The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition

Before ancient Greek civilization, the world hosted deep insights into the human condition but offered little critical reflection. Homer planted the seeds of this reflection.

Discover how and why the ancient Greeks were the first to objectify the products of their own thoughts and feelings and be willing to subject both to critical scrutiny.

How can we comprehend the very integrity of the universe and our place within it, if not by way of the most abstract relations?

How many kinds of stuff make up the cosmos? Might everything, in fact, be reducible to one kind of thing?

The ancient philosophers were only part of the rich community of thought and wonder that surrounded the world's first great dramatists and their landmark depth psychologies.

Can history actually teach us? Herodotus looked at what he took to be certain universal human aspirations and deficiencies and concluded that indeed history could.