school of philosophy wessex

Introductory courses in Southampton and Poole

Practical Philosophy

Free to be yourself

Transformative practical life skills to last a lifetime.

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Discover The Wisdom Within

Introductory Practical Philosophy Courses

Philosophy aims to set you free. Free from pressures and worries, free from limiting ways of thinking, free to grow and be yourself.
Take your first steps to freedom with our 10-week Introductory courses in:

Southampton & Poole

what's covered over 10-weeks
Course Locations & Dates

Southampton

Oasis Academy, Redbridge Lane, Lords Hill, Southampton, SO160XN

Starting on Monday 30th September 2024 from 7.15 to 9.15pm.
Southampton Introductory Course

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Poole

Parkstone Grammar School, Sopers Lane, Poole, BH17 7EP

Starting on Tuesday 1st October 2024 from 7.00 to 9.00pm
POOLE INTRODUCTORY COURSE

Upcoming Event

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Local Courses

Local face-to-face courses available in Poole, Southampton & Chichester

Peace of Mind

A safe space with experienced & supportive tutors & others looking to philosophy to set them free.

Practical Wisdom

Courses in practical wisdom for everyday living. Meet with like minded individuals.

Next Courses

Look out for our next new Courses in the Autumn 2024.

This popular course is practical rather than academic and draws on sources of wisdom from East and West, past and present.

what's covered over 10-weeks

Explore Life To The Full…

The courses offer a practical means to discover fully who we are, understand how to relate to the world we live in and see what gets in the way of being happy, peaceful and free.

Students are invited to see life as a place to test the words of the wise through practical and mindful exercises.

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10 weekly sessions

The ten weekly sessions explore central human questions through discussion, practical observation, conversation and reflection in good company.

what's covered over 10-weeks
  • See Course Locations opposite.

Our next introductory practical philosophy course will be in the Autumn

See details below…

Introductory Poole Course

POOLE COURSE DETAILS
POOLE LOCATION MAP

Introductory Southampton Course

  • Next Southampton Course starts:
  • Monday 30th September 2024
  • 7:15pm - 9:15pm
Southampton Course Details
SOUTHAMPTON MAP

How it works

A tutor presents philosophical ideas, and leads a discussion based on what arises in the group. Being practical rather than academic, the emphasis is on personal knowledge and experience. Students are encouraged neither to accept nor reject the ideas put forward, but to test them in practice for themselves, in the light of their own experience.

philosophy course reviews
"...helped me..."

"The knowledge and experience that I have gained from the philosophy classes has helped me to discover more about myself and better prepare for dealing with life's daily surprises and challenges."

philosophy course reviews
“I feel more relaxed...”

“The daily awareness exercises … have changed my thinking and I feel more relaxed about situations in the media and other aspects of my daily life.”

philosophy course reviews
“...I am benefiting greatly ..."

“...I am benefiting greatly from the content and the practical nature of it. Thank you, it is enriching my life.”

Find Us on the Map

Check out our Poole, Chichester and Southampton location maps below…

CHICHESTER MAP
POOLE MAP
SOUTHAMPTON MAP

Frequently asked questions

The course is practical in the sense that it takes philosophical ideas and shows how they can be of direct use in our everyday lives. The intention is to stimulate enquiry and through this expand the way we look at the world and ourselves.

Online by selecting the course and location you wish to enrol on, add to cart and then checkout. Alternatively you can email [email protected]

If you register online, you will receive a confirmation email with your receipt and the start date of the course for your first days attendance. If you register by any means other than online, you will receive a receipt confirming your registration.

No, all you need is an open and enquiring mind. The course is intended for everyone, regardless of education, occupation, race, political or religious belief.

First you need to enrol on a course. The in-person courses are available in Chichester, Poole and Southampton. Local maps can be found on this page. Other local venues are also available up and down the UK.

