Tools of Philosophical Thinking
Learn to dissect complex arguments, unearth hidden assumptions, and test moral dilemmas using the core toolset of philosophy.
Like Duolingo, but for Tools of Philosophical Thinking. 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 Dissecting Everyday Claims and Testing Values and Knowledge. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Tools of Philosophical Thinking
- In everyday speech, an argument means a heated verbal fight, but in philosophy it means supporting reasons offered for a claim
- An argument must contain at least one premise meant to lead logically to a conclusion
- Expressing strong feelings or stating an opinion without reasons is just an assertion, not an argument
- Validity only describes whether the conclusion would follow if the premises were true
- An argument can have nonsensical or false premises (like 'all dogs are reptiles') and still possess flawless logical structure
- Philosophers distinguish between validity (the structural link) and soundness (valid structure plus true facts)
- Liking a conclusion makes people assume the steps used to reach it are sound
- A true or agreeable conclusion can easily be attached to broken, illogical premises
- Philosophical thinking requires evaluating whether the premises genuinely guarantee the claim, independent of your personal feelings
- Rebuilding an argument into numbered steps separates each supporting reason from the final claim
- General principles or supporting observations come first as premises
- Charity requires interpreting an opponent's point in the strongest, most rational form possible before critiquing it
- Attacking an obvious phrasing slip or a silly interpretation defeats a straw man rather than the real idea
- The conclusion goes last because it is the claim that depends on all preceding steps
- Defeating the best possible version of a claim is the only way to genuinely test whether it holds up
- Arguments often skip stating the underlying moral rule that bridges fact to 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 Tools of Philosophical Thinking 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.
Imagine two neighbors shouting across a fence. In everyday life, we call that an argument, but what does a philosopher mean by the word?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
Where Tools of Philosophical Thinking takes you
- 1
Dissecting Everyday Claims
- Testing an Argument's Skeleton
- Uncovering Hidden Premises and Trapdoors
- 2
Testing Values and Knowledge
- Running Ethical Thought Experiments
- Questioning What Counts as Knowledge
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Tools of Philosophical Thinking is taught in the The Storyteller style: every lesson is a story. 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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