The Big Ideas of Philosophy
Like Duolingo, but for The Big Ideas of Philosophy. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
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Key ideas in The Big Ideas of Philosophy
- Socratic wisdom consists of recognizing the limits of one's own understanding
- The elenchus tests the consistency of a person's beliefs by cross-examining their premises
- Claiming to know what one does not know blocks the path to genuine philosophical discovery
- The goal is to reveal internal contradictions rather than simply proving the other person wrong
- Intellectual humility as a starting point for Socratic inquiry
- The purpose of the Socratic elenchus as a tool for internal consistency
- Aporia is the state of philosophical confusion that occurs when old certainties are dismantled
- Socrates sought 'universal definitions' to ensure speakers weren't talking past each other
- This state is considered progress because it clears away false 'knowledge' to make room for truth
- A precise definition must cover all instances of a concept without being too broad
- The role of aporia in the learning process
- Socratic inquiry is intended to improve the 'psyche' or soul by aligning actions with virtue
- Knowledge of the Good is inseparable from acting rightly in one's daily life
- The necessity of precise definitions in philosophical discourse
- The ethical objective of Socratic dialogue
- Hedonic calculus measures the 'extent' or number of people affected by a pleasure
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Big Ideas of Philosophy the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When Socrates uses the 'elenchus' during a conversation, what is he primarily testing?
Get it right to open this lesson and 94 more in the app.
Where The Big Ideas of Philosophy takes you
Move beyond basic definitions to engage with the world's most influential thinkers. This course bridges the gap between knowing names and applying philosophical frameworks to ethics, reality, and the self.
- 1
Living the Examined Life
- The Socratic Method in Practice
- Navigating Moral Dilemmas
- Virtue Ethics and Character
- 2
The Architecture of Reality
- Plato’s Forms and Universals
- Substance, Essence, and Identity
- The Mind-Body Problem
- 3
How We Know What We Know
- Rationalism vs. Empiricism
- Kant’s Copernican Revolution
- Pragmatism and Truth
- 4
The Self and Existence
- The Cogito and the Self
- Existentialism and Absurdity
- The Social Contract
- 5
Logic and Language
- The Structure of Argument
- Language and Meaning
- Paradoxes and Limits
- 6
Power, Society, and Justice
- Theories of Justice
- Marxism and Critique
- Post-Structuralism and Power
- 7
The Frontiers of Philosophy
- Philosophy of Science
- Aesthetics and Art
- Ethics of the Future
- 8
The Deep Foundations
- The Evolution of Inquiry
- Phenomenology: The Study of Experience
- The Value of Philosophy
8 sections · 24 units · 95 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
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