Practical Philosophy: The Greco-Roman Moralists
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Narrated by:
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Luke Timothy Johnson
About this listen
It's easy to forget that philosophy means "love of wisdom," not "love of thinking." In addition to philosophy that tells you how to think well, the field also provides guidance on how to live well - solid advice on how to be a good father or friend, or how to grow old gracefully, or to know what true happiness is.
Greek and Roman thinkers such as Marcus Tullius Cicero, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Dio Chrysostom, and Plutarch of Chaeronea devoted their lives not to metaphysics and epistemology but to the appreciation and practice of morality and virtue, values, and character. They give us - in plain, straightforward language - rules designed to help us progress as people.
These 24 inspiring lectures introduce you to the sages who, as a group, represent the "missing page" of the history of philosophy. Although their names are sometimes familiar to us, as in the case of Cicero and Plutarch, their philosophy is not. Studying these thinkers offers some surprising ways to think about philosophy.
For example, they believed the heart of philosophy is the question of how to live well as a human being. It is how you act, not what you think, that is most important. Virtue and morality are the keys to living a good life. And philosophers should practice what they preach (although, as you'll discover, the Greco-Roman moral philosophers certainly had flaws).
From Cicero's deep sense of civic duty to Marcus Aurelius's pursuit of wisdom and dedication to the common good, this course offers ample opportunity to hear, in their own words, the philosophers' prescriptions for healthier living.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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Story
For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
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Vandiver never disappoints
- By Machteacher on 07-23-13
By: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
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The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition
- By: Daniel N. Robinson, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Daniel N. Robinson
- Length: 30 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
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Grasp the important ideas that have served as the backbone of philosophy across the ages with this extraordinary 60-lecture series. This is your opportunity to explore the enormous range of philosophical perspectives and ponder the most important and enduring of human questions-without spending your life poring over dense philosophical texts.
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A Hard Review to Write
- By Ark1836 on 11-20-15
By: Daniel N. Robinson, and others
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The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
- By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert Garland
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
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Tantalizing time trip
- By Mark on 08-21-13
By: Robert Garland, and others
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Augustine: Philosopher and Saint
- By: Phillip Cary, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Phillip Cary
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Original Recording
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These 12 illuminating lectures paint a rich and detailed portrait of the life, works, and ideas of this remarkable figure, whose own search for God has profoundly shaped all of Western Christianity. You'll learn what Augustine taught and why he taught it – and how those teachings and doctrines helped shape the Roman Catholic Church. These lectures are rewarding even if you have no background at all in classical philosophy or Christian theology.
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Good, but problematic in parts.
- By Adam on 02-28-16
By: Phillip Cary, and others
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The Ethics of Aristotle
- By: The Great Courses, Father Joseph Koterski S.J.
- Narrated by: Father Joseph Koterski S.J.
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Original Recording
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In this 12-lecture meditation on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, you'll uncover the clarity and ethical wisdom of one of humanity's greatest minds. Father Koterski shows how and why this great philosopher can help you deepen and improve your own thinking on questions of morality and leading the best life. The aim of these lectures is to provide you with a clear and thoughtful introduction to Aristotle as a moral philosopher.
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Father Joseph is awesome!
- By DeeDeen on 04-08-17
By: The Great Courses, and others
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No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life
- By: Robert C. Solomon, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert C. Solomon
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
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What is life? What is my place in it? What choices do these questions obligate me to make? More than a half-century after it burst upon the intellectual scene - with roots that extend to the mid-19th century - Existentialism's quest to answer these most fundamental questions of individual responsibility, morality, and personal freedom, life has continued to exert a profound attraction.
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Good for even a non-existentialist
- By Gary on 07-24-15
By: Robert C. Solomon, and others
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The Iliad of Homer
- By: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
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Vandiver never disappoints
- By Machteacher on 07-23-13
By: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
-
The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition
- By: Daniel N. Robinson, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Daniel N. Robinson
- Length: 30 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grasp the important ideas that have served as the backbone of philosophy across the ages with this extraordinary 60-lecture series. This is your opportunity to explore the enormous range of philosophical perspectives and ponder the most important and enduring of human questions-without spending your life poring over dense philosophical texts.
-
-
A Hard Review to Write
- By Ark1836 on 11-20-15
By: Daniel N. Robinson, and others
-
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
- By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert Garland
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
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Tantalizing time trip
- By Mark on 08-21-13
By: Robert Garland, and others
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Augustine: Philosopher and Saint
- By: Phillip Cary, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Phillip Cary
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
These 12 illuminating lectures paint a rich and detailed portrait of the life, works, and ideas of this remarkable figure, whose own search for God has profoundly shaped all of Western Christianity. You'll learn what Augustine taught and why he taught it – and how those teachings and doctrines helped shape the Roman Catholic Church. These lectures are rewarding even if you have no background at all in classical philosophy or Christian theology.
