An Introduction to Western Philosophy – Lectures and Notes

Here is a complete index of the Western Philosophy lecture notes published on Philoparadoxia, covering the Pre-Socratics through Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Hellenistic philosophy, the rise of Christian thought, Saint Augustine, and early medieval philosophy through Anselm. Each entry links to a full, detailed article with clear explanations, key arguments, and examples. Ideal for students revising a specific topic or reading through the entire series in order.

Introduction

  1. What Is Philosophy?
  2. Why Study Philosophy?

Pre-Socratics & Early Greek Thought

  1. Before Philosophy: Greek Mythology
  2. Thales, the First Philosopher
  3. Anaximander and the Apeiron
  4. Anaximenes and the Philosophy of Air
  5. Pythagoras: Numbers, Harmony, and the Cosmos
  6. Xenophanes’ Critique of the Gods
  7. Heraclitus: Flux, Fire, and the Logos
  8. Parmenides on Being and Reality
  9. Zeno’s Paradoxes of Motion
  10. Empedocles and the Four Elements
  11. Anaxagoras: Nous and Infinite Seeds
  12. Ancient Atomism: Democritus, Epicurus, Lucretius

Athens: History and the Sophists

  1. Athenian Democracy, War, and the Roots of Philosophy
  2. The Sophists: Rhetoric and Relativism

Socrates

  1. Socrates: Life, Method, and Death

Plato

  1. Plato’s Epistemology: Knowledge and Belief
  2. Plato’s Theory of Forms
  3. Plato’s Divided Line, Sun, and Cave
  4. Plato’s Theory of the Soul
  5. Plato’s Political Philosophy
  6. Plato’s Cosmology: The Timaeus

Aristotle

  1. Aristotle’s Life and the Break from Plato
  2. Aristotle’s Epistemology and the Organon
  3. Aristotle’s Metaphysics
  4. Aristotle’s Concept of God
  5. Aristotle’s Concept of Soul
  6. Aristotle’s Ethics
  7. Aristotle’s Political Philosophy

Hellenistic Philosophy

  1. Hellenistic Philosophy: Historical Context
  2. Ancient Cynicism and Diogenes
  3. Epicureanism: Pleasure and Ataraxia
  4. Stoic Philosophy
  5. Ancient Scepticism
  6. Neoplatonism and Plotinus

The Rise of Christian Philosophy

  1. The Evolution of Judaism
  2. The Teachings of Jesus
  3. The Formation of Christianity
  4. Heresy and Orthodoxy

Saint Augustine

  1. Augustine’s Life and Conversion
  2. Augustine’s Epistemology
  3. Augustine’s Concept of God
  4. Augustine on Free Will and Evil
  5. Augustine on the Human Condition
  6. Augustine’s Ethics
  7. Augustine’s City of God
  8. Augustine on Natural Science
  9. Augustine’s Philosophical Synthesis

Early Medieval Philosophy

  1. The Dark Ages: Church, Feudalism, and the Rediscovery of Aristotle
  2. Boethius and the Consolation of Philosophy
  3. John Scotus Eriugena
  4. The Problem of Universals
  5. The Faith and Reason Controversy
  6. Saint Anselm’s Ontological Argument