Explore Philosophy, Religion & Belief
From the meaning of life to moral dilemmas: explore the questions philosophers and thinkers have pondered for centuries. Our daytime, evening and weekend courses cover a wide range of subjects. Join a class to encounter ethics and existentialism, memory and the mind, or discover the paradoxes and politics of the modern world.
Expert tutors
Our classes are taught by experienced, professional tutors with a wide range of specialisms in philosophy, from ethics to political philosophy, and from Eastern philosophies to psychoanalysis to name just a few. Many of our tutors also teach at London universities and bring their expertise from other academic disciplines, for example art, literature and politics. Please refer to specific course outlines for individual tutor biographies.
Studying at City Lit
Philosophy courses are offered in a range of formats and lengths - from a single day to a twelve-week course, during the day, in the evening and at weekends. Courses can be studied singly or in combination with other courses as your interests and learning develop in new directions. A number of our past philosophy students have gone on to study philosophy at university at degree and masters level.
Find a course
Browse our range of philosophy courses in London and online below to choose your perfect option: both complete beginners and returning students are equally welcome at City Lit.
- Philosophy of religionCourse start date: Sat 10 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Edgar Ter-DanielyanPhilosophy of religion is where philosophical methods meet far-reaching religious doctrines. Join this introductory course to explore some of the big questions that go to the very essence of what it means to be human.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Being and beauty: the philosophy of Japanese aestheticsCourse start date: Thu 15 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John GoffNot something apart from everyday life but intrinsic to it, beauty in Japanese thought does not entail perfection but the surprise of imperfect and transient being.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £45.00 - Satan and the Devil: a cultural eye view through texts, images and traditionsCourse start date: Sat 17 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ann JeffersThe figure of Satan/devil has pervaded many centuries of the cultural imagination of the Western world. The course will examine the literary and iconographic sources for this enduring phenomena and will ask why ideas about the devil have continued to both frighten and fascinate and why its long-lasting association with sexuality and deceit continues to make it an attractive theme in contemporary culture.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Philosophy of love
Course start date: Sat 24 Jun 2023Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Louis TsangTo love and to be loved is an integral part of life. But how much do we understand the underlying meaning and problems of love? Studying the philosophy of love can not only help us make sense of love; it can help us make sense of life too.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - The Socratic philosophers: AristotleCourse start date: Mon 3 Jul 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: John GoffAristotle developed a naturalistic understanding of the human condition which informed his political and ethical thinking. His philosophy remains highly relevant to contemporary debates about what is the best way to live.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00 - Philosophy of artCourse start date: Sat 8 Jul 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Christopher HornerWhy do we value art? For the pleasure it gives us, the emotion it expresses, its truthfulness, its form? In this introduction to the philosophy of art we will consider various approaches to these questions and others.Full fee £59.00 - A short introduction to paradoxCourse start date: Sat 22 Jul 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Oliver JosiahA paradox is an apparently absurd conclusion derived from seemingly uncontroversial premises through supposedly
valid reasoning. This course will introduce you to four major philosophical paradoxes and some of the attempts to
solve them.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - A taste of philosophy Course start date: Sat 22 Jul 2023 (and 6 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John GoffHave you ever wondered what philosophy is? What do philosophers talk about? Can they tell you the meaning of life or is it just jargon and navel gazing? Come along and find out.Full fee £10.00 - Nietzche and the psycheCourse start date: Sat 29 Jul 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John GoffAs one of the most psychological philosophers, Nietzsche roots his understanding of the psyche in a critique of moralistic self-deception and an invocation of the vital, organic sources of self-surpassing creation ….Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - A first introduction to Marx and MarxismCourse start date: Sat 5 Aug 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Oliver JosiahThis course is intended as a first introduction to the philosophy of Karl Marx and later Marxists such as Vladimir Lenin, Eduard Bernstein, and Rosa Luxemburg.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Wittgenstein and the psycheCourse start date: Sat 12 Aug 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John Goff“Imagine that people had the custom of doodling while they spoke, why should what they produce in this way while talking be less interesting than accompanying processes in their minds, and why should the interest of these be of any different kind?” - Wittgenstein.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - An introduction to Indian comparative religionsCourse start date: Sat 12 Aug 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ketan VariaThe course is an introduction to Indian Religions. Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism all have common aspects, but also some fundamental differences in philosophy.Full fee £69.00 - Phenomenology: an introductionCourse start date: Mon 18 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John GoffPhenomenology, one of the most influential approaches in contemporary philosophy, asks: how do we constitute experienced reality? Following Husserl and Heidegger, phenomenologists try to understand what it means, if anything, to be in the world.Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £215.00 Concession £175.00 - Introduction to philosophy Course start date: Mon 18 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Oliver JosiahThis problem-based introduction to philosophy explores key themes of modern philosophy, including truth, knowledge, ultimate reality and the mind-body problem.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £269.00 Concession £175.00 - Introduction to moral philosophy
Course start date: Tue 19 Sep 2023Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ariel KernbergWhat’s the right thing to do? But what does ‘right’ actually mean? And what reason do I have to do it? Join us as we grapple with these fundamental questions. NB: No class on Tues 24th October.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £155.00
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