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Good, but problematic in parts.
- By Adam on 02-28-16
By: Phillip Cary, and others
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Propaganda and Persuasion
- By: Dannagal G. Young, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Dannagal G. Young
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Original Recording
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Propaganda and Persuasion gives you a one-of-a-kind opportunity to explore the powerful, fascinating, and at times dangerous world of influence. Taught by Professor Dannagal G. Young of the University of Delaware, these 12 eye-opening lectures arm you with the tools of effective communication and the insight to understand—and perhaps resist—persuasion in all its forms.
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good course minus the progressive slant
- By H.B. on 05-21-23
By: Dannagal G. Young, and others
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The New Testament
- By: Bart D. Ehrman, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Bart D. Ehrman
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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Whether taken as a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings the world has ever known, its web of meaning relied upon by virtually every major writer in the last 2,000 years. Yet the New Testament is not only one of Western civilization’s most believed books, but also one of its most widely disputed, often maligned, and least clearly understood, with a vast number of people unaware of how it was written and transmitted.
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If you want a balanced overview this is not it
- By Amazon Customer on 02-27-16
By: Bart D. Ehrman, and others
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African American History: From the African Coast to the Civil War
- By: Leslie Alexander, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Leslie Alexander
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Original Recording
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Owing to the legacy of slavery, African Americans have faced significant obstacles to obtaining the fundamental rights of freedom and citizenship. The consistent struggle among African Americans to gain their human rights live at the heart of the American experiment in democracy. In the 24 compelling lectures of African American History: From the African Coast to the Civil War, take a penetrating look at the experience of African Americans in the colonial and antebellum eras
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Most important but least know history
- By John D. Murphy on 11-17-24
By: Leslie Alexander, and others
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Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy
- By: The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor David K. Johnson PhD University of Oklahoma
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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The science fiction genre has become increasingly influential in mainstream popular culture, evolving into one of the most engaging storytelling tools we use to think about technology and consider the shape of the future. Along the way, it has also become one of the major lenses we use to explore important philosophical questions. The origins of science fiction are most often thought to trace to Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, a story born from a night of spooky tale-telling by the fireside that explores scientific, moral, and ethical questions that were of great concern in the 19th century - and that continue to resonate today.
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Weak philosophy loaded with misapplied facts and personal bias
- By KENDRA GOODMAN on 11-22-18
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Athenian Democracy: An Experiment for the Ages
- By: The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Robert Garland PhD University College London
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Roughly 2,500 years ago, the Athenian people established a radical democracy in which power derived from the votes of everyday citizens. At a time when local governments ranged from oligarchy to tyranny, the elite classes of Athens gradually ceded power to the inexperienced masses, whose votes served as referendums for everything from taxation to war to welfare. The sequence of events that led to this development is astonishing, and the society that flourished under Athenian democracy is one of the greatest - even if greatly flawed - achievements in world history.
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A vote for Prof. Garland
- By Mark on 05-26-18
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Food: A Cultural Culinary History
- By: Ken Albala, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Ken Albala
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Original Recording
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Eating is an indispensable human activity. As a result, whether we realize it or not, the drive to obtain food has been a major catalyst across all of history, from prehistoric times to the present. Epicure Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said it best: "Gastronomy governs the whole life of man."
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One of my top 3 favorite courses!
- By Jessica on 12-28-13
By: Ken Albala, and others
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The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis
- By: Louis Markos, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Louis Markos
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
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What can we still learn from C.S. Lewis? Find out in these 12 insightful lectures that cover the author's spiritual autobiography, novels, and his scholarly writings that reflect on pain and grief, love and friendship, prophecy and miracles, and education and mythology.
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Basically a collection of sermons
- By Richard on 11-20-13
By: Louis Markos, and others
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The Passions: Philosophy and the Intelligence of Emotions
- By: Robert C. Solomon, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert C. Solomon
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Original Recording
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Conventional wisdom suggests there is a sharp distinction between emotion and reason. Emotions are seen as inferior, disruptive, primitive, and even bestial forces. These 24 remarkable lectures suggest otherwise-that emotions have intelligence and provide personal strategies that are vitally important to our everyday lives of perceiving, evaluating, appraising, understanding, and acting in the world.
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Feel good and be good
- By Gary on 11-24-18
By: Robert C. Solomon, and others
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The Power of Thought Experiments
- By: Daniel Breyer, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Daniel Breyer
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Original Recording
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Thought experiments are “what if” scenarios that invite us to look carefully at how we think and view the world. They’ve been used throughout history by philosophers and other thinkers to explore our intuitions and ways of reasoning, to find solutions to problems, and to expand our knowledge of ourselves and the world. In these 24 eye-opening lectures, Professor Breyer takes you deeply into the historical tradition of thought experiments, shining a light on both the purpose and the outcomes of these compelling mental voyages.
