More than 2,500 years later, the fundamental questions asked by the ancient Greeks continue to challenge, fascinate, and instruct us. Is reality stable and permanent or is it always changing? Are ethical values like justice and courage relative? What is justice? What is happiness? How shall we best live our lives? In this series of 24 lectures, Professor Roochnik invites you to join this eternal discussion. You'll study the development of Greek philosophy, meet its major thinkers, and explore the issues and ideas that concerned them, from the Pre-Socratic concerns with “Being” to the staggering contributions of Plato and Aristotle. Alfred North Whitehead, the great 20th-century British philosopher, said, “The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.” In the Middle Ages, Aristotle was held in such high esteem that he was simply known as “the philosopher.” In this course, you not only learn about Greek philosophy but, to some extent, how to do it. Professor Roochnik emphasizes that Greek philosophy is ultimately not about facts or answers but about the give-and-take of ideas. By joining the conversation, you will come away with a new appreciation for how Greek philosophy still heavily influences our view of life.
Introduction to Greek Philosophy
01: A Dialectical Approach to Greek Philosophy
The approach of this course is “dialectical.” The development of Greek philosophy is presented as a conversation between thinkers who respond to each other. The purpose is to invite the student to enter the dialogue that the Greeks began, and that continues to this day.
02: From Myth to Philosophy—Hesiod and Thales
Thales is generally regarded as the first philosopher of the West. He claimed to have rationally discovered the origin (archê) of all things: water. With this claim, he fundamentally broke with the myth-makers of the past.
03: The Milesians and the Quest for Being
Thales and two other philosophers from Miletus-Anaximander and Anaximenes - agreed that the world has an origin (archê) that can be comprehended rationally. They disagreed, however, as to its nature. This dispute about Being was the first debate in Western philosophy.
04: The Great Intrusion—Heraclitus
Heraclitus of Ephesus (540-480) offered a daring response to the dilemma of Being and Becoming: he eliminated Being. According to Heraclitus, nothing is stable or permanent. But if reality is unstable, how can it have a rational explanation?
05: Parmenides—The Champion of Being
Parmenides of Elea (c. 515-440) responded to Heraclitus by eliminating Becoming. His was a supremely rationalist position that rejected “appearance” (doxa) - what the world seems like to our eyes, ears and other senses as totally unreliable and philosophically worthless.
06: Reconciling Heraclitus and Parmenides
Much of Greek philosophy in the fifth century attempted to reconcile the conclusions of Heraclitus and Parmenides. This lecture discusses three such efforts, by Democritus of Abdera (c. 460), Anaxagoras (500-428) and Empedocles (493-433).
07: The Sophists—Protagoras, “the First 'Humanist”
The Sophists, a group of thinkers who lived in the fifth century, were professional teachers who traveled from city to city. This lecture focuses on Protagoras of Abdera, the first humanist in the West. He was a relativist for whom the distinctive feature of human beings was language, especially when applied to political deliberation and debate. Thus, he taught rhetoric, the art of speaking well.
08: Socrates
Socrates wrote nothing, and what we know of him comes from the writings of others. He was interested in ethical concepts, and sought definitions to such questions as “What is justice?” and “What is courage?” His basic concern was how a person could live a good life.
09: An Introduction to Plato's Dialogues
Plato wrote some 25 dialogues, a few of them (the Republic and the Laws), quite long. Only a small portion of Plato's writings will be addressed in this course. These themes will be selected with one consideration: How did Plato respond to his predecessors, the Sophists and the Presocratics?
10: Plato versus the Sophists, I
Plato was profoundly opposed to the relativism of the Sophists. He believed that the idea that “human being is the measure of all things” was philosophically, morally, and politically pernicious. This lecture examines in some detail one argument the philosopher used against his Sophistic opponents.
11: Plato versus the Sophists, II
Another strategy that Plato used against the relativism of the Sophists was the self-reference argument. In this sort of refutation, a position is used against itself. In the Theaetetus, Socrates uses the self-reference argument against Protagoras and Heraclitus.
12: Plato's Forms, I
In another dialogue, The Meno, Socrates asks his Sophistic opponent: “What is virtue itself?”; This question demands a universal definition that embraces all the particulars. This is “The Form of Virtue,” a crucial Platonic concept that will be explained in some detail.
13: Plato's Forms, II
Why should anyone believe that there are Platonic Forms? This is a profound question in the debate about relativism. In Plato's dialogue the Phaedo, Socrates shows that the Forms cannot be derived from experience. Instead, they are “recollected.” This lecture will explain what this means.
