Plato, Socrates, and the Birth of Western Philosophy

Overview

This philosophy course explores the origins of Western philosophy – a rich tapestry of ideas that began with the most noted ancient Greek and Roman philosophers.

By examining the work of these historic figures, students will attain a strong grasp of Western philosophy’s basic spirit. In doing so, they’ll cultivate deeper thinking abilities, explore noble values, and learn to contemplate the world around them in new ways.

Syllabus

Introduction(1)——Philosophy, Religion and Culture

1.Etymology
2.Definition and the History of Philosophy
3.Religion
4.Culture
5.Theory of Cultural Transformation and Interaction: Five theoretical premise
6.Theory of Cultural Transformation and Interaction:Five Basic Position
7.The Significance of Theory of Cultural Transformation and Interaction
Thinking Questions

Introduction(2)——A Sketch of Ancient Greek Philosophy

1.The Birth Environment of the Greek Philosophy(1)
2.The Birth Environment of Greek Philosophy(2)
3.The Stages and Schools of Greek Philosophy(1)
4.The Stages and Schools of Greek Philosophy(2)
5.The Local Characteristics of Ancient Greek Philosophy and the progress of internationalization(1)
6.The Local Characteristics of Ancient Greek Philosophy and the progress of internationalization(1)
7.The termination of Ancient Greek Philosophy
Thinking Questions

Seeking “shi”（是）—— the Sprout of Rationality

1.A transition to rational thinking（1）
2.A transition to rational thinking（2）
3.A transition to rational thinking（3）
4.A transition to rational thinking（4）
5.Heraclitus’ thinking
6.Parmenides’ thinking（1）
7.Parmenides’ thinking（2）
Thinking Questions

Seeking"ben"(本)——Ontology&Metaphysics

1.Seeking the origin:the early philosophers(1)
2.Seeking the origin:the early philosophers(2)
3.Seeking the essence: Plato’s theory of Form (1)
4.Seeking the essence: Plato’s theory of Form (2)
5.Seeking to on: Aristotle’s ontology and metaphysics (1)
6.Seeking to on: Aristotle’s ontology and metaphysics (2)
Thinking Questions

Seeking “zhi”（知）——the Ancient Epistemology

1.The lexical meaning
2.Epistemology(1)
3.Epistemology(2)
4.Epistemology(3)
5.Epistemology(4)
6.The features
Thinking Questions

Seeking “zhen”（真）——Methodology & Logic

1.A lexical meaning（1）
2.A lexical meaning（2）
3.A lexical meaning（3）
4.Plato’s Dialectics（authentic true）
5.Aristotle’s Logics（judging true）(1)
6.Aristotle’s Logics（judging true）(2)
Thinking Questions

Seeking “shi”（实）——Natural Sciences

1.A lexical meaning
2.The occurrence and development of the ancient Greek Science(1)
3.The occurrence and development of the ancient Greek Science(2)
4.The occurrence and development of the ancient Greek Science(3)
5.The occurrence and development of the ancient Greek Science(4)
6.The occurrence and development of the ancient Greek Science(5)
7.the technicalization and application of ancient Greek Science(1)
8.the technicalization and application of ancient Greek Science(2)
Thinking Questions

Seeking “mei”（美）——Odes to the Love

1.A Lexical meaning
2.Plato’s theory of Love
3.The high praise to the love god: a reading on Symposium （1）
4.The high praise to the love god: a reading on Symposium （2）
5.The high praise to the love god: a reading on Symposium （3）
6.The high praise to the love god: a reading on Symposium （4）
Thinking Questions

Seeking “shan”（善）——An Ethical Thought

1.A lexical analysis
2.The development of the Classic Greek Ethics（1）
3.The development of the Classic Greek Ethics（2）
4.The development of the Classic Greek Ethics（3）
5.The development of the Classic Greek Ethics（4）
6.From the ultimate goodness to the common goodness（1）
7.From the ultimate goodness to the common goodness（2）
Thinking Questions

Seeking “ren”（仁）——A Humanism

1.A lexical meaning
2.Ancient humanistic trend of thoughts(1)
3.Ancient humanistic trend of thoughts(2)
4.Ancient humanistic trend of thoughts(3)
5.A theoretical summary
Thinking Questions

Seeking “yi”（义）——On Justice

1.A lexical analysis
2.The story of Gyges
3.The Ancient theory of justice(1)
4.The Ancient theory of justice(2)
4.The Ancient theory of justice(3)
Thinking Questions

Seeking “li”（礼）——States and Legislation

1.An explanation to the related words
2.A Platonic Republic
3.Cicero’s people’s Republic(1)
4.Cicero’s people’s Republic(2)
Thinking Questions

Seeking “fu”（福）——A Spirit of Religions

1.A lexical analysis
2.The religious trends in the late period of ancient Greek philosophy（1）
3.The religious trends in the late period of ancient Greek philosophy（2）
4.The religious trends in the late period of ancient Greek philosophy（3）
5.The religious trends in the late period of ancient Greek philosophy（4）
6.The collision between faith and reason(1)
7.The collision between faith and reason(2)
Thinking Questions

Seeking “sheng”（圣）——Communion with gods

1.An explanation to the related words
2.Communion with gods(1)
3.Communion with gods(2)
4.Communion with gods(3)
5.Communion with gods(4)
6.Plotinus’ mystical system of thoughts
Thinking Questions

A General Summary ——A Basic Spirit of the Ancient Greek Philosophy Synopsis of Lecture XV

1.The local characteristics of the ancient Greek Philosophy
2.The progressive universalization of the ancient Greek Philosophy
3.The basic spirits of the ancient Greek Philosophy（1）
4.The basic spirits of the ancient Greek Philosophy（2）
Thinking Questions

Taught by

Xiaochao Wang

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