Course Four · The Complete Micro-Course

Philosophy, twenty seconds
at a time.

The entire introductory philosophy canon, rebuilt as 210 numbered videos — each one a single idea, each idea traced to the philosopher and the primary text that made it. Start at the beginning, or start anywhere and follow the numbers back.

210 lessons · 189 atoms · 9 procedures · 12 capstones0 of 210 live

How the course works

Every idea has a number. Every number knows what comes before it.

Most students don’t fail philosophy — they fall behind it, one missed prerequisite at a time, until an objection assumes an argument you never quite locked down. This course is built so the way back is always visible. When something doesn’t click, you don’t rewatch a lecture. You follow the number back.

Three kinds of video: atoms (one thinker, argument, or distinction, about twenty seconds), procedures (one method or technique, shown step by step), and capstones (one worked synthesis that combines what came before). Every claim is checked against the primary texts and standard commentaries — and the full source list is published for anyone to inspect.

The whole map

All 210 videos, in order.

New videos post daily until the course is complete. Live ones link straight to the short; the rest are on their way.

Unit 1

What Philosophy Is & How Arguments Work

0001 What Philosophy Is Atom Soon
0002 The Branches of Philosophy Atom Soon
0003 Philosophical vs. Empirical Questions Atom Soon
0004 Socrates and the Examined Life Atom Soon
0005 The Socratic Method Atom Soon
0006 What an Argument Is Atom Soon
0007 Thought Experiments Atom Soon
0010 Philosophy's Multiple Origins Atom Soon
0011 Confucius and the Junzi Atom Soon
0012 Daoism and Wu Wei Atom Soon
0013 Mozi and Impartial Care Atom Soon
0014 The Upanishads: Atman and Brahman Atom Soon
0015 Buddhist Philosophy: No-Self Atom Soon
0016 Ubuntu and Relational Personhood Atom Soon
0018 Deductive and Inductive Arguments Atom Soon
0019 Validity Atom Soon
0020 The Validity–Truth Confusion Atom Soon
0021 Soundness Atom Soon
0022 Strong and Weak Induction Atom Soon
0023 Cogency Atom Soon
0024 The Principle of Charity Atom Soon
0025 The Straw Man Atom Soon
0026 Counterexamples Atom Soon
0027 Necessary and Sufficient Conditions Atom Soon
0028 Confirmation Bias Atom Soon
0029 Premise and Conclusion Indicators Atom Soon
0030 Missing Premises Atom Soon
0034 Reconstructing an Argument Procedure Soon
Unit 2

Epistemology

0045 Propositional Knowledge Atom Soon
0046 The Justified True Belief Analysis Atom Soon
0047 The Gettier Problem Atom Soon
0048 Repairing the Analysis Atom Soon
0050 The Correspondence Theory of Truth Atom Soon
0051 The Coherence Theory of Truth Atom Soon
0052 The Pragmatic Theory of Truth Atom Soon
0055 Philosophical Skepticism Atom Soon
0056 Descartes' Method of Doubt Atom Soon
0057 The Dream Argument Atom Soon
0058 The Evil Demon Atom Soon
0059 The Cogito Atom Soon
0060 The Brain in a Vat Atom Soon
0061 Moore's Two Hands Atom Soon
0065 A Priori and A Posteriori Atom Soon
0066 Rationalism Atom Soon
0067 Empiricism Atom Soon
0068 Locke's Blank Slate Atom Soon
0069 The Argument from Illusion Atom Soon
0070 Testimony Atom Soon
0071 Memory as a Source Atom Soon
0075 The Regress Problem Atom Soon
0076 Foundationalism Atom Soon
0077 Coherentism Atom Soon
0078 Internalism and Externalism Atom Soon
0079 Reliabilism Atom Soon
0082 The Problem of Induction Atom Soon
0083 Defending Induction with Induction Atom Soon
0085 Fallibilism Atom Soon
0090 Auditing a Knowledge Claim Procedure Soon
0091 Reconstructing the Dream Argument Procedure Soon
Unit 3

