ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY

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Curriculum Diagram

PHIL 1123 Ancient Philosophy:
Plato - Aristotle - Socrates - Confucius (3)

This course introduces students to the nature of philosophical inquiry, to the beginnings of Western philosophy in Greece, and to Oriental moral thninking in the East with special emphasis on the claims of ancient philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Confucius that a full human life can only be attained through philosophical inquiry and right living.  

The main questions philosophers throughout the ages have explored are studied, such as: What is the human person?  How do we know?  What is the purpose of human life?  Is there a God?  What is beauty?  Can humans love each other in a sincere manner?  How do we make the right choices in our personal lives and about the way society should be? Such themes as wisdom, happiness, knowledge, the relations of the philosopher to the city, of philosophy and religion, of nature and convention, and the problem of the one and the many will be treated.  

GREATEST and GREAT BOOKS INCLUDE:

Plato:Excerpts from selected texts
Aristotle: Excerpts from selected texts
Apology of Socrates
Confucius: (excerpts)