The Library
The Agora has scoured the internet for the best portals to free education, and resources that we trust to be the very best in scholarship.
Listed below is a collection of our team's favorite platforms that have made a significant impact on our personal education and research interests. Our team is constantly refreshing this page.
Albert Einstein once said, “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” One of the most difficult endeavors for any research project is knowing where to look for rich and recent sources that are most relevant to your project. Oftentimes we think our idea is original, but chances are that someone in the world has thought about the idea in a similar vein, and has already made advances that would be of interest to us. The most innovative thinkers are the ones who have realized they don’t need to think of every good idea themselves, but have learned how to repurpose and build on old ideas, i.e., the art of the astute scholar.
As google has worked to overtake the internet, its search algorithm has not just gotten worse. It has been designed to prioritize advertisers and popular pages often times excluding pages and content that better matches your search terms. Meanwhile, there remains a huge number of trustworthy sources in the world, and we have compiled just a list. The content of the resources listed below do not necessarily represent the internal views or values of The Agora or guild affiliations.
The Agora is committed to connecting you with premier educational tools. We want not only to expose you to current and novel ideas, but to help you locate where the area of our knowledge as a human race ends, so that you can be the first to truly expand the perimeter.
Resources are Organized by Category and Academic disciplines.
There are four categories: Peer-reviewed publications; open educational courses; podcasts & YouTube channels; and scholarship blogs. Each of these categories have six folders for the major academic disciplines.
Note: Occasionally, sub-disciplines are underlined and emboldened to add more resolution to respective fields, e.g., "Neuroscience."
Meta Portal for websites intended to cover a large scope of disciplines
"Big Think" has been a giant on the internet since they were founded in 2007. They currently have a revenue of $4.6M, but they became successful by providing a lot of thought provoking short-video style content. The website is a collection of interviews, presentations, and round table discussions with experts from a wide range of fields.
See [bigthink.com]
"Any Question" is a new emerging platform that is available both on the app store and on the web for free. They operate under the unique premise of allowing users to be able to ask any questions to top experts and professions in their field. They also provide the ability to up or down vote other questions that people have for quality control. The app form is highly recommended to check out. The app is still in its infancy, but The Agora is looking forward to seeing the ways in which they expand the site.
See [https://www.anyquestion.com]
One of the most fun ways to keep up on new papers in your field of interest is a rather new site called "Academia." All papers on Academia are free to read and download. All you need is an Academia account to download; you don't even need an account to read on the site! Subscribe on the site to your favorite research interests.
See [Academia]
Academic Resource search that is kind of like a more trustworthy Google. More than a billion sources, including encyclopedias, monographies, magazines:
See [www.refseek.com/]
Google Dataset search is a tool that was developed by Google for researchers in 2018. Now it has over 25 million datasets from over 1,000 sources. The engine by itself is based on schema.org, a standard for describing datasets. This is your go to for a deep empirical repository.
See [Google Dataset]
5 Free Data Analysis and Graph Plotting Software for Thesis
See [Article on the tools]
Many people underestimate the power you hold with a library card to your local library. Many people are still under the impression that the local library is just an antiquated house for holding dusty old books, but the truth is that public libraries are increasingly supplying the demand for access to online resources to keep with the times. For example, by sighing up for a free library card at the Thousand Oaks, CA you are granted access to "The New York Times," the app "Overdrive" for access to e-books and audiobooks, "The Great Courses" for courses in nearly every subject, and "Consumer Reports" for science based reviews on nearly every product.
See [Thousand Oaks Virtual Library] if you live in Thousand Oaks, CA, but check out your local library for specific details that apply to your area.
One of the biggest research databases which also happens to be free is EBSCO.
See [EBSCO]
Our Scrolls: Peer-Reviewed Publications
Philosophy
General (free-ish) Resources
This is considered the most comprehensive and reliable source for researching any area in philosophy:
See [The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ]
This is the second most reliable and peer-reviewed source for any area in philosophy:
See [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy ]
Contains a large volume of open access publications:
See [Philosophy Compass]
General (Paid-ish) Resources
PhilPapers is a comprehensive index and bibliography of philosophy maintained by the community of philosophers.
See [PhilPapers]
Axioms of Philosophy
This is an exploration of one of the most fundamental and controversial axioms in all of philosophy, i.e., a discussion regarding the nature, application, and plausibility of the principle of sufficient reason. The PSR claims that everything has sufficient explanation.
