The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition
Explore the entire western philosophical tradition in this comprehensive introduction taught by a member of the philosophy department at Oxford.
Overview
Course No. 4200
This digitally remastered 60-lecture series offers:
- A complete survey of Western philosophy from ancient Greece to modern times
- Key thinkers including Socrates, Aquinas, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein
- Major movements like Stoicism, Enlightenment, Marxism, and Pragmatism
- Critical concepts in ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, and political philosophy
What You’ll Discover:
✓ How Greek thinkers invented philosophical inquiry
✓ Christianity’s fusion with classical philosophy
✓ The scientific revolution’s philosophical impact
✓ Modern debates about mind, morality, and meaning
✓ Practical applications of philosophical ideas
Video Lectures
Section 1: Ancient Foundations (Lectures 1-19)
01-06: Greek Origins (29-31 min)
From Homer to Herodotus: myth to critical thought
07-10: Socrates & Plato (31 min each)
The examined life, Theory of Forms, and The Republic
11-14: Aristotle’s System (29-31 min)
Logic, friendship, and the perfect life
15-19: Roman & Medieval Thought (29-31 min)
Stoicism, Augustine, Islamic philosophy, and universities
Section 2: Early Modern (Lectures 20-34)
20-26: Renaissance to Newton (30-31 min)
Bacon, Descartes, and the scientific revolution
27-34: Enlightenment Thinkers (30 min each)
Hobbes, Locke, Hume, and the Federalist Papers
Section 3: 19th Century (Lectures 35-45)
35-39: Kant & German Idealism (30-31 min)
Critiques of reason and Hegelian history
40-45: Radical Thinkers (29-31 min)
Nietzsche, Marx, Darwin, and Freud
Section 4: Modern Philosophy (Lectures 46-60)
46-49: American Pragmatism (29-31 min)
William James and the meaning of truth
50-54: Contemporary Debates (28-32 min)
Ontology, philosophy of science, and mind
55-60: Applied Philosophy (29-30 min)
Medical ethics, just war theory, and aesthetics