14: Plato versus the Presocratics
Plato was a fundamentally different kind of thinker from the Presocratics. They were phusiologoi, natural philosophers, interested mostly in giving an account of nature (a logos of phusis). By contrast, Plato was most involved with questions concerning the value and meaning of human life. For Plato, the world was saturated in value.
15: The “Republic"—The Political Implications of the Forms
The Forms played a crucial role in Plato's political thinking. This lecture turns to the “Parable of the Cave” in the Republic to consider the political implications of the Forms. The regime Plato seems to recommend is quite authoritarian. The ultimate authority, however, is not a man, but wisdom itself.
16: Final Reflections on Plato
By focusing on Plato's critique of the Sophists and the Presocratics, these lectures have positioned him to enter into the major philosophical debates of today. Contemporary thought has two dominant worldviews: the scientific, which is the legacy of the Presocratics, and the relativistic, whose representatives today are descendants of the Sophists. In rejecting both, Plato offers a compelling middle way that is still viable.
17: Aristotle— “The Philosopher”
Aristotle's influence on Western civilization was monumental. He was so dominant that in the Middle Ages he was simply called “the philosopher.” Unlike Plato, Aristotle gave systematic answers to the questions asked in each of these fields. This lecture covers some general characteristics of Aristotelian theory, and begins to discuss how it is both similar to, yet fundamentally different from, the modern conception of science.
18: Aristotle's “Physics"—What is Nature?
This lecture introduces Aristotle's Physics, his study (or theory) of nature. Aristotle appreciated the groundbreaking efforts of his predecessors, the Presocratics, but thought they put too much emphasis on material elements. As a student of Plato, Aristotle insisted that “form” was a crucial part of natural beings. His view is called “hylomorphism,” a doctrine in which both matter (hulê) and form (morphê) play an essential role.
19: Aristotle's “Physics"—The Four Causes
The Physics presents Aristotle's doctrine of the four causes: the efficient, the material, the formal, and the final. Aristotle's final cause implies that natural beings, not just humans, have purposes. This is Aristotle's “teleological” conception of nature, and is essential to understanding his view of the world.
20: Why Plants Have Souls
The Aristotelian idea that plants have souls sounds preposterous to modern ears. However, Aristotle's conception of soul (psychê) is so radically different from what we associate with the word that, in fact, his position can be philosophically defended.
21: Aristotle's Hierarchical Cosmos
Aristotle conceives of a hierarchically ordered cosmos in which things have their place. The heavens are, quite literally, above the earth. They are higher, better, more perfect than things that are below the moon (sublunar). On earth, animals are higher than plants, and human beings are the highest animal of all. Religious thinkers later used this argument to prove the existence of God, but Aristotle's God is different from that of the monotheistic tradition in important ways.
22: Aristotle's Teleological “Politics”
Aristotle applied his teleological conception of the world not just to physical objects, but to politics as well. He argued that the human being is by nature a “political animal.” According to Aristotle, human beings naturally form communities, which reach their zenith in the city, the only community that exists “for the sake of living well.” Some of Aristotle's political views, such as on slavery or the purpose of marriage, are shocking and controversial to a contemporary audience.
23: Aristotle's Teleological “Ethics”
Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics also reflects a teleological view of nature. This is illustrated by his conception of “happiness.” For him, happiness is a kind of work. Human beings, like all animals, have a “proper function,” or telos, which defines their potentialities. Those who fully actualize that nature are happy. Those who do not are unhappy (regardless of how they feel about themselves).
24: The Philosophical Life
What can we learn today from Aristotle's conception of the theoretical life - the life spent studying the world? While the technological achievements of modern science are extraordinary, they risk blinding us to what it means to be human. Aristotle, with his commonsensical view of experience, keeps us connected to human life as it is actually lived. This is a lesson desperately needed in the contemporary world.
Overview Course No. 4477
About
Dr. David Roochnik is Professor of Philosophy at Boston University, where he teaches in both the Department of Philosophy and the Core Curriculum, an undergraduate program in the humanities. He completed his undergraduate work at Trinity College, where he majored in philosophy, and earned his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Roochnik was awarded Boston University's Gitner Award in 1997 for excellence in teaching in the College of Arts and Sciences and the 1999 Metcalf Prize for campus-wide teaching excellence. He is the author of two books on Plato, The Tragedy of Reason: Toward a Platonic Conception of Logos and Of Art and Wisdom: Plato's Understanding of TECHNE. He has also published over 30 articles on a wide range of subjects in classical Greek philosophy and literature.
