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The Modern Scholar

Plato and Aristotle: The Genesis of Western Thought

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The Modern Scholar

By: Prof. Aryeh Kosman
Narrated by: Prof. Aryeh Kosman
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About this listen

 This course is an introduction to the philosophical thought of the two most important philosophical figures of ancient Greece. By working through parts of their central texts and thoughts, we will gain an understanding of Plato and Aristotle's relevance in the past and today as well.

After each section of this guide, you will find some questions and suggestions for further thought. There is no right or wrong answer to most of these questions; they're designed merely to offer suggestions for how you might think further about the reading and about what was discussed in the lecture. In each case, you will, of course, find the questions more or less accessible depending on whether or not you were able to read the dialogue as well as listen to the lecture. You may find it interesting not to stop with these particular questions, but to use them as models to think further on your own or with others about the issues and questions raised by these lectures.

©2004 Aryeh Kosman (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature Classics Collections Philosophy Greek Philosophy
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Firstly, a warning. If you don't have a reasonable amount of hermeneutical philosophy under you belt before you tackle this, it will likely be very difficult to follow. If you're not an independent philosophy student already, then I imagine that you'll need at least first year university level philosophy training. That's my guess. It isn't for newbies. It's not a 'tell me about the life of Plato' kind of thing. You can read Wikipedia for that.
If you're listening to Prof. Kosman, refer everything he says back to your bodily felt sense of his meaning, then you'll be okay. It might mean keeping your finger on the pause button a great deal, so you can refer to the feel of the meaning.
As for my gratitude...
Listening to Prof. Kosman's introduction to Aristotle, I got, for the first time, what Aristotle meant by 'substance,' And that is not at all the ordinary 'materialist' meaning of the word. That gave me a direct feel for (the) Being (of beings) which was completely marvelous. Total magic. It resolved years of puzzlement over the issue of 'substance.' I'm very grateful to the late Prof. Kosman for this experience.
This audiobook has inspired me to read his "The Activity of Being: An Essay on Aristotle’s Ontology."
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Total Magic

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