the Aesthetics anthology. The other courses are Modern Aesthetics (start date 16th Feb. 2009) and Contemporary Aesthetics (start date 1st June 2009). Further details about all three courses are available on the Tate Modern website.

The School of Life Launches in London

The School of Life a new educational and cultural enterprise has just opened its doors at 70 Marchmont Street in Central London and looks set to make a considerable impact. Offering courses in the evenings and at the weekends, a chance to meet experts in a wide range of fields one-on-one, unusual holidays, and a bookshop that stocks The Art Question, its faculty includes Alain de Botton, Geoff Dyer, Martin Parr and Brett Kahr. Quirky and original, its courses are focused around the life themes of Love, Work, Politics, Play, and Family.

Read more about The School of Life on Reuters