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Real Life Pholosophy
- By Dennis on 07-19-23
By: Daniel Breyer, and others
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The US Constitution Through History
- By: Eric Berger, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Eric Berger
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Original Recording
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The history of the Constitution is therefore a history of ideas that define our country and our national identity—and it’s a fascinating and revealing story. The US Constitution Through History gives you the opportunity to explore the story of this powerful document, as well as the way our interpretation of it has evolved. In 24 riveting lectures, Professor Eric Berger of the University of Nebraska takes you on a journey through America’s constitutional history. He takes you inside the minds of the Framers and unpacks the ideas that led to the break from England.
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One of the best Great Courses!
- By NWCP Pediatrics on 12-05-22
By: Eric Berger, and others
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The Dead Sea Scrolls
- By: Gary A. Rendsburg, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Gary A. Rendsburg
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Original Recording
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Whether complete or only fragmentary, the 930 extant Dead Sea Scrolls irrevocably altered how we look at and understand the foundations of faith and religious practice. Now you can get a comprehensive introduction to this unique series of archaeological documents, and to scholars' evolving understanding of their authorship and significance, with these 24 lectures. Learn what the scrolls are, what they contain, and how the insights they offered into religious and ancient history came into focus.
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A comprehensive overview of the Qumran Scrolls
- By Jacobus on 09-25-13
By: Gary A. Rendsburg, and others
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Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion
- By: Bill Messenger, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Bill Messenger
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
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Jazz is a uniquely American art form, one of America's great contributions to not only musical culture, but world culture, with each generation of musicians applying new levels of creativity that take the music in unexpected directions that defy definition, category, and stagnation. Now you can learn the basics and history of this intoxicating genre in an eight-lecture series that is as free-flowing and original as the art form itself.
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A Disappointingly Distorted, Myopic View Of Jazz
- By Parallax View on 08-18-13
By: Bill Messenger, and others
What listeners say about Practical Philosophy: The Greco-Roman Moralists
Highly rated for:
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- Brian
- 04-30-22
An overlooked chapter of Western philosophy!
An overlooked chapter of Western philosophy! Definitely going to read these ancient writers when I can.
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- Werner
- 11-27-18
nice but requires attention
I struggled sometimes even though I enjoyed it. it really felt like I was losing half of what was taught and that made me feel less inclined to keep going. I think it requires more attention and learning than I wanted to give.
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- James S
- 01-10-15
Broad and deep on The Stoics
I have listened to nearly all of Professor Johnson's Great Courses lectures
He will leave you with a deep understanding of the The Stoics. Your appetite will be whetted so that you can most into the practice of this ancient philosophy to live a life of wisdom and not just knowledge.
And then to experience the correctly understood Happiness these phi slippers strived for.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Jack
- 03-14-22
A really solid intro to Greco-Roman moralists
A very good starting point for someone interested in starting their journey into the world of Greco-Roman moralists. Recommend!
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- JK
- 04-20-22
EXCELLENT, philosophy in the Hellenistic era.
This again, is by far one of the best Great Courses lectures I have listened to.
Professor Johnson is passionate and deeply committed to present the subject matter to his students.
He has command of the issues and makes the lectures fly by.
It opened up a whole new world for me, which I intend to explore in more detail.
My thanks to all involved, JK.
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- Anonymous User
- 05-04-23
Beautifully done
Many great courses are bland in contrast to LTJ’s memorable and jovial tone. He’s able to squeeze humor into this dense lump of information like you’re listening to a friend. Highly recommend his other courses as well.
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-18-17
Interesting, informative and original
I really enjoyed these lectures. As a person schooled in theoretical philosophy I found the practical and ethical focus both interesting and stimulating. The lectures point out aspects of the thinkers discussed that seem to have been largely ignored by recent history of ideas. Great overview, certainly made me want to turn to the full original texts discussed.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- FrEd1956
- 04-27-17
Practical Philosophy Corrects Mistaken Assumption
The often heard claim that philosophy is just a lot of bull is corrected by this clean overview of what has been forgotten or ignored in so many philosophy departments, thereby giving seeming credence to the bs claim. Thanks LTJ!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anyone
- 12-04-21
Needed but Overlooked Philosophers
Luke Timothy Johnson does an excellent job surveying important thinkers that we have been influenced by even if unaware and which should be more upfront in our minds.
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- Curdy
- 12-24-13
Wonderful introduction to practical philosophy
If you could sum up Practical Philosophy: The Greco-Roman Moralists in three words, what would they be?
Character, Practice, Habits
What does Professor Luke Timothy Johnson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Very passionate reader, really enjoyed his style.
Any additional comments?
I would have loved this course to be twice as long as it was. The content is a great mix between historical context, philosophical ideas and practical tips. I found the book to be both inspiring and challenging. Although I was already familiar with the topic, I learned a lot. Highly recommended.
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4 people found this helpful