The two most important non-Christian movements in religion and philosophy during the third and fourth centuries were Manichaeism and Neo-platonism. We have already considered the former, and now turn to the other, which was founded in the third century by Plotinus. We are especially interested in these two because of the impact each of them had on the thought of Augustin.

When Augustin was wrestling with the problem of evil, his pastor and mentor, Ambrose of Milan, suggested that he read the writings of Plotinus, who, even though a pagan, had a much more reasonable understanding of the nature of evil than did the Manichaeans. Augustin would eventually incorporate certain aspects of Plotinus' vision into his own philosophy of the Christian faith. Some have criticized him for this, but on the whole, Christian philosophers have agreed that Plotinus offered a useful approach to the issue.

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.