This course covers the history of ideas from Greek antiquity to the Renaissance, primarily from the perspective of philosophy. Students will read selections from Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, and Dante, among others. The course will include an introduction to the three main branches of philosophy: ethics (what makes actions right or wrong? what makes a life good?), epistemology (what, if anything, do we know? how can we know it?), and metaphysics (what is the nature of reality?). Other, related themes include moral responsibility, the rational basis for religious belief, and the nature of God. The goal of the course is to provide a historical framework for thinking about some of the big ideas in the history of Western civilization and in this way help students see the world from multiple points of view.
