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The Birth of Western Philosophy: Plato and Aristotle (Portable Professor Series) by Aryeh Kosman

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(Paperback - 8 CDs, Book-length Course Guide)

  • Pub. Date: May 2004
  • 80pp

    Reader Rating: (11 ratings)

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    Product Details

    • Pub. Date: May 2004
    • Publisher: Barnes & Noble
    • Format: Paperback, 80pp

    Synopsis

    PORTABLE PROFESSOR™ is a series of exciting and informative lectures recorded by some of today's most renowned university and college professors. Each course introduces listeners to fascinating, and sometimes startling, insights into the intellectual forces that shape our understanding of the world. Each package includes 14 riveting lectures presented by notable professors as well as a book-length course guide.

    The foundations of Western Philosophy rest squarely on the shoulders of Plato and Aristotle, teacher and pupil, who were among the first to formally express the basic drive of human beings to understand ourselves and the world we live in. In these penetrating lectures, Professor Aryeh Kosman examines the key works of these seminal thinkers, and explores the ways in which their commitment to reason as critical to our moral, political, and spiritual lives is as relevant today as it was in ancient Athens.

    COURSE LECTURES

    1. Plato (with Nods to Socrates)
    2. Euthyphro: The Virtue of Holiness
    3. Charmides: The Virtue of Quiet Self-Control
    4. Republic: Justice and the Virtue of Justice
    5. Republic: Justice and the Philosopher King
    6. Symposium: Is the Philosopher Capable of Love?
    7. Phaedo: Death and the Philosopher
    8. Aristotle: Patience with Complexity
    9. Organon: Substance as the Primary Mode of Being
    10. Metaphysics: What Is Philosophy?
    11. Biology and On the Soul: Life and Consciousness
    12. Nichomachean Ethics: Ethics and the Good Life
    13. Plato and Aristotle: ThePolitics and the Poetics
    14. Plato and Aristotle: A Final Review and Summation

    Aryeh Kosman is the John Whitehead Professor of Philosophy at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Professor Kosman began his studies at the University of California at Berkeley and completed his doctoral work at Harvard University, with study in between at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He joined the Haverford faculty in 1962 and has taught there since, except during visiting appointments at Princeton University, UCLA, UC Berkeley, the University of Washington, and the University of Pittsburgh. During his distinguished career, Professor Kosman has lectured and written extensively on ancient, medieval, and early modern philosophy. He has received several teaching awards and is a former fellow at Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies and at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

    Note: The printed package incorrectly states that Professor Kosman received his Ph.D. from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and that he taught at Harvard. The publisher regrets the error.

    Customer Reviews

    A reviewerby Anonymous

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    July 08, 2008: Having read Plato and enjoying it very much, I looked forward to these lectures. Unfortunately, this professor's style is very pedantic and redundant. He must have used the phrase 'in other words' more than 100 times. I kid you not. He does not seem to be able to convey the ideas and concepts of Plato and Aristotle clearly. I found it very easy to read Plato's Republic. This professor seemed to be just filling time and making the texts seem much harder than they are. I would avoid these lectures and just read up on Plato and Aristotle for yourself.

    Okay, but not greatby Anonymous

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    February 24, 2007: When the series begins you automatically assume Professor Kosman is going to be intriguing and informative. Throughout the series he becomes less intriguing and more informative. If you are looking for information on the writings of these two great thinkers then this project is for you. However, if you are looking to understand these men and acquire a general understanding of their concepts then this project is not for you. He never fully enlightens the listener on the meanings of their concepts and never gives a definitive explanations to their meanings. In the beginning of the lectures he states that Plato's writings are 'interpretive endeavors'. That is, they are left for the reader to decide as to what the writer and others mean by their discussion. Furthermore, he does a fair job on explaining what the writings are addressing and their significance but that's about it. You will come out knowing what each book is addressing while also knowing more about the two philosophers, but not how to interpret the writings or even understand what the concepts of the writings are about in depth. For instance, what is the virtue of self-control? He merely states what Charmindes, one of the characters in Plato's writings, believes self-control is. Afterwards, Socrates corrects and critiques his definition (which you will find Socrates usually doing) and then Socrates fails to give a definitive explanation (OR if he does you must investigate it within Plato's book, The Charmindes). Which brings me to my next point: If you don't have time to read these books then do not entertain the thought that you will, some how, have a conclusive understanding of the concepts of Plato. Again, he leaves this up to the listener to discover! For this lecture series one must be prepared to spend immense amounts of time of one lecture, that is, you must listen to the lecture, read the chapter in the book that comes with the lecture, then prepare to read at least one of the suggested readings (Plato's writings) and then answer the questions to fully grasp it all. Sure, if you have time to spend on this for the next 6-9 months you will come out as fairly advanced in this subject. If you don't then you are preparing to waste your money.


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