This course covers the history of western philosophy from approximately 700 B.C. to 1500 A.D. Naturally, there is far too much that went on over that 2000 plus year period to cover in one semester. We will aim to consider some key texts, figures, and ideas linked by one possible historical narrative that may be used to connect them. In doing so, we will not only gain an appreciation for particular philosophers and philosophical movements as they have contributed to the history of Western thought, but we will also gain an appreciation for the act of cobbling together one particular perspective on the immense reality that is the history of human civilization. We will build our story of the development of classical Western thought around a particular question: What is truth? This question will serve as a focal point to which we will return frequently as we examine particular thinkers and philosophies.
The class begins by investigating the Greek pre-Socratic philosophers, then explores the giants of Greek philosophy: Socrates and Plato in the early dialogues that lead to Aristotle’s Nicomachean ethics and politics.
