What Others Say

about

  • I did the untutored version of the course because I didn\\'t want to keep up with a prescribed schedule. At the rate of one per week that would have been too fast for me to enjoy. It actually took me 19 weeks to complete. The temptation with an untutored course is just to read it, rather than doing the exercises, so I\\'m glad I resisted temptation on this occasion. I wrote full answers to all the Activities, followed up the links, and enjoyed formalising my own philosophy. It has been good to realise I actually do have a philosophy, one which satisfies me! I fully intend to do more courses in the same way, i.e. untutored. If I feel the need, I could always repeat them on a tutored basis later. I liked the way the material was presented, particularly the even-handed tone where conflicting views were explained. Also liked the freedom to work at my own pace so there was no external pressure. (I\\'m in the process of enrolling for the Left, Right or Centre, Introduction to Politics course, and may well follow that with a couple of other courses. So, many thanks to your organisation for making them available. By the way, I\\'m a 63 year old woman, living in England. I belong to our local U3A and have become a keen table tennis player with them, plus doing German conversation classes and drama. Not really enough days in the week for everything I want to do!)

  • I found the course very interesting and I now look at issues differently. Living 70 kilometres from the closest largest town and being able to do this course on line has been great for me. I will be doing other courses this way.

  • I found this an excellent course, thanks to the well-written, informative and appealing content, and Alistair’s engaging and motivating comments. But I thought that 8 weeks is a bit short; there’s so much more history to cover and many more more dilemmas to discuss. I would very much like to follow a similar course on ‘Eastern Philosophy’. And what about starting a "Philosopher’s Forum" on the U3A Online Members Discussion Board? Now, that would be great!

  • As the title of the course indicates, it is only an ‘introduction’ to Western philosophy - a very light brushstroke across a vary large subject. However, the course is well-written and provides enough links and ideas to allow students to investigate as much or as little as they choose. Having a course leader adds an extra dimension to the course and Alistair Pringle provided excellent explanations and insight into the issues raised throughout the course. I thoroughly recommend the course.

  • Yes, I found out what Philosophy was all about. I sometimes found it difficult to keep up as I did not realise how much time and effort the wet season takes up in order to deal with all of its problems. I gained a great deal from the course. I have found my self thinking and applying some of the ideas to my TV watching and reading. I found myself watching Survivors a UK program about a group of people who survived a pandemic and I kept thinking about whether the actions of some of the characters were ethical in the circumstances in which they found themselves.

  • I enjoyed Alistair’s notes before each unit and also his summing up at the end of each unit, it certainly helped me with my directions.

  • My thanks to Alistair who led with gentleness and wisdom. He managed to prod us gently whenever we became bogged down in dogma or too enamoured of our own opinions. I am more introspective as a result.

  • It lived up to it’s promise of being introduction... so much so, that I look forward to studying further in this field.

  • Yes, it did exactly what it said - it gave me a good overview of the main thinkers who influenced Western philosophy as well as stimulating me to think deeply, compare and clarify my own philosophy. For me this was a very positive experience.

  • I am glad that I have partaken in this course. It has opened several doors to me; made me acquainted with the development of the Western culture; helped me to clarify the way I think and react, and has given me an incentive to explore more about different philosophers and their theories.

  • Overall a good course. Topic information excellent and tutor support first class. I achieved my objective to obtain some understanding and direction for future study.

  • I was looking for a course that would reacquaint with a topic I studied some 40 years ago, a structured course with suggested reading guide. I have found the course excellent, very flexible, have been able to do it in my own time, as it suited me.

  • Thanks for providing an excellent course in such a "digestable" manner. It’s prompted me to do another U3A Online course.

  • The course covered what I imagine are the main themes and theorists. Clearly written. Concise explanations of some complicated issues. Helped me clarify my own personal philosophy.

