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.
95 levels across 8 sections, about 190 minutes end to end, roughly 38 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Living the Examined Life; The Architecture of Reality; How We Know What We Know; The Self and Existence; Logic and Language; Power, Society, and Justice; The Frontiers of Philosophy; and The Deep Foundations. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
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.
You pick the voice
The Big Ideas of 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.
More Philosophy on Tomo
The Architect of Thought: Advanced Philosophical Mastery
Master the dialectics of human existence from the nuances of Stoic endurance to the complexities of Meta-Ethics. This course equips you with the rigorous logic and historical context required to navigate the world's most profound intellectual debates.
The Architecture of Reason
Move beyond the popular schools of life-philosophy into the rigorous world of analytic metaphysics, social epistemology, and the deep structures of language and logic.
Philosophy for Everyday Life
Learn to think more clearly, argue more effectively, and explore the big questions about how to live a meaningful life.
The Great Conversation: A Map of Western Philosophy
Trace the evolution of human thought by connecting the world's most influential thinkers and the movements they sparked. Move beyond isolated facts to see how ideas argue across centuries.
Reason, Logic, and Freedom
Bridge the gap between abstract duty, logical precision, and existential choice. Explore how Kant, Russell, and Beauvoir redefined what it means to think clearly and live authentically.
The Philosopher's Toolkit
Move beyond basic definitions to master the mechanics of logic, the nuances of ethical decision-making, and the structures of human knowledge.
Start The Big Ideas of Philosophy today.
Download Tomo, search The Big Ideas of Philosophy, and play your first lesson in under a minute.