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EXCELLENCE
Excellence School
EXCELLENCE SCHOOL

Think Like a Philosopher

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LEVEL 1 · 0/3LEVEL 2 · 0/3LEVEL 3 · 0/3LEVEL 4 · 0/3LEVEL 5 · 0/3START
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Philosophy as a working toolkit: examine what words mean, map and test arguments, spot fallacies, judge right and wrong three ways, work through hard cases, ask what knowledge is (and use Stoic ideas and good arguments in real decisions) from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the research.

2h 56m5 constellations
AT THE SUMMIT, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO

01Map arguments and judge them by structure and truth

02Name the common fallacies, and answer the strongest version instead

03Weigh a choice through consequences, duties and character

04Examine beliefs, and write arguments that can be answered

Every lesson of Think Like a Philosopher

15 lessons in 5 levels, about 3 hours. Level 1 is free.

Level 1How Arguments WorkFree · 3 lessons
  1. The examined lifeMeet philosophy's oldest method (questioning) and why discussion trains thinking.11 min
  2. Valid, sound, strongJudge arguments by structure and by truth: separately.12 min
  3. Checkpoint: three classic fallaciesSpot ad hominem, straw man and begging the question, and answer them.12 min
Level 2Three Ways to JudgeMembership · 3 lessons
  1. Judge by consequencesUnderstand consequentialism and utilitarianism, and their famous difficulties.11 min
  2. Judge by dutyUnderstand deontology through Kant's two most famous formulas.12 min
  3. Checkpoint: judge by characterUnderstand virtue ethics, and use all three theories on one case.12 min
Level 3Hard CasesMembership · 3 lessons
  1. The trolley problemWork through the switch and push cases, and the principle meant to explain them.11 min
  2. Forty million moral choicesSee what a global experiment on self-driving dilemmas found, and what it can't settle.12 min
  3. Checkpoint: the side-effect effectSee how moral judgments shape what we call “intentional”.12 min
Level 4Knowing and BelievingMembership · 3 lessons
  1. What is knowledge?Understand the classic analysis: justified true belief.11 min
  2. Gettier's three pagesSee how a short 1963 paper broke the classic analysis.12 min
  3. Checkpoint: examine a beliefUse Socratic questions to examine a strongly held belief: kindly.12 min
Level 5Philosophy for LifeMembership · 3 lessons
  1. The Stoics: judgments and controlUse the Stoic idea that feelings follow judgments, and focus on what's up to you.11 min
  2. Write an argument that can be answeredBuild a short argument with a claim, reasons, an objection and a reply.12 min
  3. Capstone: your philosophical toolkitUse arguments, ethics and questioning on one real decision.13 min
FREE

Level 1 is open.

Membership opens every other level of this path.

See membership
AFTER THE CORE

Keep going where this path leads.

Think Like a Scientist: Studies, Numbers and HeadlinesEvidence, the other half of good thinking · 2h 59m
Make Better DecisionsFrom principles to choices · 3h 21m