What exactly is philosophy? What is philosophy? How is it different from religion and science? The course explores the history of philosophy as it developed in Western culture, starting with the Ancient Greek thinkers. The course begins with the Presocratic natural philosophers, who lived in Ionia during the 6th Century BCE. They are also known for being the first scientists. Anaximander and Thales made bold suggestions about the ultimate components of reality. Heraclitus maintained that the world is changing in an underlying order. Parmenides, Elea made a strong objection to these propositions. Later Greek theorists Anaxagoras or the Atomist Democritus attempted to address that objection. Socrates, fifth century Athens, insisted that the essential ethical question, "How shall I live?" was important. Platoas pupil and Platoas pupil Aristotle developed complex philosophical systems to describe the nature of knowledge and reality and how they can be used for human happiness. In the Hellenistic period Epicureans, Stoics, and others reworked and adapted the earlier tradition. This section will examine the main doctrines and ideas of these thinkers. Part I will be about Plato and his predecessors. Part II will include Aristotle as well as his successors.
