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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Ancient Philosophy: Plato & His Predecessors by University of Pennsylvania

4.8
stars
1,537 ratings

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

AA

Apr 18, 2020

Excellent course. This course has opened up ancient philosophy to me and made it accessible. I feel I have finished the course a good understanding of such keys texts as Plato's Republic and Timaeus.

LL

Mar 8, 2016

Good intro to early Greek philosophy. Dr Meyer has a simple and subtly humorous approach to the material. Dr Meyer makes the subject approachable so that the student wants to do further reading.

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401 - 425 of 458 Reviews for Ancient Philosophy: Plato & His Predecessors

By Harry M

Jul 24, 2020

Well organized and I really enjoyed this course; I took both this course and the follow up course on Aristotle. Both were excellent. However, for some unexplained reason, I thought the professor's course on Aristotle was more interesting (hence I cage it five stars) while I thought that this course was slightly confusing in terms of the quizzes and prompts. Having said that, this course is definitely worth your time and effort. My approach was to read the lecture first while taking notes and then listen to the lecture and fill in the blanks. The readings make much more sense AFTER reading/listening to the lecture than before. Just my take on how I 'studied' for the quizzes, etc. Enjoy, it's worth the effort.

By Joe G

Jun 7, 2018

I really enjoyed this course and learned so much from it. However the professor's monotone voice is reminiscent of too many professors I have had over the years that put me to sleep. I found it difficult to pay attention at times because of this even though I was very interested in the subject matter. She seems very knowledgeable about the subject, so perhaps taking a public speaking course would prove beneficial. Other than that I loved the course and am excited to take part two starting in a few days!

By Wajahat R B

Nov 15, 2019

The biggest strength of this course is that it makes one read the ancient texts, thus giving a direct exposure to the ideas of some great thinkers. Alongside, it also gives some idea of Greek history and culture. I think the difficulty level should have been a bit higher. The quizzes are way too simple to assess the interest of the student. Dr. Meyer teaches in a simple and easy-to-understand manner. I'll certainly take the second course in this series. An amazing experience overall!

By Steve M

Oct 30, 2023

Really enjoyed the course, though I could not understand why my final assignment had to be rewritten. I stuck to the Honour Code and worked really hard on it only to be informed that it looked like another learner's work. I could not get any immediate feedback as to what the specifics were. I would politely point out that there are tens of thousands of people on this MOOC, and there are relatively few ways to reframe the Euthyphro.

By Ralph L

Aug 15, 2020

I touch this course because it is outside my comfort zone and throughout I felt challenged. So I feel really good that I was able to complete the course successfully. It opened my eyes to how close these ancient philosophers were compared today's latest theories in physics regarding the reality of the universe.

Well worth it.

By Tamer D

May 5, 2019

I like the course. I thank the professor for simplifying abstract concepts to students with no special knowledge in philosophy like myself. It would have been great if there were slides associated with the course. I hope there would be more courses discussing more recent philosophers like Nietzsche and Kant.

By Thomas H

Nov 26, 2016

The course was good and informative. I did find it somewhat simple and not very challenging (until the final project), but with going to work and with a busy schedule it was perfect and left little excuse for not completing it. Thank you for providing a free opportunity to learn.

By Kurt S

Feb 13, 2017

Liked it a lot: pretty straight forward, nice introduction, although I missed a bit of a timeline (or figure of a timeline - I actually had this image from wikipedia always available:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Socratic_philosophy#/media/File:Presocratic_graph.svg)

By Jay L

Mar 17, 2016

I enjoyed every aspect of this course except Timaeus. Not being mathematically inclined I felt all of the discussion of triangles and what this was supposed to have shown was a waste of time. Better to tell us what he is trying to say, show a few examples, and move on.

By antonio S

Jul 20, 2016

very knowledgeable professor. only recommendation for the course is to make single quizzes not two per week. either way you can do them at your own pace. It is an introduction course, but very well presented and it goes through many important texts

By Harry L

Mar 29, 2019

The content of the philosophical texts of ancient Greece are distilled with a great deal of clarity. My only complaint is that it seemed a bit brief. For instance, there are 10 books in the republic, but only a handful of those are explored.

By Nikola T

May 2, 2020

It was a nice course, I successfully completed all the weeks and wrote my graduation assignment, but I did not get the certificate of the course, it is a lot with the money of my country. I wish there was a more reasonable turret.

By Justo G Q

Apr 28, 2022

Muy buen curso desearia que continuen dictando este tipo de capacitacion, cumplen un rol social muy importante, ya que ayudan a promover el conocimiento, desde la enseñanza y el aprendisaje, Gracias Totales!!!!!!

By Orville C

Jun 17, 2020

This is a very nice introduction to the ancient Greek philosophers and their contributions to how we understand the world around us. I recognize that modern religions reflect many of the Ancient Greeks' thoughts.

By Alejandro C D

Jun 9, 2020

It is an extremely profitable course because it introduces us to the thinking of the pioneers of philosophy, which has become a cultural tradition that has established the foundations of today's civilization.

By Jackson H

Mar 17, 2018

This course is pretty good. I'm not a fan of peer reviewing, I'd rather have TA's do it, but I realize that is logistically impossible. Other than that the professor is pretty good and makes phil

By Pinkie

Mar 8, 2016

Before this course the topic of philosophy had never appealed to me, while from now on it turns out to be an interesting subject. A wonderful introduction to ancient philosophy of Greece !

By Heather L

Feb 23, 2022

This course is an excellent introduction to reading & learning about ancient philosophers. The videos helped to make the works of Plato, Socrates & many others understandable. Thank you.

By Patrícia R P

May 2, 2020

I am immensely grateful for shared knowledgeability. This course was an incredibly gratifying experience that serves as an introduction to the magnificent world of philosophy!

By Marie S

Mar 12, 2018

Ordered, Structural and a good set of information to cover in 4 weeks! The only thing I missed every now and then was enthusiasm, but furthermore an awesome course!

By Amitava D

Apr 30, 2022

Good presentation by professor.

There are lot of write ups that need to be understood by me.

This is a good initiative to undestand what philosophy is.

By Greg G

Aug 11, 2016

Dr. Meyer is a systematic and thorough presenter, and does an excellent job of making the material accessible, without oversimplifying.

By Astur P

Oct 30, 2024

Muy claro, muy preciso indicando las enseñanzas de cada maestro filosófico y mostrando sus diferencias entre las diversas tendencias.

By Tim B

May 1, 2016

Intuitive, clear and logical progression through important ideas in early Western thought, surprisingly fresh and relevant today.

By Ping Z

Sep 26, 2016

Very interesting and challenging. I need to spend a lot of time on the reading assignment, but I enjoyed the reading very much.