University of Pennsylvania
Ancient Philosophy: Plato & His Predecessors
University of Pennsylvania

Ancient Philosophy: Plato & His Predecessors

Taught in English

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115,649 already enrolled

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

Susan Sauvé Meyer

Instructor: Susan Sauvé Meyer

4.8

(1,475 reviews)

12 hours to complete
3 weeks at 4 hours a week
Flexible schedule
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8 quizzes

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There are 4 modules in this course

Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes and Xenophanes seek the material principle of the cosmos, and arrive at a radical new conception of the gods. Heraclitus distills the essence of their “naturalism” in his riddling slogans.

What's included

8 videos2 readings2 quizzes2 discussion prompts

Parmenides poses a fundamental philosophical challenge to all naturalistic inquiry when he denies the intelligibility of change. Later naturalists (Empedocles, Anaxagoras, and Democritus) respond to his challenge. Plato’s portrait of Socrates raises questions about the nature of philosophy, its role in public life, and the relation between morality and religion.

What's included

8 videos3 readings2 quizzes2 discussion prompts

What is virtue, and how can it be taught? What is teaching anyway, and how could we ever acquire knowledge? Socrates gives a geometry lesson purporting to show that learning is recollection. Why should we act justly? What’s in it for us? An elaborate analogy between a city and a human soul seeks to convince us that crime never pays, even if the criminal can escape detection.

What's included

10 videos4 readings2 quizzes2 discussion prompts

The ultimate realities are intelligible Forms, while the world of our experience is only an image of that reality. Goodness is a fundamental feature of the world. Plato’s cosmology: the creation of the universe (complete with a world soul) and the principles of mathematical perfection that structure it at every level.

What's included

6 videos4 readings2 quizzes1 peer review2 discussion prompts

Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.9 (256 ratings)
Susan Sauvé Meyer
University of Pennsylvania
2 Courses144,025 learners

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