About
Philosophy Belongs to Everyone
Philosophy for Independent Scholars is a free, self-directed path to the equivalent of a B.A. in philosophy, with an emphasis on Continental philosophy. It is built entirely from material that is already free online: recorded university lectures, open courses, podcasts, and readings.
Nothing here is ours. Every lecture belongs to the scholar who gave it and the institution that published it. This site's work is choosing, checking, and ordering, so you can spend your time reading and listening instead of searching.
How to Use It
Begin with Start Here. Then, as in an undergraduate major, choose: at least two courses each in ancient or medieval, modern, and contemporary philosophy (Phenomenology & Existentialism through Feminist Philosophy), plus two electives. Core resources are the strongest choices in each section.
The capstone asks you to write and share a philosophical essay of your own.
How Resources Are Chosen
Every resource has to be free and complete, hosted somewhere stable, and working. Then it is scored from 1 to 3 on five questions:
- Expertise
- The teacher specializes in this thinker or text.
- Depth
- It works through the primary text closely, not just a summary.
- Fit
- It suits the section's level and the Continental emphasis, and fills a gap.
- Usability
- Good audio and video, with a syllabus, readings, or transcripts.
- Reputation
- It appears in syllabi, open-course lists, and recommendations from people in the field.
Resources scoring 11 or more out of 15 go in the core sequence; 8 to 10 become electives.
Roadmap
What has been built so far, and what is coming.
Done
- The curriculum: 106 free resources in eleven sections, each one checked and scored
- Free readings for most resources: public-domain texts and encyclopedia entries
- Search, and a switch to show core resources only
- Sample Paths: four imagined students and the courses they chose
- My Path: choose your own courses, track your progress, and see how long it will take
- Time estimates for every resource
- Reading Group Kit
- Mentoring, one-on-one and for groups
Next
- Discussion questions for core resources, for solo study and reading groups
- Student Essays: a showcase of finished capstones
- A newsletter for new resources and live events
- Regular checks for broken links
Later
- A map of who read whom, from Hegel to Beauvoir and Husserl to Derrida
- A glossary of key terms
- More medieval philosophy and more philosophy beyond Europe
- Cohorts and community spaces
Have an idea for what should come next? Get in touch.
About the Creator of This Site
Mona Mona holds a PhD in Philosophy from Stony Brook University (a top program in Continental Philosophy). They have taught philosophy and gender studies at Grinnell College and UC Berkeley, published in Hypatia, Radical Philosophy, Philosophy Today, and Epoché, and spent nearly a decade working in tech as a full-stack developer.
In 2006 Mona Mona founded thinkPhilosophy, organizing philosophy salons in San Francisco and one of the first philosophy podcasts, building some of the earliest public philosophy infrastructure online. Philosophy Publics continues that project — with better tools, a clearer sense of the audience, and considerably more urgency.
Find more of Mona Mona’s work at:
Contact Us
Feature requests or questions about the curriculum, a broken link, or a free lecture series that belongs here? Suggestions are checked out and added when they fit.