If you have any questions simply call us on 07808 931241 or by emailing [email protected]

Practical Philosophy Poole

UK LOCATIONS

We have courses available across the UK.
Our Introductory Practical Philosophy Courses can be attended at the following locations: London, Midlands (Birmingham), Guildford,  SE London (Croydon),  North East (Brighouse, Doncaster, Huddersfield, Leeds, Loughborough, Nottingham, Saltaire, Sheffield, York), North West (Stockport, Chorley, Wirral), St Albans, Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh),  Cambridge Peterborough), Oxford, Sussex, Wessex (Chichester, Southampton, Poole), Berkshire (High Wycombe), East Anglia (Colchester, Norwich), Kingston, Kent

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Themes included in the course…

These opening sessions consider how philosophy can help us enjoy richer, less stressful lives.

What is practical philosophy?

‘What would a wise person do here?’

Philosophy means the love of wisdom. Our course is intended to show how philosophy can help us enjoy richer, less stressful and more useful lives. This opening two sessions consider these aims, and introduces simple exercises in mindfulness and the application of wisdom you can practise in daily life.

You can download or listen to the Awareness Exercise, introduced in week one here. To download, right-click, choose ‘Save link as…’ and save the MP3 wherever you want.

You can also download a PDF of the Awareness Exercise

Who or what am I?

What is my potential?

Who am I, really? My body? My emotions? My strongly held beliefs? My soul? Possibly all of these? Possibly none?

Such questions have preoccupied philosophers down the ages. We look at practical ways to explore who we really are and how to tap our true potential.

What is our state of awareness?

Why does it fluctuate during the day?

Often the most notable quality of wise people is their alertness to the subtleties of a situation. They are awake, perceptive and curious.

We look at deeper levels of awareness, and consider how we may become more awake to ourselves, our surroundings, and the events we meet.

Living in the now, mindfulness.

What is the potential of the present moment?

We review our own experience of attention through a model featuring attention centred, captured, open and scattered, and how these each relate to the past, present and future.

We examine the extraordinary brightness and freedom naturally available in the present moment. A straightforward practice is introduced. 

Plato’s views on justice.

What does it mean to live justly?

According to Plato, justice and injustice do not start ‘out there’. They begin within us. For justice to prevail, Plato suggests that we must learn to avoid being ‘tyrannised’ by our passions and fears to the extent they overrule our reason.

We discuss the practicality of Plato’s ideas on justice in our daily lives.

The Vedic model of three fundamental energies.

Sometimes we seem not to have enough energy, or the wrong kind. A wise person can act consistently despite these varying conditions.

We consider how to recognise differing energies, how to gain and conserve them and how to use them wisely.

What is reason? How can it enrich our lives? We look at guidelines for Socratic dialogue and how to use them. Developing reason in decision-making and action are also discussed, with practical applications. Obstacles to reason are considered. Everyone has the faculty of reason and we can all use it and develop it. 

What is beauty?

Is there such a thing as absolute beauty?

Beauty has the capacity to open the heart and bring delight. In this session we discuss our direct experience of beauty in its different form: of the sensory world, of thought, of feelings, of the inner nature, and of conduct.

We consider Plato’s idea of there being ultimately one beauty – beauty absolute – ‘not knowing birth or death, growth or decay’. 

Looking for the common thread in life.

What is the effect of finding unity?

When we look around, we see enormous diversity in nature. The wise person looks for the unifying factor: that which allows all this apparent diversity to be seen as part of a single whole.

Seen in this way, life then has the best chance of being led freshly and openly. 

What is truth?

How does the desire for truth show itself?

Practical philosophy is about discovering the truth of things – not theoretically, but in our own experience.

In this final session we look back and ask ourselves how our search for truth has fared as the term has progressed. We discuss what has been discovered and how, in our own way, we may continue to develop it in our daily lives.

Poole course location

Parkstone Grammar School, Sopers Lane, Poole, BH17 7EP

Southampton course location

Oasis Academy, Redbridge Lane, Lord's Hill, Southampton SO16 0XN

Chichester course location

The Green Door Centre, (formerly The Hamblin Centre), Bosham House, Main Road, Bosham, PO18 8PJ