Philosophy of Religion

0100 The Concept of God Atom Soon
0101 Theism, Atheism, Agnosticism Atom Soon
0102 Natural Theology Atom Soon
0103 The Paradox of the Stone Atom Soon
0105 The First-Cause Argument Atom Soon
0106 What Caused God? Atom Soon
0107 The Kalam Argument Atom Soon
0108 The Argument from Contingency Atom Soon
0110 The Design Argument Atom Soon
0111 Hume's Critique of Design Atom Soon
0112 Design Without a Designer Atom Soon
0113 The Fine-Tuning Argument Atom Soon
0114 The Anthropic Response Atom Soon
0116 Anselm's Ontological Argument Atom Soon
0117 Gaunilo's Island Atom Soon
0118 Existence Is Not a Predicate Atom Soon
0120 The Logical Problem of Evil Atom Soon
0121 The Free Will Defense Atom Soon
0122 The Evidential Problem of Evil Atom Soon
0123 The Soul-Making Theodicy Atom Soon
0128 Pascal's Wager Atom Soon
0129 The Many-Gods Objection Atom Soon
0130 Clifford's Evidentialism Atom Soon
0131 James's Will to Believe Atom Soon
0132 Fideism Atom Soon
0134 The Argument from Religious Experience Atom Soon
0135 The Diversity Objection Atom Soon
0138 Testing a Theodicy Procedure Soon
Unit 4

Metaphysics I: Free Will

0145 The Problem of Free Will Atom Soon
0146 Determinism Atom Soon
0147 The Fatalism Confusion Atom Soon
0148 Indeterminism Atom Soon
0150 Incompatibilism Atom Soon
0151 The Consequence Argument Atom Soon
0152 Hard Determinism Atom Soon
0153 Libertarianism (Metaphysical) Atom Soon
0154 The Randomness Objection Atom Soon
0155 Agent Causation Atom Soon
0158 Compatibilism Atom Soon
0159 Classical Compatibilism Atom Soon
0160 The Manipulation Objection Atom Soon
0161 Hierarchical Freedom Atom Soon
0165 Responsibility Requires Control Atom Soon
0166 The Principle of Alternative Possibilities Atom Soon
0167 Frankfurt Cases Atom Soon
0168 Reactive Attitudes Atom Soon
0169 Free Will Skepticism Atom Soon
0170 Neuroscience and the Libet Experiments Atom Soon
0175 Classifying a Free-Will Position Procedure Soon
Unit 5

Metaphysics II: Personal Identity

0185 The Question of Personal Identity Atom Soon
0186 What Hangs on the Answer Atom Soon
0187 Numerical and Qualitative Identity Atom Soon
0188 The Ship of Theseus Atom Soon
0190 The Soul Theory Atom Soon
0191 The Verification Objection Atom Soon
0192 The Body Theory Atom Soon
0193 The Prince and the Cobbler Atom Soon
0194 The Brain Criterion Atom Soon
0196 Locke's Memory Theory Atom Soon
0197 The Brave Officer Objection Atom Soon
0198 Psychological Continuity Atom Soon
0199 The Duplication Problem Atom Soon
0200 Identity Is Not What Matters Atom Soon
0201 The Narrative Self Atom Soon
0203 Hume's Bundle Theory Atom Soon
0204 The Bundle and Anatta Atom Soon
0208 Testing a Theory of Identity Procedure Soon
Unit 6

Philosophy of Mind

0220 The Mind-Body Problem Atom Soon
0221 Intentionality Atom Soon
0222 Qualia Atom Soon
0225 Substance Dualism Atom Soon
0226 The Interaction Problem Atom Soon
0227 Property Dualism Atom Soon
0228 Epiphenomenalism Atom Soon
0230 Physicalism Atom Soon
0231 Behaviorism Atom Soon
0232 The Perfect Actor Objection Atom Soon
0233 The Identity Theory Atom Soon
0234 The Multiple Realizability Objection Atom Soon
0235 Functionalism Atom Soon
0236 The Chinese Room Atom Soon
0240 What Is It Like to Be a Bat? Atom Soon
0241 The Knowledge Argument Atom Soon
0242 The Ability Reply Atom Soon
0243 The Hard Problem Atom Soon
0248 The Problem of Other Minds Atom Soon
0249 The Argument from Analogy Atom Soon
0250 The Turing Test Atom Soon
0255 Diagnosing a Mind-Body Position Procedure Soon
Unit 7

