Ancient Philosophy Course Kicks Off Monday
Monday 20 February sees the first of our six lessons in Ancient Philosophy with Dr Mark Vernon. The six classes go like this: 1. The Pre-Socratics. 2. Socrates and Plato. 3. Aristotle. 4. The Stoics. 5. The Epicureans. 6. The Cynics and Sceptics. A basic grounding in these subjects, we would argue, is absolutely essential to anyone who considers themselves to be a civilised human being. Therefore I would urge you to join us, by clicking here and receiving a 20% discount, or here to book an individual lesson.
Here is the full list:
Monday 20 February: The Pre-Socratics. Lesson one deals with the Pre-Socratics. Says Dr Vernon: ‘Socrates is the seminal figure of western philosophy, but he himself emerged from a tradition already centuries old. In this evening we will consider the thought of individuals from Thales, sometimes called the father of philosophy, to the big hitters such as Heraclitus and Parmenides, who argued over whether everything is in a state of flux or is, ultimately, one. The surviving texts of these philosophers are fragmentary but we can build up a fascinating picture of their extraordinary takes on the world, ideas that have echoed across the centuries right to our own day.’ BOOK THIS LESSON.
Monday 27 February: Socrates and Plato. ‘Socrates is arguably the most influential figure in western philosophy, though oddly he wrote not a word,’ says Mark. ‘Most of his ideas come to us via Plato, from the notion that the unexamined life is not worth living, to that of dying for a principled cause. But what are his great insights? Why is he so important? And can Plato be trusted, because this was a philosopher who had his own, powerful ideas about how to live – ideas we will explore too.’ BOOK THIS LESSON.
Monday 5 March: Aristotle. ‘Aristotle has been called the first scientist and his philosophy dominated in the west right up to the Renaissance. Today, he is increasing influential for his work on virtue ethics, an approach to moral philosophy that is gaining wide recognition once more. How to be happy? What does it mean to have a friend? How should we organise society so as to flourish? We will ask these questions and more of Aristotle.’ BOOK THIS LESSON.
Monday 12 March: The Stoics. ‘The Stoics offered probably the most successful practical philosophy of life right up to the Christian period – individuals from Cicero to Marcus Aurelius followed them – and even when the new religion arrived, Stoic ideas were imported. Notions about ‘going with the flow’ and ‘keeping a stiff upper lip’ can be traced back to Stoic ideas, and behind them lie a fully developed understanding of the nature of the cosmos.’ BOOK THIS LESSON.
Monday 19 March: The Epicureans. ‘Hedonism is the philosophy for a consumer age, though Epicurus – the founder in the west of this strand of thought – would have critiqued our way of life severely. Pleasure is the central question for him, but the trick is to enjoy small pleasures rather than become addicted to ever bigger, unsustainable highs and kicks. Epicurus taught in a garden and wrote from matters such as friendship, to the atomic nature of matter.’ BOOK THIS LESSON.
Monday 26 March: The Sceptics and Cynics. ‘These two groups of philosophers were, in a way, the punk-rockers of the ancient world. The Sceptics, from the ancient Greek for ‘searcher’, argued that it is better to suspend your relentless questioning when answers clearly are not to be found: rest easy with mystery. The Cynics, after the word for ‘dog’ because they were accused of living like dogs, challenged the other philosophers by holding a finger to all social conventions. They were Greece’s equivalent of the Hebrew prophets, calling the powerful, the mighty and the confident to account.’ BOOK THIS LESSON.
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