Introduction to Philosophy

In Introduction to Philosophy, a nine-hour course, Dr. Bonevac guides us through the major traditions of Western philosophy in eight engaging lectures on ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology. We explore three key ethical frameworks—virtue ethics, deontology, and consequentialism—before tackling fundamental questions about reality, from realism to idealism. The course then examines theories of knowledge, weighing skepticism’s doubt, rationalism’s innate ideas, and empiricism’s reliance on experience. Finally, we consider how these philosophical traditions continue to shape debates about morality, reality, and human understanding today.

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Created By	Dr. Daniel Bonevac
Status	Ended
Original Name	Introduction to Philosophy
First Air Date	January 16, 2026
Last Air Date	January 16, 2026
Seasons	1
Episodes	1
Episode Runtime	0min
Language	English
Original Language	English
Production Countries	—
Production Companies	Peterson Academy
Networks

S01E08

On Idealism

In lecture eight, Dr. Bonevac delves into idealism, the philosophical view that everything is mind-dependent, contrasting it with realism which holds that some things exist independently of the mind. We explore how Kant's transcendental idealism distinguishes between phenomena and noumena, examining how this perspective influenced later thinkers like Hegel, who rejected the notion of unknowable things-in-themselves. The lecture concludes by considering pragmatism's response to idealism, Nietzsche's radical relativism, and Russell's realist objection that idealism cannot explain why different minds share similar experiences of the world.

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