by Leonard Peikoff

1. The First Problem: Are There Any Absolutes? The father of philosophy: Thales. The philosophy of flux: Heraclitus—"You cannot step into the same river twice"—change as the only absolute. The mind-body opposition begins: the mathematical mysticism of the Pythagoreans.

2. The Triumph of the Metaphysics of Two Worlds. The birth of determinism: the materialism of Democritus. The birth of "It seems to me": the skepticism of the Sophists— "Might makes right." Socrates. The first complete philosophy: Plato. Plato's metaphysical dualism.

3. The Results in This World. Plato's epistemology—the myth of the cave. Plato's ethics/politics: reason vs. emotion—Platonic love—the Philosopher-King—communism as the political ideal.

4-5. A Revolution: The Birth of Reason. Aristotle. Epistemology: sensory evidence as the base of knowledge—the laws of logic—the nature of truth. Ethics/politics: happiness as the moral goal—reason and the good life—the Great-Souled Man—the ideal society.

6. Philosophy Loses Confidence. The philosophy of pleasure: the hedonism of Epicurus. The philosophy of duty: Stoicism. The new Skepticism: Pyrrho of Elis. Neo-Platonism: Plotinus.

7-8. Philosophy Becomes Religious—and Recovers. The rejection of reason and happiness: Christianity. The first major Christian philosopher: Augustine—faith as the basis of reason—the ethics of self-sacrificial love—man as a corrupt creature. The Dark Ages. The rediscovery of Aristotle. Thomas Aquinas: the union of Aristotelianism and Christianity—the absolutism of reason and the new role of faith. The aftermath: the Renaissance.

9. The New Breach Between the Mind and Reality. Materialism and determinism in the name of science, dictatorship in the name of harmony: Thomas Hobbes. The father of modern philosophy and the first famous Continental Rationalist: René Descartes— the method of universal doubt—"I think, therefore I am"—the theory of innate ideas.

10. The Breach Deepens . . . The second famous Rationalist: Spinoza—pantheism—determinism. The third famous Rationalist: Leibnitz—the unreality of matter—the "windowless monads." British empiricism: John Locke.

11. . . . and the Attempt Collapses. Empiricism becomes subjectivist: Bishop Berkeley—"To be is to be perceived." Empiricism becomes bankrupt: the skepticism of David Hume—the attack on the external world and on causality—the breach between logic and fact.

12. Conclusion. The Objectivist answer to key problems posed by Ancient and Modern Philosophy.

This is Part 1 of the two-part course.

(Audio CD; 36-CD set; 33 hrs. 22 min.)