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