Our discussion of Aristotle turns now to his metaphysics, that is, his understanding of the nature of reality, of essence. Aristotle is well-known for a series of distinctions that he made, involving terms like substance and accidents, form and matter, etc. We will explore the meaning of these terms in this lecture.

Aristotle's attempt to make the kinds of distinctions found here are an important reason for his significance as a scientist. He was always on a quest to bring clarity by differentiating various aspects of the subject matter under discussion. The distinctions described in this lesson have been especially important in the history of Christian thought, as is mentioned in the lecture.

Aristotle's labor in refining the Greek language through his philosophical distinctions was also very important in preparing the way for the Gospel message, which made heavy use of the Greek capacity for subtlety, and we can be grateful for the contribution of this great thinker for that reason as well!

1. Introduction to the Major Themes of Philosophy
2. The Ionian Philosophers
3. The Italian Philosophers
4. The Athenian Pluralists
5. The Life and Times of Socrates
6. Introduction to Plato
7. Plato's World of the Forms
8. Plato's Parable of the Cave
9. Dualism in Plato
10. Introduction to Aristotle
11. Aristotle's Metaphysics
12. Aristotle's Categories
13. Aristotle's Theory of Language
14. Aristotle's God
15. The Epicureans
16. Stoicism
17. Philo of Alexandria
18. The Christian Synthesis
19. Early Christian Apologists
20. Antiochan Christianity
21. Alexandrian Christianity
22. The Council of Nicaea
23. Manichaeism
24. Neo-Platonism
25. The Life of Augustine
26. Overview of Augustin's Thought
27. Augustin's Epistemology
28. Augustin's Epistemology (part 2)
29. Augustin's Theory of Faith
30. Augustin's Understanding of the Church
31. The Pelagian Controversy
32. The Pelagian Controversy (cont)
33. The Pelagian Controversy (concl)
34. Anselm of Canterbury
35. Anselm's Cur Deus Homo
36. Introduction to the Classical Synthesis
37. The Classical Synthesis (part 2)
38. Thomas Aquinas and the Five Ways
39. Art, Philosophy, and the Renaissance

This wide ranging course starts with the pre-Socratic philosophers of the ancient world, and traces the history of philosophical speculation across the ages up to the present. Included along the way is special attention to the greatest Christian thinkers in history, including Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin and many others.