  • I enjoyed the course immensely and found at the conclusion I really missed the stimulation engendered in having to discipline myself to get the reading and thinking done in a time frame. And I have missed the opportunity to discuss thoughts and express ideas. So often we get into a rut of talking about mundane things in retirement - this was a new lease on life.

  • At commencement of the course I had only a limited understanding of the subject and after working through the eight units with guidance of the Course Leader and input from other participants, I learned many ideas and principals new to me.

  • Many thanks Alistair for your input, warmth, sense of humour and generosity of spirit...I have enjoyed the course immensely and look forward to returning next year to take up some further learning...probably in course on Religions. May life continue to be an inspiration to you and you to others.

  • I just want to say thank you for leading us with your gentle prodding and erudite posts throughout the course. I have been one of the less communicative but I have been following the debates with great interest. I have often wished I had had more time to read all the links suggested but will get to some of them later. Meanwhile the course has been just what I hoped it would be and I feel much more informed than before and ready to pursue areas of interest to me. Incidentally, I have just been away camping in the bush with my family a long way from any other humans or their influences and I realised it is in places like that, with a desert sky stretching for ever above you and things natural all around you, that I can really appreciate my place in this universe and the things that are important to me. I find the city leaves me jangled without time to discuss the big things or just to sit and contemplate. Anyway, with recharged batteries, I will finish the course in my own time!

  • I can not leave this course without expressing my appreciation to Alistair Pringle who’s ability to steer our group through many discussion points and at all times keeping the debates on course. It furthermore is a credit to the group as a whole to have kept debate to a high standard and when disagreements occurred they were gracefully acknowledged and respected. Thank you Anneke, Marion, Trevor for giving me such challenging posers at times. All I can say I have learnt a lot about things philosophical. Lots of encouragement to now follow up on many leads and hopefully gain more wisdom.

  • I felt the course gave a clear overview of the influence of the philosophy underpinning the development of the Western world to the present day. This introduction has provided me the motivation to follow up on a wider study of the subject.

  • I deliberately chose an untutored course and not to enter into any discussions. I talked about the issues with family and friends, being able to study at my own pace was particularly helpful. The Internet links were easy to use and gave me as much depth and breadth as I wished to follow. Thanks.

  • It gave what it said "an introduction." It gave more. The links have set me on a trail that now continues and will involve more reading.

  • I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Its logical structure enabled us to progress through the salient periods of thought, and challenged us to question our own beliefs with reason rather than opinions. It has renewed my interest in philosophy and I intend to pursue those topics that titillated me.

  • The course has certainly met my objectives and I have enjoyed the course tremendously. The tutor was unbiased and appeared to have good knowledge on the subject.

  • Now that I've been through the Unit 8: Philosophy of Religion and gained much from it feel I must put a note on the Discussion Board. This note is to thank you for handling such an incredibly difficult topic with such consummate skill, succinctness and clarity. Had lots of thoughts provoked, fresh insights illumined and prejudices challenged all without provocation and for this student at least, hold that this is a brilliant result. By-the-by: because of all the good feelings your writing / course design / pedagogy has inspired, will be signing up for another U3A course!

  • The reason I joined the U3A was to increase my knowledge and to see if I wanted to tackle a degree in Philosophy. I found the subject I was interested in and an excellent course leader who opened my mind even further. Through the U3A and Dr. Alistar Pringle I am now confident to tackle a degree. Roger Mika

  • The introduction to philosophy online course is really brilliant! How about a level 2 course or perhaps an introduction to eastern philosophy? Well done to everyone involved in the course.

  • I found this course an excellent introduction to philosophy. The design of the course encouraged one not only to read, but to think. The activities, particularly contributing to the General Forum, ensured that one became deeply involved in the course.

  • One had to undertake an awful lot of reading in a week, even at an introductory level, to undertake a unit activity and make posts to the General Forum. I thought I might do better if I had two weeks for each unit. I was most impressed with the tutor’s introduction to the units, his thoughtful attention to, and comments made on the posts; and the encouragement he gave. The course has been most worthwhile and I shall miss it.