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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle and His Successors by University of Pennsylvania

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About the Course

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....

Top reviews

AT

Jan 10, 2021

This is an excellent course. The lecturer presents the material very clearly, carefully bringing out what is at stake in the views and arguments of the Greek thinkers and schools she considers.

LG

Apr 25, 2019

Excellent course, Pr. Sauvé-Meyer keeps the material very engaging, and makes it very clear and easily accessible. Knowing how difficult the original texts are sometimes, this is very valuable.

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176 - 200 of 207 Reviews for Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle and His Successors

By Jorge G

Jul 1, 2020

Superb!

By 이근영

Jan 31, 2019

Cool

By Rajneesh T

Apr 10, 2020

NA

By 박기현

Jan 31, 2019

g

By Charles E M

Apr 29, 2018

G

By William ( A

Jan 4, 2021

Great job organizing and presenting this material. Assuming you are open to hear of possible ways to improve on an already great job, my suggestion would be to expand the Aristotle material a bit and include a discussion of his work developing syllogistic logic. In addition I believe there is an important contrast between Aristotle and Plato it would be worth illuminating-- Plato was all about deductive reasoning, and it was Aristotle, in turning Plato's worldview upside down by declaring that we can trust our senses-- i.e. it is the observable concretes that are the true source of reality and "unrecallable" knowledge. One could argue from this that the genesis of empirical research rests with Aristotle.

By Kenneth M

Apr 4, 2016

Clearly presented.course which focuses only on the principal question and themes of each of the 4 philosophies. I found it extremely valuable as it structured in a logical way these issues and also related themt modern life. My only criticism relates to the grading method of the final assignment 0 or 1 is far too simplistic.

By Harvey

Jun 21, 2020

I really enjoyed the content and how well it was delivered. She really knows what she is talking about! My only constructive comment would be to somehow make for real-time discussion between students ... after all, we are talking philosophy here. As we have seen with the virus the technology certainly exists.

By Mike M

Feb 1, 2021

The philosophical concepts seemed more difficult in this course versus the Plato and predecessors course. The stoics provided some thought provoking ideas whereas Aristotle was surprisingly dry. The instructor does a great job of summarizing concepts and provides great value over simply reading the books.

By Miguel A R

Jun 6, 2020

En lo personal ha sido de gran ayuda, me ha brindado una gran experiencia haber viajado en las mentes de estos seres que han dejado su legado a través de la historia. Me hubiese gustado que la extensión y/o contenido hubiese abarcado otras temáticas.

By William M

Oct 23, 2017

This was a very solid introduction to the philosophy of Aristotle, Epicurus and the Stoics. It is relatively introductory-level but still I think that even someone who has studied Ancient Philosophy before can learn something from this.

By Anette W

Oct 11, 2016

A good follow- up to the previous course. The material is well organised and gives a profound overview while still inciting further investigation, leaving enough room for expansion of the mind and new thoughts on... almost everything.

By ZHANG Z

May 30, 2020

Very inspiring and interesting examples! It helped me obtain a more detailed and thorough view on Aristotle, Epicurus and the Stoics! Great learning experience!

By Dr. L T K

Apr 5, 2022

Enjoyable and informative. I will keep coming back to this material to deeply consider some of the ideas presented in this course.

By Sidney C

Dec 6, 2018

I enjoyed the course and treatment by the Professor. I learned a lot about this important period in philosophy. Thank you.

By Jaafar A

Jul 31, 2020

very good course, but requires more multiple choice and fill in the black exercises to be perfect.

thanks Dr. Susan Meyer.

By Francisco L

Jul 4, 2019

Very complete, to be perfect, from my point of view, the course would need less material to read and a point of dynamism.

By Pedro I d L S

Feb 1, 2022

Great course. I thought I would encounter less reading but there is no reason to complain! Very didactic.

By David M

Jun 20, 2016

Interesting overview. Would have appreciated more time on Hellenistic Philosophy

By kousay a

Mar 15, 2020

Greek Philosophers were masters of thought and logic. An excellent course!

By Mostafa B

Dec 5, 2016

This was a very enjoyable experience, thank you all for the opportunity.

By Mick H

Sep 15, 2016

Another fine MOOC by the prof. I really like her dry delivery style.

By Zeyu C

Jan 14, 2017

Though not too inclusive, it's a great course for introduction.

By Clotilde D

Feb 2, 2019

Great course, interesting topics and explanations, thanks !

By Sindhura B

Aug 20, 2016

A good starting point to ancient philosophy .