Some have argued that the most important and influential philosopher of all time is Plato, the brilliant student of Socrates who carried on and greatly expanded the tradition established by his master. Plato generally stands for an emphasis on rational truth rather than scientific and empirical fact. In this emphasis he favors the Italians over the Ionians, but he nevertheless hopes to find a synthesis between the two traditions.

In this first lesson on Plato, we survey briefly his life and the ideas that he opposed. Many have noted that the battle carried on by Plato resembles the battle many Christians have fought in a world of secularism and naturalism. For this reason, Plato has often been viewed as something of a proto-Christian. It is important to temper this view, however, by noting that Platonism has obscured the value of the material world in a way that does not fairly represent a biblical balance.

We will spend several lessons dealing with Plato. His importance cannot be overstated. In this first lecture we will focus primarily on his anti-Ionian outlook. Later we will take up his affirmative case for a transcendent order of truth in his world of the ideals.

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.