See [The PSR claims that everything has sufficient explanation.Melamed, Yitzhak Y. and Martin Lin, "Principle of Sufficient Reason", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2021/entries/sufficient-reason/]
Natural and Applied Sciences
Physics, Mathematics, biology, Computer Science
One of the best free magazines for all things science is hands-down, Quanta Magazine. They provide trust-worthy editorial reviews of the latest breakthroughs in a wide range of STEM topics. Their physics publications are especially good.
See [www.quantamagazine.org]
Neuroscience
One of the top journals for cutting edge neuroscience right now is neruoimage. Many free publications can be found for free on science direct.
Human Biology and medicine
A library of scientific bioscience journels in developing countries: "BI helps to reduce the global knowledge divide by making bioscience information generated in these countries available to the international research community world-wide."
See[www.bioline.org]
Resources in Cosmology Pertaining to the Philosophy of Religion
Dr. Carrol presents his mechanistic understanding as to whether or not a universe can come from nothing, if this makes sense, and how to look at it scientifically. Specifically he focuses what one means when they say “nothing” and how Lawrence Krauss, the scientist he is responding to, is using it.
see [Carroll, Sean. “A Universe from Nothing?” WordPress, 10 July 2014, www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2012/04/28/a-universe-from-nothing/.]
This exquisite article focuses on the evidence regarding the beginning of the universe.
See [Grossman, Lisa. “Why Physicists Can't Avoid a Creation Event.” New Scientist, New Scientist, 11 Jan. 2012, www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328474-400-why-physicists-cant-avoid-a-creation-event/.]
Dr. Vilenkin’s publication on whether the arrows of time can be traced through the big bang singularity and whether a reversal of them allow for an eternal universe or is a sleight of hand.
See [Vilenkin, Alexander. “Arrows of Time and the Beginning of the Universe.” Physical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation & Cosmology, vol. 88, no. 4–A, Aug. 2013, pp. 1–10. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.88.043516.]
Dr. Weaver’s analysis of the Carrol-Chen Model. This model argues that through a reversal of the arrow of time at the big bang singularity, the universe can be described as eternal.
See [Weaver, Christopher Gregory. “On the Carroll-Chen Model.” Journal for General Philosophy of Science, vol. 48, no. 1, Mar. 2017, pp. 97–124. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pif&AN=PHL2350841&site=ehost-live.]
Theology
Three Big Philosophy of Religion Journels [Note: the resources below may not be free].
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion
Biblical inquires
We asked a pastor with a seminary degree what his favorite resource for theology was and he said, "My go to is Bible.org. They are rock soild theologically and their NET Bible is - to me - a better resource then the expensive Bible softwares you can buy.
See [Bible.org]
Arguments for the Existence of God:
Robin Collins presents his teleological argument for God’s existence based on the fine-tuning of constants within nature that allows for life to exist.
See [Collins, Robin. “The Teleological Argument: An Exploration of the Fine-Tuning of the Universe.” Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 17 April 2009, pp. 202-281, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444308334.ch4.]
A presentation of the basic outline and responses to objections for the Leibnizian Contingency argument which begins with the question “why is there something rather than nothing?”
See [Craig, William Lane, and Drcraigvideos. “Leibniz’ Contingency Argument.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 Dec. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPCzEP0oD7I.]
This is Dr. Craig’s most famous argument. It focuses on arguing for God’s existence on the basis of a beginning to the universe and time itself.
See [Craig, William Lane, Sinclair, James D. “The Kalam Cosmological Argument.” Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 17 April 2009, pp. 101-20, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444308334.ch3. 9781405176576]
A simple illustration of Dr. Craig’s version of the fine tuning argument for God’s existence which focuses on the fine tuning of initial constants of the universe that allow for life to exist.
See [Craig, William Lane. “The Fine Tuning of the Universe.” Edited by Drcraigvideos, YouTube, 25 Sept. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=UpIiIaC4kRA.]
Dr. Craig and Dr. Carroll debate the existence of God on the basis of the Fine Tuning argument and the Kalam Cosmological argument in light of contemporary cosmogonic evidence.
See [Craig, William Lane, and Sean Carroll. “God and Cosmology: The Existence of God in Light of Contemporary Cosmology.” Reasonable Faith with William Lane Craig, Parscale Digital, Sept. 2015, www.reasonablefaith.org/media/debates/god-and-cosmology-the-existence-of-god-in-light-of-contemporary-cosmol/.]
