Back to Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle and His Successors
University of Pennsylvania

Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle and His Successors

What is philosophy? How does it differ from science, religion, and other modes of human discourse? This course traces the origins of philosophy in the Western tradition in the thinkers of Ancient Greece. We begin with the Presocratic natural philosophers who were active in Ionia in the 6th century BCE and are also credited with being the first scientists. Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximines made bold proposals about the ultimate constituents of reality, while Heraclitus insisted that there is an underlying order to the changing world. Parmenides of Elea formulated a powerful objection to all these proposals, while later Greek theorists (such as Anaxagoras and the atomist Democritus) attempted to answer that objection. In fifth-century Athens, Socrates insisted on the importance of the fundamental ethical question—“How shall I live?”—and his pupil, Plato, and Plato’s pupil, Aristotle, developed elaborate philosophical systems to explain the nature of reality, knowledge, and human happiness. After the death of Aristotle, in the Hellenistic period, Epicureans and Stoics developed and transformed that earlier tradition. We will study the major doctrines of all these thinkers. Part I will cover Plato and his predecessors. Part II will cover Aristotle and his successors.

Status: Ancient History
Status: Liberal Arts
Course15 hours

Featured reviews

Reviewed Jun 18, 2016

This is a great course because the great instructor shares her knowledge about Aristotle and his successors in a comprehensible and exciting manner.

Reviewed Jan 10, 2021

This is an excellent course. The lecturer presents the material very clearly, carefully bringing out what is at stake in the views and arguments of the Greek thinkers and schools she considers.

Reviewed Aug 8, 2018

Beautifully organized, this is a phenomenal tour through Aristotle's main ideas. Dr. Meyer is an expert on Aristotle, and this course is excellent for that reason!

Reviewed May 5, 2018

Loved every minute of it! A big thank you to professor Susan Sauve Meyer - it was beautiful experience, I wish the course would be intimately wider.

Reviewed Nov 26, 2019

I honestly looked forward to this class at the end of each work day. Modest course work and excellent lectures and discussion exercises.

Reviewed Mar 9, 2016

Formatted like the the preceding course. This one goes in depth with the later philosophers. The lectures are very detailed and in-video quizzes are engaging.

Reviewed Dec 5, 2018

I enjoyed the course and treatment by the Professor. I learned a lot about this important period in philosophy. Thank you.

Reviewed Feb 1, 2019

This is an excellent course! The professor is well-timed and the resource material well-selected. In-depth treatment of Aristotle, the Stoics, and the Epicureans. Highly recommended.

Reviewed Jul 12, 2017

Absolutely amazing course. Very excellent teacher. She is eloquent, knowledgable and effective at teaching. The only sad part is that she only has 2 courses on Coursera.

Reviewed Jun 6, 2020

I have learned a lot through this course and Coursera is very high through online education. I would like to say that it has changed the online education system. Thank you.

Reviewed Feb 18, 2022

The course did not only serve as a refresher course on Aristotle, it actually capacitated me to know more and anew. Thank you for this program.

Reviewed Oct 30, 2024

I think the content was very good. The teacher absolutely phenomenal. She made the studies so interesting. The lenght of each video was also very good

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