The Top 5 Free Intro to Philosophy Courses
Looking to start learning about philosophy online without breaking the bank? Here's a comprehensive list of the best free introduction to philosophy courses you can find!
7/18/20253 min read
1. Top Pick Overall: Carneades.org
With a library of over 1,000 videos on any philosophy topic you can imagine, the YouTube channel Carneades.org has a little bit of everything. The videos are short and easily accessible for beginners to philosophy, while still giving you a comprehensive and accurate view of the topic. This is a good starting point for a balance between high quality information offered in small, easy-to-understand chunks. They even have a Map of Philosophy which covers every area of philosophy in one single image.
The website even has tailor-made courses with quizzes along the way to test your understanding of the topics. Their "Intro to Philosophy" course is simple, comprehensive, and completely free. The course is short but it is a great way to dip your feet into the subject of philosophy.
Info Quality: High
Content Length: Short
Accessibility: High
Price: Free
2. Best for Synchronous: University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh offers a small collection of "MOOCs" (Massive Open Online Courses) on the topic of philosophy, including an "Intro to Philosophy" class. They have online videos and easy to understand pamphlets and handouts. This course is a bit longer than some of the others on this list, and the videos are a bit dryer than some of the other options, but it is led by lecturers at the University of Edinburgh and may be good primer if you are thinking about a University major in philosophy.
The videos from the course can be accessed here for free, though the textbook (Philosophy for Everyone) will run you around $40 at the time of this writing and the MOOC experience on Coursera will cost you $49. In theory the class is "live" while the lectures and assignments are pre-recorded, there is a forum board to discuss with the thousands of others taking the class at the same time.
Info Quality: High
Content Length: Long
Accessibility: Moderately High
Price: Videos & Handouts: Free, MOOC: $49 Textbook: $40
3. Good For Primary Texts: MIT
MIT provides a free "Introduction to Philosophy: God, Knowledge and Consciousness" course which provides a good introduction into some areas of philosophy, though not all. Unlike other entries on this list, MIT's course focuses specifically on philosophy of Religion, Epistemology, the Philosophy of Mind, (as well as a couple topics in Metaphysics: Personal Identity and Free Will). If you are looking for a class in ethics, aesthetics, logic, or the philosophy of science, this is not the right choice for you. Because of the narrower scope it delves deeper into the issues that it does cover.
The course itself is free as are the majority of the materials. The readings are very dense and are well-suited to someone that is already used to reading dense, academic texts. But this is a good course if you want to dig into the actual texts instead of getting secondary sources to summarize them for you.
Info Quality: High
Content Length: Long
Accessibility: Moderate
Price: Free
4. Engaging but Simplified: Crash Course Philosophy
The folks at the YouTube Channel Crash Course have a series on philosophy. While it starts out as an introduction, it does go into depth on a wide range of topics with over 40 videos in the series. The videos are animated, fun and easily accessible, however some have critiqued them as dumbing down the concepts to the point of inaccuracy.
The videos are free to watch, and the course does not have materials, quizzes or other interactive components so there isn't the same "test your knowledge" component that can be found in other courses on this list, but if you learn well that way, this may be a good option for you.
Info Quality: Moderate
Content Length: Moderate
Accessibility: High
Price: Free
5. Great for Kids: PLATO (Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization)
Maybe instead of learning philosophy for yourself, you are looking for a way to teach your kids about philosophy, or you want to be able to learn alongside them. If so, look no further than the great curriculum and resources available at PLATO, the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization. They have resources for teachers to incorporate philosophy into their curriculum as well as for parents to introduce kids of all ages to topics in philosophy.
Unlike the other options here, this is less a traditional course and more a series of activities and curriculum resources for you to design your own activities and coursework for your kids. A great way to get kids interested in the big questions of life.
Info Quality: Moderately High
Content Length: Short
Accessibility: Very High
Price: Free
Explore
Your guide to online philosophy courses.
Learn
© 2025. All rights reserved.