The Basics of Philosophy | Learn Philosophy Online

From the magazine

Some people dread every birthday after 60 while others seem to soften into it, and the difference often comes down to letting go of these 8 beliefs

Cicero listed the reasons people dread old age more than 2,000 years ago. Many of the same beliefs still shape how birthdays after 60 feel, and they can be set down.

By Philosophy Basics Editorial Team · November 11, 2026

Explore the library

Plain-English guides to the philosophers, ideas and movements that shaped how we think.

Browse everything →

By branch

Ethics Metaphysics Epistemology Logic Political philosophy Aesthetics

By period

Ancient Medieval Modern Eastern philosophy African philosophy

Philosophers A–Z

A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P Q R S T V W Z

From the magazine

Ideas from philosophy at work in real lives, studies and decisions.

See all magazine articles →

The Good Life →

People who still write things down on paper instead of their phone aren’t being old-fashioned, they’re often protecting their attention, their memory and the one part of the day no notification can interrupt

Situations in life where a mentally strong person will walk away without saying anything

Human Nature →

The strange pride we take in being busy

Psychology says the dad who says “drive safe” every single time you leave isn’t just repeating himself. It’s often the closest he’s ever come to saying “I love you” out loud

Lives & Ideas →

Who gets to say a poem is good? Hume's answer in 1757 was the practised reader, the one who compares widely and sets prejudice aside, and he reached it from the premise that beauty exists only in the mind that contemplates it.

In 1859, Abraham Lincoln told a crowd of Wisconsin farmers about an Eastern king who asked his wise men for one sentence that would always be true. They gave him: "And this, too, shall pass away."

In Their Words →

Thought of the day by Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius: "The best way of avenging yourself is not to become like the wrongdoer."

Thought of the day from Stoic philosopher Seneca: “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it”

New to philosophy? Start here.

A short, guided way into the big questions and the people who asked them.

Philosophy Basics

Some people dread every birthday after 60 while others seem to soften into it, and the difference often comes down to letting go of these 8 beliefs

Explore the library

By branch

By period

Philosophers A–Z

Most read in the library

From the magazine

People who still write things down on paper instead of their phone aren’t being old-fashioned, they’re often protecting their attention, their memory and the one part of the day no notification can interrupt

The strange pride we take in being busy

Who gets to say a poem is good? Hume's answer in 1757 was the practised reader, the one who compares widely and sets prejudice aside, and he reached it from the premise that beauty exists only in the mind that contemplates it.

Thought of the day by Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius: "The best way of avenging yourself is not to become like the wrongdoer."

New to philosophy? Start here.