GREEK PHILOSOPHY: The first philosophers in Western history—the ancient Greeks—asked the most fundamental questions about human beings and their relationship to the world. More than 2,500 years later, the issues they pondered continue to challenge, fascinate, and instruct us. Is reality stable and permanent or is it always changing? Are ethical values like justice and courage relative? Or are values “absolute”—simply and forever right and true? What is justice? What is happiness? How shall we best live our lives? In this course, you not only learn about Greek philosophy but, to some extent, how to do it. Greek philosophy is ultimately not about facts or answers but about the give-and-take of ideas.

By the end of this course, you will understand how Greek philosophy still heavily influences our view of life. We live today at a time that is shaped by Pre-Socratic, relativistic philosophy. Contemporary thinkers, and often the average person, have great difficulty finding objective truth or meaning in life. What have we lost in turning away from the world of Plato and Aristotle—a world where everything has a place and a purpose and life is saturated with value and meaning? On the other hand, what would we lose if we returned to that world? These are a few of the many questions that will give you ample food for thought. For the Greeks, that was the greatest feast of all.