Philosophy Seminars
***Register Below***
Certificate of Completion is conferred upon meeting course requirements.
Philosophy is one of the greatest studies undertaken throughout human civilization. From Socrates, to Plato, to Hegel, to the modern day, philosophers throughout history have changed the way that we think, often without us realizing it. Join our philosophy workshops to learn about the history of thought and how to become the next great philosopher. Oftentimes, philosophy is perceived as out-of-touch with the concerns of day-to-day life, though when put in a digestible way, one will find the applicability of philosophy to their life as readily apparent.
Every seminar takes eight to ten weeks. Seminars begin the week following signing up.
Below are some Philosophy Seminar offerings. These seminars can be attended live or asynchronously
History of Philosophy (626 BCE to Present)
$449
This seminar offers a sweeping journey through the evolution of philosophical thought, tracing the development of key ideas that have shaped how we understand knowledge, reality, ethics, and existence itself. From the inquiries of the ancient Greeks to the critical revolutions of modern European thinkers, participants will explore major figures, schools, and movements across more than two millennia of intellectual history.
Topics will include the metaphysics of Plato and Aristotle, the moral philosophy of the Stoics, the theological synthesis of Augustine and Aquinas, the rationalism of Descartes, the empiricism of Hume, the idealism of Kant, and the existentialism of thinkers like Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. The seminar will also highlight non-Western perspectives where applicable, inviting comparison and cross-cultural insight.
Through a mix of short lectures, guided readings, and open discussion, students will not only gain a historical overview but also engage with enduring questions that remain central to human thought today.
Postmodern Thinkers
$449
This seminar explores the provocative and influential ideas of postmodern thinkers who challenged the foundations of modern thought. Emerging in the late 20th century, postmodernism questioned the authority of grand narratives, objective truth, fixed identities, and linear progress—reshaping philosophy, politics, literature, and cultural theory.
We will study major figures such as Michel Foucault, Jean-François Lyotard, Jacques Derrida, Judith Butler, Gilles Deleuze, and bell hooks, among others. Each session will focus on a central thinker or theme, including power and discourse, the deconstruction of language, gender performativity, and critiques of modern institutions.
Rather than surveying abstract theory alone, the seminar emphasizes how postmodern ideas engage real-world issues: how we construct meaning, how knowledge and power interact, how identity is shaped, and how truth itself becomes contested. Readings will include both theoretical texts and shorter, accessible excerpts to support deep but approachable engagement.
History of Modern Thought
$449
This seminar explores the dynamic evolution of modern philosophical thought from the 17th century to the present, examining how thinkers have redefined our understanding of knowledge, self, society, and reality in response to dramatic cultural, scientific, and political transformations.
Beginning with René Descartes’ radical method of doubt and the birth of modern rationalism, the course traces key developments through the Enlightenment, German Idealism, existentialism, structuralism, postmodernism, and contemporary analytic and continental traditions. We will study influential figures such as Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Foucault, and more recent voices.
Through close reading, discussion, and critical engagement, participants will explore how modern philosophers have addressed core questions about consciousness, freedom, ethics, political order, and the limits of reason. Emphasis will be placed on both historical context and philosophical argumentation, highlighting how modern thought continues to shape contemporary debates in philosophy, science, politics, and culture.
German Idealism
$449
This seminar offers an in-depth exploration of German Idealism, one of the most ambitious and transformative movements in the history of philosophy. Spanning from the late 18th to the early 19th century, German Idealism arose in response to the philosophical legacy of Kant and sought to rethink the nature of reality, self-consciousness, freedom, and the limits of human reason.
We will closely examine central texts and ideas from key thinkers, including Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Each philosopher will be studied in relation to core questions: How is the self constituted? What is the relationship between thought and being? Can reason ground freedom and moral responsibility? What is the role of history and culture in the development of consciousness?
Rather than treating these thinkers as isolated theorists, the seminar emphasizes their shared project: constructing a systematic, rational account of human experience that bridges metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and political theory. Readings will be accompanied by guided discussions, historical context, and connections to contemporary debates.
Philosophy in Literature
$449
This seminar investigates profound philosophical questions as they emerge from within great works of literature. Rather than treating philosophy and literature as separate disciplines, we will explore how novels, plays, and poems serve as powerful vehicles for philosophical reflection—asking about truth, identity, morality, freedom, love, justice, and the limits of language.
Readings will span genres, cultures, and centuries, featuring authors such as Sophocles, Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka, Toni Morrison, Albert Camus, Jorge Luis Borges, and Samuel Beckett. As we read, we will consider how narrative form, character, and voice can challenge abstract theory and offer unique access to human experience.
Discussions will center not on applying philosophy to literature, but on encountering philosophy within literature—treating literary works as serious, subtle participants in philosophical dialogue. Students will be encouraged to engage with texts both analytically and reflectively, developing their own interpretations of how literature thinks.
Political Philosophy
$449
This seminar explores the central questions of political philosophy through a close reading of foundational and provocative texts from antiquity to the present. What justifies the authority of the state? What does it mean to live in a just society? How should freedom, equality, and power be understood—and distributed? Are human beings naturally political, or made political by institutions?
Participants will engage with a wide range of thinkers and traditions, from Plato, Aristotle, and Hobbes to Rousseau, Marx, Mill, Arendt, Rawls, and contemporary voices such as Charles Mills, Hannah Arendt, and Angela Davis. Along the way, we’ll explore themes including justice and legitimacy, the social contract, democracy, civil disobedience, feminism, race and political exclusion, and the balance between liberty and security.
This is a discussion-driven seminar that invites students not just to interpret major political theories, but to question their assumptions, apply them to current issues, and think critically about what kind of political life is worth striving for.