“You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is: Never try.”

Who is responsible for this piece of profound wisdom? Is it an example of the categorical imperative put forward by German scholar Immanuel Kant, one of his universal moral codes which one must live by regardless of purpose or situation?

Or does it derive from the nihilist existentialism explained by Soren Kierkegaard and later examined and developed by Friedrich Nietzsche, where life and actions have no inherent meaning and the entire human species has no impact on the totality of existence?

No, in fact it is from a much more relevant and popular philosophical figure, whose ideology would best be described as Homeric.

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A family man who has developed and popularised his unique form of thought, Homer Simpson has been cruelly excluded from the mainstream study of philosophy for too long.

Glasgow University has taken on the establishment to challenge this injustice and has included a course in Simpson’s unique analysis of existence.

The course, called D’oh! The Simpsons Introduce Philosophy, will look at the musings of the thinker and power plant worker as a way to introduce students to the subject.

They will examine the often drink-induced ramblings of Homer Simpson alongside more traditional (boring) thinkers such as Aristotle, Socrates and Voltaire.

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It will be open to all who wish to examine his special way of defining the universe and what is in it – but the £30 day-course is expected to be over-subscribed.

The whole family’s philosophy will be examined.

Dr John Donaldson, a tutor of philosophy at the university, explains: “Matt Groening, the man behind The Simpsons, was a student of philosophy and that comes through in each episode.

“The Simpsons is a very sophisticated work of popular culture, with a broad scope and depth, and is full of philosophical themes.

“Very pleasingly, the course has proved to be incredibly popular on social media. It has gone viral. We’ve never really had a response like this before.”

In addition to the musings of the family patriarch of Homer, it will also consider the morality of his rebellious son Bart.

In particular, students will examine an early episode of the series when Bart cheats on an intelligence test and ends up being sent to a school for gifted children.

The course literature introducing the class states: “The Simpsons is one of the modern world’s greatest cultural artefacts partly because it is so full of philosophy.

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“Aristotle, Kant, Marx, Camus, and many other great thinkers’ ideas are represented in what is arguably the purest of philosophical forms: the comic cartoon.

“This day-school will explore some of philosophy’s most inspiring ideas as presented in Matt Groening’s monument to the absurdities of human existence.”

It aims to develop students’ critical and analytical skills through engagement with philosophical discourse.