Ethics (Survey)

0265 Normative and Descriptive Claims Atom Soon
0266 The Is-Ought Gap Atom Soon
0267 Cultural Relativism Atom Soon
0268 The Reformer's Dilemma Atom Soon
0269 Simple Subjectivism Atom Soon
0270 The Disagreement Problem Atom Soon
0271 Divine Command Theory Atom Soon
0272 The Euthyphro Dilemma Atom Soon
0275 Psychological Egoism Atom Soon
0276 The Redescription Objection Atom Soon
0277 Ethical Egoism Atom Soon
0280 Utilitarianism Atom Soon
0281 The Injustice Objection Atom Soon
0282 Higher and Lower Pleasures Atom Soon
0283 Rule Utilitarianism Atom Soon
0284 The Demandingness Objection Atom Soon
0288 The Good Will Atom Soon
0289 Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives Atom Soon
0290 The Formula of Universal Law Atom Soon
0291 The Inquiring Murderer Atom Soon
0292 The Formula of Humanity Atom Soon
0295 Virtue Ethics Atom Soon
0296 The Guidance Objection Atom Soon
0297 Eudaimonia Atom Soon
0298 The Golden Mean Atom Soon
0299 Aristotle and Confucius Atom Soon
0302 The Ethics of Care Atom Soon
0308 Running a Case Through Three Theories Procedure Soon
Unit 8

Political Philosophy

0320 Political Legitimacy Atom Soon
0321 The State of Nature Atom Soon
0322 Hobbes's State of Nature Atom Soon
0323 Locke's State of Nature Atom Soon
0324 Rousseau and the General Will Atom Soon
0325 The Social Contract Atom Soon
0326 The Consent Problem Atom Soon
0327 Tacit Consent Atom Soon
0330 Negative and Positive Liberty Atom Soon
0331 The Harm Principle Atom Soon
0332 Paternalism Atom Soon
0336 Distributive Justice Atom Soon
0337 The Veil of Ignorance Atom Soon
0338 The Difference Principle Atom Soon
0339 Nozick's Entitlement Theory Atom Soon
0340 The Wilt Chamberlain Argument Atom Soon
0341 The Capability Approach Atom Soon
0345 Civil Disobedience Atom Soon
0346 Just and Unjust Laws Atom Soon
0347 Governing by Virtue Atom Soon
0348 Philosophical Anarchism Atom Soon
0352 Auditing a Distribution Procedure Soon
Unit 9

Capstones

0365 The Euthyphro Thread Capstone Soon
0366 Descartes, Start to Finish Capstone Soon
0367 Hume's Campaign Capstone Soon
0368 The Evil Debate, Mapped Capstone Soon
0369 What Survives Skepticism Capstone Soon
0370 The Self Under Fire Capstone Soon
0371 Free Will in the Courtroom Capstone Soon
0372 Minds, Machines, and the Test Capstone Soon
0373 One Dilemma, Every Lens Capstone Soon
0374 Building a State on Paper Capstone Soon
0375 The Good Life, Four Ways Capstone Soon
0376 The Toolkit, In Review Capstone Soon

The receipts

Check my work.

Behind the course sits a reference document in which every position, argument, and objection is traced to its source — the primary texts (Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Mill, and the rest) and the standard commentaries where interpretation matters. Where scholars genuinely disagree about what a philosopher meant, the video says so in a clause and moves on. I taught Introduction to Philosophy for six years as an adjunct professor — and the receipts are still right there to catch me with. I’d rather be corrected than comfortable.

Spot an error? Tell me the video number and the claim — corrections get made in the open.

Follow along

New videos daily.

The course releases in order on YouTube — one idea at a time until all 210 are live. Subscribe to catch each one, or leave your email for an occasional note when a course finishes.