It has been said that all Western thought comes from Athens or Jerusalem. While the dichotomy raises friction, one often fails to understand that the two thought patterns are often mixed. This module will focus on the history of Western Philosophy/Thought. For didactic reasons, the focus will be on Athens. The dichotomy in Athens’ thought is between Plato and Aristotle. To over simplify things, Plato ‘looked up’. Plato was looking for ‘the truth’, the ‘Real’ behind our existence. Aristotle ‘looked down’ and was less concerned with Plato’s quest.

The goal is to have students understand the time setting of the philosopher and the working out of their view of the world, to experience the ‘rose colored glasses’ of that particular philosopher. That task can be difficult because the study of Philosophy from the historical approach must negate all developments of Western Thought which are subsequent to the Philosopher.

Upon completion the student will be able to understand the development of Western Thought which led to the Western Post-Modern World View. The five philosophers to be visited will be Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, and Nietzsche.

Session Outline

• Session 1: Introduction to module’s approach to the study of philosophy
• Session 2: Plato, his time and contribution to Western Thought followed by discussion
• Session 3: Aristotle, his time, contribution, comparison to Plato’s approach followed by discussion
• Session 4: Descartes, his time, contribution/dilemma, followed by discussion
• Session 5: Kant, his time, contribution, followed by discussion
• Session 6: Nietzsche part one, his time, contribution followed by discussion
• Session 7: Nietzsche part two, his legacy on Post Modern Thought
• Session 8: Epistemology and a visit from our philosophers, followed by discussion