Thinking Clearly: Tools from Philosophy
Stop just having opinions and start building arguments. Learn the mental tools philosophers use to dismantle bad logic and make better decisions every day.
Like Duolingo, but for Thinking Clearly: Tools from Philosophy. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Art of the Argument and Living with Purpose. It starts from scratch.
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Key ideas in Thinking Clearly: Tools from Philosophy
- A philosophical argument requires a claim supported by reasons
- Emotional intensity or disagreement does not make something an argument in philosophy
- Arguments are structured to lead a listener to a specific point
- Premises act as the foundation for a philosophical claim
- The conclusion is the 'roof' that the premises are intended to hold up
- Philosophical structure relies on the flow from support to result
- Distinguishing between a philosophical argument and a simple disagreement
- Identifying the relationship between supporting reasons and the final claim
- Arguments often skip steps that the speaker takes for granted
- A hidden assumption must be true for the conclusion to follow from the premise
- Philosophers look for what isn't said to find the root of a belief
- Arguments function like chains; the weakest link determines the strength
- Identifying unstated beliefs that an argument relies on to function
- Opinions are standalone statements, while arguments require a 'why'
- The word 'because' forces the speaker to provide a premise
- Understanding that one faulty reason can invalidate a philosophical conclusion
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 Thinking Clearly: Tools from 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.
Two people are shouting at each other about a movie. Why might a philosopher say this is NOT an argument?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
Where Thinking Clearly: Tools from Philosophy takes you
- 1
The Art of the Argument
- Spotting the 'Why'
- Avoiding Common Logic Traps
- 2
Living with Purpose
- Questioning Your Assumptions
- Deciding What's Right
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Thinking Clearly: Tools from Philosophy is taught in the The Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Thinking Clearly: Tools from Philosophy today.
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