A Little History of Philosophy

Nigel Warburton guides readers through Western philosophy via forty brief chapters exploring major thinkers from Socrates to Peter Singer. The book introduces complex philosophical concepts about reality and how to live in an accessible, conversational way. Philosophy begins with Socrates' questions in ancient Athens, progressing chronologically through the key ideas that have shaped Western thought.

11 sections ยท 43 lessons

Course outline

Ancient Foundations

  1. Socratic Method
  2. Examined Life
  3. Human Flourishing
  4. Golden Mean
  5. Skepticism
  6. Epicureanism
  7. Stoicism
  8. Ancient Foundations

Medieval Philosophy

  1. Faith and Evil
  2. Divine Foreknowledge
  3. Ontological Argument
  4. Cosmological Arguments
  5. Medieval Philosophy

Political Philosophy

  1. Political Realism
  2. State of Nature
  3. Natural Rights
  4. General Will
  5. Political Philosophy

Early Modern Philosophy

  1. Method of Doubt
  2. Pascal's Wager
  3. Monism vs. Pluralism
  4. Blank Slate
  5. Radical Empiricism
  6. Early Modern Philosophy

Enlightenment

  1. Optimism and Evil
  2. Natural Goodness
  3. Phenomena vs. Noumena
  4. Categorical Imperative
  5. Enlightenment

Utilitarianism

  1. Greatest Happiness
  2. Higher Pleasures
  3. Utilitarianism

19th Century

  1. Rational Progress
  2. Will and Suffering
  3. Subjective Truth
  4. Individual Liberty
  5. Natural Selection
  6. Historical Materialism
  7. 19th Century

Modern Crisis

  1. Death of God
  2. Will to Power
  3. Modern Crisis

Analytic Philosophy

  1. Logical Analysis
  2. Verification Principle
  3. Analytic Philosophy

Existentialism

  1. Existence Precedes Essence
  2. Gender and Absurdism
  3. Existentialism

Contemporary Philosophy

  1. Science's Nature
  2. Justice as Fairness
  3. Trolley Problems
  4. Bodies and Minds
  5. Applied Ethics
  6. Contemporary Philosophy

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