World Philosophies: From Ancient Times to Today

A fair, global tour of the big questions: Socrates and Plato, Confucius and the Daoists, the Upanishads and the Buddha, Stoics, Ibn Sina and Aquinas, Zera Yacob and Ubuntu, Descartes, Kant and Anton Wilhelm Amo, Hobbes to Rawls, Fanon, and the ethics of AI.

• Free
• Beginner-friendly
• 4 weeks · ~4 hrs/week
• 12 lessons
• ~3 hours
• Certificate on passing the project

Free account required to open the lessons. No card, no fees.

About this course

Philosophy did not begin or end in Europe. This course is a fair, plain-English tour of how people across the world have reasoned about what exists, what we can know, how to live and how to live together. You start with Socrates and the habit of questioning, then meet Plato and Aristotle; Confucius, Laozi and Zhuangzi in China; the Upanishads, the Buddha, Jain thinkers and the great Indian schools; the Stoics and Epicureans (and why Stoicism is everywhere online); Augustine, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, Maimonides and Aquinas on faith and reason; African philosophy from the Ethiopian Hatata to Kwasi Wiredu, Kwame Gyekye, Ifeanyi Menkiti and Ubuntu; Descartes and the rationalists; Locke, Hume, Kant and the Ghanaian-born Enlightenment philosopher Anton Wilhelm Amo; Hobbes, Rousseau, Mill, Marx and Rawls on power and justice; and the twentieth century from existentialism and Frantz Fanon to analytic philosophy. Every lesson explains the thinkers and their world, sets out the core ideas in plain words, gives you one argument to test for yourself, and asks why it matters in Nigeria today. Contested points are marked as contested, blind spots are named openly, and no culture is ranked above another. You finish by applying the whole toolkit to the ethics of AI and by writing a philosophical essay on a real Nigerian question. For the philosophy produced in Nigeria itself, take our Nigerian Philosophy course alongside this one.

Chinedu is twenty-four and works in a phone shop on Computer Village in Ikeja. On Sunday his uncle tells the family that a good person never questions an elder. On Monday a customer forwards him a voice note claiming a new law will seize every phone bought without a receipt. By Wednesday a friend is asking him to join a scheme that promises to double ₦50,000 in a month. Three people, three confident claims, and each one wants him to act. Chinedu has no time for theory. But he does have a question that keeps coming back: how do I tell what deserves my belief? That question is where philosophy starts, and about 2,400 years ago a stonemason's son in Athens made a whole life out of asking it.

What you'll learn

• Reconstructing an argument as numbered premises and a conclusion
• Testing premises with counterexamples, in the Socratic way
• Comparing Greek, Chinese, Indian, Islamic, Jewish, Christian, African and modern European traditions fairly
• Virtue ethics, Kantian duty, utilitarian harm and social contract reasoning
• Communitarian and Ubuntu approaches to the person and the community
• Telling facts from values, and spotting common fallacies
• Naming a thinker's blind spots without dismissing their arguments
• Applying philosophical tools to AI, data and public policy in Nigeria
• Writing a philosophical essay with a strongest-objection-and-reply section

Course syllabus — 12 lessons

1. What philosophy is: Socrates and the examined life15 min
2. Plato and Aristotle: the cave, the forms and the good life16 min
3. China: Confucius, the Daoists and the art of a good society16 min
4. India: the Upanishads, the Buddha and the great schools17 min
5. Living well: the Stoics, the Epicureans and the online Stoicism boom16 min
6. Faith and reason: Augustine, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, Maimonides and Aquinas17 min
7. African philosophy: Zera Yacob, Akan thought, Ubuntu and the person in community17 min
8. Descartes and the rationalists: doubt, certainty and the mind16 min
9. Empiricism and Enlightenment: Locke, Hume, Kant and Anton Wilhelm Amo18 min
10. Power and justice: Hobbes, Rousseau, Mill, Marx and Rawls18 min
11. The twentieth century: existentialism, Fanon and analytic philosophy17 min
12. Philosophy for today: the ethics of AI, arguing well and asking your own questions18 min

Frequently asked questions

Is World Philosophies: From Ancient Times to Today free?

Yes. World Philosophies: From Ancient Times to Today is completely free on Skillnaija. You need a free account to open the lessons, and there is no charge for the course, the project, or the certificate.

How long does World Philosophies: From Ancient Times to Today take to complete?

4 weeks · ~4 hrs/week. There are 12 lessons, about 3 hours of material in total. You learn at your own pace and your progress is saved.

Do I need any experience to start World Philosophies: From Ancient Times to Today?

Beginner-friendly. You can start from scratch — no prior experience is assumed.

What will I learn in World Philosophies: From Ancient Times to Today?

You will build practical skills in Reconstructing an argument as numbered premises and a conclusion, Testing premises with counterexamples, in the Socratic way, Comparing Greek, Chinese, Indian, Islamic, Jewish, Christian, African and modern European traditions fairly, Virtue ethics, Kantian duty, utilitarian harm and social contract reasoning, Communitarian and Ubuntu approaches to the person and the community, Telling facts from values, and spotting common fallacies, Naming a thinker's blind spots without dismissing their arguments, Applying philosophical tools to AI, data and public policy in Nigeria, Writing a philosophical essay with a strongest-objection-and-reply section. Every lesson is written for a Nigerian context, with examples drawn from how the work is actually done and paid for here.

Do I get a certificate for World Philosophies: From Ancient Times to Today?

Yes, but it has to be earned. You complete the course project — Your Philosophical Essay on a Nigerian Question and submit it for grading. Passing the project issues a verifiable certificate; finishing the lessons alone does not.

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