Introduction to Philosophy offers an overview of the origin, nature, and goal of philosophy. The approach adopted in this course is historical. Central issues in philosophy are examined by analyzing their earliest and most basic formulations at the hands of the first Greek thinkers. These philosophers are considered in light of the context in which they lived in order to show that their theories arose out of the need to address people’s most pressing concerns. The course makes complex discussions and challenging notions more accessible by combining several teaching modes: recorded lectures, summaries, textual analyses, diagrams, and quizzes.
Unit 1 What is Philosophy?
Chapter 1 | Philosophy and Man's Fundamental Desire
Chapter 2 | Making Sense of Reality Before Philosophy
Chapter 3 | Why Was Philosophy Born in Greece in the 6th Century B.C.E? Who is the Philospher
Unit 2 How Does The Universe Work?
Chapter 4 | The Presocratics and the Milesians
Chapter 5 | Anaximander and Anaximenes
Unit 3 What is Knowledge?
Chapter 6 | Xenophanes
Chapter 7 | How Can We Reach the Truth? Heraclitus
Chapter 8 | Are Awake or Asleep? Parmenides
Unit 4 What Are The Features of Reality?
Chapter 9 | Change and Unity Herclitus
Chapter 10 | Parmenides' Account of Reality
Unit 5 Can Philosophers Change Society?
Chaper 11 | The Sophists and Their Time
Chapter 12 | Gorgias and thhe Power of Language
Chapter 13 | Socrates