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Tsinghua University

Plato, Socrates, and the Birth of Western Philosophy

Tsinghua University via XuetangX

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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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