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Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle and His Successors
  • Level Foundation
  • المدة 16 ساعات hours
  • الطبع بواسطة University of Pennsylvania
  • Offered by

عن

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.

الوحدات

Subjects and Predicates

    • 4 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Subjects and Predicates

4 Videos

  • Introduction to Ancient Philosophy
  • Introduction to Aristotle
  • Subjects and Predicates
  • Universals and Particulars

1 Readings

  • Aristotle's Categories

Substances & Subjects

    • 2 Videos
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Substances & Subjects

1 Discussions

  • Discussion Question: Aristotle's Categories

2 Videos

  • Substance and Subject
  • Subjects of Change

Change & Nature

    • 2 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Change & Nature

2 Videos

  • Matter, Form, and Change
  • Nature

1 Readings

  • Aristotle's Physics

Causes in Nature

    • 3 Videos
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Causes in Nature

3 Videos

  • Is Form or Matter Nature?
  • The Four Causes
  • Natural Teleology

Aristotelian Souls

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Aristotelian Souls

1 Discussions

  • Discussion Question: Aristotle's Natural Philosophy

1 Videos

  • Soul As Cause

1 Readings

  • Aristotle's On the Soul

The Unmoved Mover

    • 3 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • The Unmoved Mover

1 Discussions

  • Discussion Questions: Unmoved Mover

3 Videos

  • The Eternity of Motion
  • The First Mover of the Cosmos
  • The Unmoved Mover

1 Readings

  • Aristotle's Metaphysics

Aristotle’s Ethics

    • 6 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Aristotle's Ethics

1 Discussions

  • Discussion Question: Aristotle's Ethics

6 Videos

  • The Goal of Life
  • What Are You Doing With Your Life?
  • Happiness and Living Well
  • Pleasure and the Human Function
  • Virtue of Character
  • Godlike Virtue

1 Readings

  • Aristotle's Ethics

Gods and Death

    • 5 Videos
    • 4 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Gods and Death

1 Discussions

  • Discussion Question: Gods and Death

5 Videos

  • Introduction to Epicurus
  • Nature and the Gods
  • Therapeutic Philosophy
  • Death Is Nothing To Us
  • What's Wrong With Death?

4 Readings

  • The Letter to Menoeceus
  • The Letter of Epicurus to Herodotus
  • On the nature of the gods
  • Principal Doctrines

Pleasure and Pain

    • 3 Videos
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Pleasure and Pain

1 Discussions

  • Discussion Question: Pleasure and Pain

3 Videos

  • Ataraxia
  • Restricting Desire
  • Enduring Pain

Stoic Natural Philosophy and Ethics

    • 5 Videos
    • 4 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Stoic Natural Philosophy and Ethics

1 Discussions

  • Discussion Question: Stoic Natural Philosophy and Ethics

5 Videos

  • Introduction to Stoicism
  • God in Nature
  • Following Nature
  • A Good Flow of Life
  • The Goal vs. The Target

4 Readings

  • The Enchiridion
  • On the nature of the gods
  • De Fato (On Fate)
  • De Finibus (On Ends)

Fate and Human Action

    • 3 Videos
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Fate and Human Action

1 Discussions

  • Discussion Question: Fate and Human Action

3 Videos

  • The Lazy Argument
  • What Is Up To Us
  • Stoic Compatibilism

Conclusion

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 PeerReview
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1 Peer Review

  • Aristotle and His Successors Final Project

1 Videos

  • Conclusion

Auto Summary

Discover the origins of Western philosophy with "Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle and His Successors." This foundational course, led by Coursera, delves into the profound ideas of Presocratic natural philosophers, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and their successors. Spanning 960 minutes, it explores the nature of reality, knowledge, and human happiness. Ideal for those interested in philosophy within the Health & Fitness domain, it offers a starter subscription to kickstart your journey into ancient wisdom.

Susan Sauvé Meyer
Instructor

Susan Sauvé Meyer