TTC - Practical Philosophy : The Greco Roman Moralists

TTC - Practical Philosophy : The Greco Roman Moralists
Taught by Luke Johnson
Published by The Teaching Company (TTC)
24 lectures of 30 minutes - 250 mb - mp3

Such classical Greek philosophers as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are fine, if lofty thinking is what you want.

But philosophy means "love of wisdom," not "love of thinking." What about solid advice on how to be a good father or friend; or how to grow old gracefully, or know what true happiness is?

Where can you find philosophy that tells you not how to think well, but how to live well?

Such "practical" philosophy can be found in the works of Cicero, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Dio, and Plutarch of Chaeronea, among others.

These Greeks and Romans of the early imperial period devoted their lives not to metaphysics and epistemology but to the appreciation and practice of morality and virtue, values and character.

Course Lecture Titles
1. The World of the Greco-Roman Moralists
2. How Empire Changed Philosophy
3. The Great Schools and Their Battles
4. Dominant Themes and Metaphors
5. The Ideal Philosopher—A Composite Portrait
6. The Charlatan—Philosophy Betrayed
7. Philosophy Satirized—The Comic Lucian
8. Cicero—The Philosopher as Politician
9. Seneca—Philosopher as Court Advisor
10. Good Roman Advice—Cicero and Seneca
11. Musonius Rufus—The Roman Socrates
12. Dio Chrysostom—The Wandering Rhetorician
13. Dio Chrysostom—Preaching Peace and Piety
14. Epictetus—Philosopher as School Teacher
15. Epictetus—The Stoic Path to Virtue
16. Epictetus—The Messenger of Zeus
17. Marcus Aurelius—Meditations of the King
18. Jews Thinking Like Greeks
19. Philo—Judaism as Greek Philosophy
20. Plutarch—Biography as Moral Instruction
21. Plutarch and Philosophical Religion
22. Plutarch on Virtue and Educating Children
23. Plutarch—Envy, Anger, and Talking Too Much
24. The Missing Page in Philosophy’s Story