Thinking Like a Philosopher
Sharpen your critical instincts by learning to dissect everyday arguments, stress-test your intuitions with thought experiments, and navigate tricky moral dilemmas. This concise guide equips you with the fundamental mental tools philosophers use to examine belief and truth.
Like Duolingo, but for Thinking Like a Philosopher. 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 Interrogating Everyday Claims and Navigating Dilemmas and Truth. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Thinking Like a Philosopher
- In philosophical reasoning, premises are the reasons or evidence offered to back up a claim
- The conclusion is the main takeaway or judgment that the premises are trying to prove
- Disentangling what supports what prevents people from arguing about the conclusion without addressing the reasons behind it
- Arguments frequently rely on unstated assumptions—hidden premises taken for granted by the speaker
- If the hidden assumption is questionable or false, the entire leap from premise to conclusion collapses
- Spotting the missing link between the evidence and the conclusion is usually the quickest way to evaluate a philosophical claim
- Validity is purely about structure: if the premises were true, the conclusion would have to be true as a result
- An argument can have flawless logical structure while starting from completely absurd or false premises
- Philosophers distinguish between validity (proper structural connection) and soundness (valid structure plus factually true premises)
- The principle of charity requires framing an opponent's argument in its strongest, most plausible form before attempting to critique it
- Attacking an exaggerated or foolish distortion (a straw man) fails to actually defeat the opponent's core idea
- An ad hominem critique targets the speaker's motives, hypocrisy, or background rather than the validity and truth of their premises
- A hypocritical, biased, or disreputable person can still present a logically sound argument
- Assessing credibility is useful in everyday trust, but philosophical truth depends strictly on the claims and their structural connection
- Thought experiments deliberately eliminate real-world escape hatches like calling for help or braking
- Removing messy practical nuances isolates a single moral variable so you can examine it directly
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 Like a Philosopher 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 someone presents an argument, what is the conclusion?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
How to learn Thinking Like a Philosopher, step by step
Go in order. 12 short levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Interrogating Everyday Claims
- Spotting the Hidden Bones of an Argument
- Stress-Testing Beliefs with Thought Experiments
- 2
Navigating Dilemmas and Truth
- Choosing a Framework for Hard Decisions
- Testing What You Actually Know
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Thinking Like a Philosopher
How do I learn Thinking Like a Philosopher?
Go in order: start with Interrogating Everyday Claims, then Navigating Dilemmas and Truth. On Tomo that's 12 short levels, about 24 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Thinking Like a Philosopher?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Thinking Like a Philosopher is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Thinking Like a Philosopher course free?
Yes. Thinking Like a Philosopher is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Thinking Like a Philosopher?
12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Thinking Like a Philosopher?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Thinking Like a Philosopher is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. 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 Like a Philosopher today.
Download Tomo, search Thinking Like a Philosopher, and play your first lesson in under a minute.