What is philosophy? How does it differ from science, religion, and other modes of human discourse? This course traces the origins of philosophy in the Western tradition in the thinkers of Ancient Greece. We begin with the Presocratic natural philosophers who were active in Ionia in the 6th century BCE and are also credited with being the first scientists. Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximines made bold proposals about the ultimate constituents of reality, while Heraclitus insisted that there is an underlying order to the changing world. Parmenides of Elea formulated a powerful objection to all these proposals, while later Greek theorists (such as Anaxagoras and the atomist Democritus) attempted to answer that objection. In fifth-century Athens, Socrates insisted on the importance of the fundamental ethical question—“How shall I live?”—and his pupil, Plato, and Plato’s pupil, Aristotle, developed elaborate philosophical systems to explain the nature of reality, knowledge, and human happiness. After the death of Aristotle, in the Hellenistic period, Epicureans and Stoics developed and transformed that earlier tradition. We will study the major doctrines of all these thinkers. Part I will cover Plato and his predecessors. Part II will cover Aristotle and his successors.
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Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle and His Successors
University of PennsylvaniaAbout this Course
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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Aristotle’s Categories
Aristotle's Natural Philosophy
Aristotle's Ethics
Epicureanism
Reviews
- 5 stars83.60%
- 4 stars14.34%
- 3 stars1.31%
- 2 stars0.43%
- 1 star0.29%
TOP REVIEWS FROM ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY: ARISTOTLE AND HIS SUCCESSORS
This was an enjoyable course. The professor through her explanations made what could be difficult concepts understandable and fun.
This is a great course because the great instructor shares her knowledge about Aristotle and his successors in a comprehensible and exciting manner.
Loved every minute of it! A big thank you to professor Susan Sauve Meyer - it was beautiful experience, I wish the course would be intimately wider.
Beautifully organized, this is a phenomenal tour through Aristotle's main ideas. Dr. Meyer is an expert on Aristotle, and this course is excellent for that reason!
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