Marcus Aurelius on horseback, Rome. Photo: Nicholas Hartmann, via Wikimedia Commons
Philosophy course
How should you live? Greece, India and China gave very different answers.
Work it out in conversation with your own AI tutor in the Epivo app.
Let's go back about two and a half thousand years, to ancient Greece. People there started asking what the world is made of, and they stopped settling for the old stories. So here's my first question. Why do you think that happened there, and then? Tell me your guess, and we'll see where it leads.
Free · No card · Android app
Start learning freeFree · No card · Opens Google Play (Android)
How it works
- Your tutor tells the story of an idea, a piece at a time, then hands you one small puzzle about it.
- You think it through, out loud or by typing. You don't need to know the answer: your tutor helps you along and tells you when you're close.
- Step by step, it adds up. Your tutor remembers your past sessions, and what you've shared about your own life, and picks up where you left off.
What you can explore
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Western philosophy, from ancient Greece to the twentieth century: what we can really know, and how to live well
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Practical Stoicism: what is in your control, and how to stay steady when things go wrong
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Philosophy from India, China, Japan and Korea: the Buddha on suffering, Confucius on how to be good
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Islamic and Jewish philosophy: how thinkers in Baghdad, Spain and Egypt weighed faith and reason
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African philosophy, from ancient Egypt's idea of truth and balance to ubuntu, the southern African idea that a person becomes a person through others
You don't need to know anything first. Nine courses to choose from: Western, Stoicism, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Islamic, Jewish, African.
Finish with a certificate
Complete the course and earn a certificate anyone can check online, ready for your CV or LinkedIn. See a sample →
Start in ancient Greece, or tell your tutor which tradition you'd like.
Free · No card · Android app
Start learning freeMeet your tutors
Tap a face to hear how they sound. You can choose your tutor from the Teachers menu in the app.
What it costs
Free
- 30 minutes a day with your tutor
- No card needed.
- Your first hour uses the Premium voice (once, not every day), our most natural-sounding one. After that your tutor speaks with the free voice, which runs on your phone. The lessons, the questions and your progress stay exactly the same.
- Certificates included when you complete the course.
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. Thirty minutes a day with your tutor, and no card. Paid plans add more time if you ever want it.
Is my tutor a real person?
No. Your tutor is an AI that talks with you, follows a planned course and remembers your past sessions.
How do I know the lessons are accurate?
Written lessons are fact-checked against independent published sources before they're taught. Your tutor follows a planned route through the course, and the app's Sources menu lists what each session drew on, including links to the original sources.
How is this different from asking ChatGPT?
ChatGPT answers what you ask. Your tutor leads the way: a planned route through each tradition, one question at a time, picking up where you left off.
Do I need any background in philosophy?
No. Your tutor starts from what you already think and builds from there. The Western course starts in ancient Greece, and one of its first questions is a simple one: why did philosophy begin there at all?
Which traditions can I study?
Nine courses: eight traditions (Western, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Islamic, Jewish and African philosophy), each running from its beginnings to modern thinkers, plus a practical course on Stoicism.
Is it on iPhone?
Not yet. Epivo runs on Android today. Open this page on an iPhone and you can leave your email; we'll tell you when the iPhone app is ready.
Bring a big question. Work it out together.
Free · No card · Android app
Start learning freeThe Sariputta Stupa at Nalanda, India. Sumitsurai, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), cropped.
Photo credits (via Wikimedia Commons). Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, Rome: Nicholas Hartmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped. The Sariputta Stupa at Nalanda, India: Sumitsurai, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