This is Dr. Stewart’s argument for God’s existence from the existence of Evil. Think of it as an argument from morality.
See [Goetz, Stewart. “The Argument from Evil.” Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 17 April 2009, pp. 449-497, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444308334.ch8. 9781405176576]
Problem Of Evil:
A response to the evidential argument from evil against the existence of God. Dr. Almeida has rather unique approaches to solving the problem especially making use of possible world modalities.
See [Almeida, Michael. “The New Evidential Argument Defeated.” Philo 7 (1):22-35. 2004.]
Perhaps his greatest work, Schopenhauer discusses his revolutionary idea that evil is not a privation from the Good but that the good is a privation of Evil and that it is Evil which is fundamental to reality.
See [Schopenhauer, Arthur. “On the Sufferings of the World, in The Meaning of Life,” ed. E.D Klemke (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981), 45.]
A literary work that will give one a sense of the existential problem of evil.
See [Crane, Stephen, and Josef Raith. “The Open Boat.” Hueber, 1971.]
Social Sciences
Humanities
Our Library of Alexandria : Open Educational Courses
Philosophy
Taught by Michael Sandel, "This introduction to moral and political philosophy is one of the most popular courses taught at Harvard College, and comes highly recommended by our staff.
See [Harvard Ethics Course]
Natural and Applied Sciences
Discipline integration
On Khan Academy, full free courses are posted for all subjects. Especially a useful tool for math.
See [Khan Academy]
A biological foundation for complex normal and abnormal human behavior, and integrate disciplines including sociobiology, ethology, neuroscience, and endocrinology. This course comes highly recommended from our advisory board.
See [Human Behavior Biology Course taught at Stanford by Robert Sapolsky.]
Theology
Social Sciences
The YouTube series, CrashCourse, is generally very good for an introduction to the big ideas in psychology and for a multi-media approach to learning. We suggest using this course to supplement intro courses to psychology, especially at the university level.
See [Crash Course/Psychology ]
Harvard is offering more and more free courses online in the social sciences.
Humanities
The Arts
The Agora is partnering with the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. If you live in LA, the Getty offers free in person courses in the arts, which are changing often.
See [Getty Courses]
Our Carrier Pigeons: Podcasts & YouTube Channels
Philosophy
YouTube
In perhaps his greatest series, Dr. Jordan Peterson carefully lays out the psychological significance of the Biblical Stories in Genesis.
See [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL22J3VaeABQD_IZs7y60I3lUrrFTzkpat]
Podcasts
Philosophy Bites is probably the foremost place to hear interviews by famous contemporary philosophers on their most resent work. David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton are master interviewers and they help to break down complex subjects in a bite sized and accessible way.
See [Philosophy Bites]
Natural and Applied Sciences
Podcasts
The Lex Fridman podcast is one of the highest ranking podcasts for all things cutting-edge STEAM: "Conversations about science, technology, history, philosophy and the nature of intelligence, consciousness, love, and power. Lex is an AI researcher at MIT and beyond."
See [Lex Fridman Podcast
YouTube
Resources in Cosmology:
Dr. Vilenkin’s lecture at Hawking’s birthday celebration (NERDS!) on whether or not the universe began to exist. He refutes all attempts to argue for an infinite or eternal universe model.
See [Vilenkin, Alexander, and Follow The Evidence. “Did the Universe Have a Beginning? Alexander Vilenkin.” YouTube, 6 June 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWoFDckj1oQ.]
Theology
Arguments for the Existence of God:
In choosing to pursue Christ “We have nothing to loose and infinity to gain.”- Blaise Pascal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kz4OgXsN1w
Dr. John Lennox presens on the rationality of belief in miracles at Harvard Medical School.
Craig, William Lane, and Drcraigvideos. “Leibniz’ Contingency Argument.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 Dec. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPCzEP0oD7I.
“The existence of a mechanism that does something is not in it self an argument for the non existence of an agent who designed it.”- John Lennox (At Harvard “Miracles: Is Belief in the Supernatural Irrational?”)
A presentation of the basic outline and responses to objections for the Leibnizian Contingency argument which begins with the question “why is there something rather than nothing?”
Craig, William Lane. “The Fine Tuning of the Universe.” Edited by Drcraigvideos, YouTube, 25 Sept. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=UpIiIaC4kRA.
A simple illustration of Dr. Craig’s version of the fine tuning argument for God’s existence which focuses on the fine tuning of initial constants of the universe that allow for life to exist.
