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Masters of Greek Thought: Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle

By: Robert C. Bartlett, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Robert C. Bartlett
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Publisher's Summary

For more than two millennia, philosophers have grappled with life's most profound and "eternal" questions. It is easy to forget, however, that these questions about fundamental issues like justice, injustice, virtue, vice, or happiness were not always eternal. They once had to be asked for the first time.

This was a step that could place the inquirer beyond the boundaries of the law. And the Athenian citizen and philosopher who took that courageous step in the 5th century B.C. was Socrates.

In this intellectually vibrant - yet crystal-clear and accessible - series of 36 lectures, an award-winning teacher provides you with a detailed analysis of the golden age of Athenian philosophy and the philosophical consequences of the philosopher's famed "Socratic Turn": his veering away from philosophy's previous concerns with the scientific study of nature and the physical world and toward the scrutiny of moral opinion. After Socrates, philosophy would never be the same. You learn that much of Socrates's philosophy is captured in the writings of his contemporaries and followers, including not just Plato and Aristotle, but also figures like Xenophon, a great thinker and military commander, and the comic playwright Aristophanes. Professor Bartlett takes you through Plato's most important dialogues - where Socrates is the protagonist - and shows how they convey the core of Socrates's philosophy. He then moves on to Aristotle, who did more than anyone to establish a comprehensive system of philosophy in the West, producing work encompassing morality, politics, aesthetics, logic, science, rhetoric, theology, metaphysics, and more.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2008 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2008 The Great Courses

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Buy any other book

Socrates, Plato and Aristotle have set the course of thinking in the west for thousands of years. They are instrumental in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In this course you learn about none of that.

I have no idea what the other reviews are talking about. Wikipedia is better than this book. The lecturer first ignores everything the philosophers talked about except virtue and justice, and then really just gives his own spin on it. Ignoring all the bits you really need to know.

He's very difficult to follow. He tends to use about 4 commas and 30 words to say what could be said in 5. His melodious voice easily puts you to sleep, and when you do manage to listen you realise he's just talking about his favourite bits in each book. He totally skips over all the science and mathematics, doesn't put anything into context, and at the end of the day you feel like the Caliph who asked Ibn Razi to explain what was going on.

All the other great courses I've bought have been great. This is terrible. I returned it.

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8 people found this helpful

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amazing

a great introduction to philosophy, letting the listener feel engaged to increase understanding of what is being taught.

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