ReasonableFaithOrg. “The Kalam Cosmological Argument | University of Birmingham, UK.” YouTube, 13 Aug. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqc42ZB24ew&t=1582s.
Dr. Craig’s full presentation of the Kalam Cosmological argument with a question and answer period at the end.
The Problem Of Evil:
When you’re suffering and need some comfort, when life seems all too bleak and confusing, here are some resources to help you deal with them:
The Emotional and Existential aspect of the problem:
(trust me this is going to be more helpful than the intellectual section on this. For most people, Evil is something we experience more than it is a logical problem we’re confused about)
The Intellectual Problem:
“At the heart of Christianity there is a Cross. What is God doing on a Cross? It shows me at the very least that God has not remained distant from the problem of human suffering but has Himself become part of it.”- Professor John Lennox (Oxford)
“An oncologist sees cancer in a very different way than a patient who’s just been told she has six months to live.”- Proffessor John Lennox (Oxford)
Social Sciences
Anxiety? According to the World Health Organization, anxiety is the most common mental disorder worldwide, so we want to add more than a few resources. Anxiety can be caused by a combination of biological, psychological, and environmental factors, so is it is important to treat anxiety holistically. The ancient Greeks had a conception of healing that placed less of an emphasis on retrospective treatment, and more on preventative medicine and achieving balance in the body. Balance they thought was only achieved by a person's lifestyle and the kind of philosophy they adopted. Philosophy was often prescribed as a method of addressing underlying causes and systemic issues that effected the body. This integrated approach to healing often begins in the mind.
See [https://youtu.be/lq8gw-rFh6E
In her landmark TED Talk on Vulnerability, American professor and lecturer, Rene Brown, accumulated over 19M views on YouTube and even more on TED.
See [The Power of Vulnerability]
Also check out Rene Brown's Podcasts:
See [brenebrown.com/podcasts/ ]
NYT bestselling author and Psychologist, Esther Perel, has one of the most insightful voices on relationship today. Her podcast on work ties her expertise on relationships with the workplace.
See Apple podcasts [How's work? ] "The quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives - both at home and at work."
Humanities
Our Tablets: Scholarship Blogs
Philosophy
One of the most popular philosophy blogs with short summaries and streamline scrolling:
See [leiterreports.typepad.com/blog]
Natural and Applied Sciences
Resources in Cosmology:
Gravity is critical in the analysis of the beginning of the universe especially relative to quantum gravity. This article explores gravity’s various equation forms.
See [Wall, Aron. “Did the Universe Begin? II: Singularity Theorems.” Undivided Looking, WordPress, 25 May 2014, www.wall.org/~aron/blog/did-the-universe-begin-ii-singularity-theorems/.]
Dr. Wall’s explication of Singularity Theorems and their applicability in modern cosmology.
See [Wall, Aron. “Did the Universe Begin? V: The Ordinary Second Law.” Undivided Looking, WordPress, 10 June 2014, www.wall.org/~aron/blog/did-the-universe-begin-v-the-ordinary-second-law/.]
Dr. Wall’s explication of the Ordinary Second Law of thermodynamics and its applicability to the beginning of the universe.
See [Wall, Aron. “Did the Universe Begin? VI: The Generalized Second Law.” Undivided Looking, WordPress, 25 June 2014, www.wall.org/~aron/blog/did-the-universe-begin-vi-the-generalized-second-law/.]
Dr. Wall’s explication of the Generalized Second Law of thermodynamics and its applicability to the beginning of the universe.
See [Tate, Jean. “Gravity Equation.” Universe Today, 4 May 2017, www.universetoday.com/56157/gravity-equation/]
Theology
Natural Theology and Apologetics
The most critically acclaimed apologist alive today is Dr. William lane Craig. Perhaps it is because he received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Birmingham and a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Munich. His website with his free blog where he answers hard questions can be found below:
See [Reasonable Faith]
Arguments for the Existence of God
Dr. Craig and Dr. Carroll debate the existence of God on the basis of the Fine Tuning argument and the Kalam Cosmological argument in light of contemporary cosmogonic evidence.
See [Craig, William Lane, and Sean Carroll. “God and Cosmology: The Existence of God in Light of Contemporary Cosmology.” Reasonable Faith with William Lane Craig, Parscale Digital, Sept. 2015 www.reasonablefaith.org/media/debates/god-and-cosmology-the-existence-of-god-in-light-of-contemporary-cosmol/]