Fourth and final lecture in the 2011 John Locke lecture series. Philosophy is a demanding intellectual discipline, with many facets: logic, epistemology, philosophy of nature and science, metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of art, rhetoric, philosophy of language and mind. But a long tradition of ancient Greek philosophers, beginning with Socrates, made their philosophies also complete ways of life. For them reason, perfected by philosophy-not religion, not cultural traditions and practices-constitutes the only legitimate authority for determining how one ought to live. They also thought philosophically informed reason should be the basis for all our practical attitudes, all our decisions, and in fact the whole of our lives. In these lectures we examine the development of this pagan tradition in philosophy, from its establishment by Socrates, through Plato and Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicurus, the Pyrrhonian Skeptics, and Plotinus and late ancient Platonism.

John Locke Lectures in Philosophy

2011 Lecture 4: Platonism as a Way of Life

Third lecture in the 2011 John Locke Lecture Series. Philosophy is a demanding intellectual discipline, with many facets: logic, epistemology, philosophy of nature and science, metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of art, rhetoric, philosophy of language and mind. But a long tradition of ancient Greek philosophers, beginning with Socrates, made their philosophies also complete ways of life. For them reason, perfected by philosophy-not religion, not cultural traditions and practices-constitutes the only legitimate authority for determining how one ought to live. They also thought philosophically informed reason should be the basis for all our practical attitudes, all our decisions, and in fact the whole of our lives. In these lectures we examine the development of this pagan tradition in philosophy, from its establishment by Socrates, through Plato and Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicurus, the Pyrrhonian Skeptics, and Plotinus and late ancient Platonism.

2011 Lecture 3: The Stoic Way of Life

Second lecture in the 2011 John Locke Lecture Series. Philosophy is a demanding intellectual discipline, with many facets: logic, epistemology, philosophy of nature and science, metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of art, rhetoric, philosophy of language and mind. But a long tradition of ancient Greek philosophers, beginning with Socrates, made their philosophies also complete ways of life. For them reason, perfected by philosophy-not religion, not cultural traditions and practices-constitutes the only legitimate authority for determining how one ought to live. They also thought philosophically informed reason should be the basis for all our practical attitudes, all our decisions, and in fact the whole of our lives. In these lectures we examine the development of this pagan tradition in philosophy, from its establishment by Socrates, through Plato and Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicurus, the Pyrrhonian Skeptics, and Plotinus and late ancient Platonism.

2011 Lecture 2: Aristotle's Philosophy as Two Ways of Life

Part of the 2011 John Locke Lecture Series; this year presented by Professor John Cooper, Princeton University, on 'Ancient Greek Philosophies as a Way of Life'. Philosophy is a demanding intellectual discipline, with many facets: logic, epistemology, philosophy of nature and science, metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of art, rhetoric, philosophy of language and mind. But a long tradition of ancient Greek philosophers, beginning with Socrates, made their philosophies also complete ways of life. For them reason, perfected by philosophy-not religion, not cultural traditions and practices-constitutes the only legitimate authority for determining how one ought to live. They also thought philosophically informed reason should be the basis for all our practical attitudes, all our decisions, and in fact the whole of our lives. In these lectures we examine the development of this pagan tradition in philosophy, from its establishment by Socrates, through Plato and Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicurus, the Pyrrhonian Skeptics, and Plotinus and late ancient Platonism.

2011 Lecture 1: Philosophy in Antiquity as a Way of Life

Fifth and final lecture in the 2009 John Locke lectures entitled Being Realistic about Reasons.

2009 Lecture 5: Normative Structures

Fourth lecture in the 2009 John Locke Lecture series entitled Being Realistic about Reasons.

2009 Lecture 4: Epistemological Problems

Third lecture in the 2009 John Locke lecture series entitled Being Realistic about Reasons.

2009 Lecture 3: Motivation and the Appeal of Expressivism

Second lecture in the 2009 John Locke lectures entitled Being Realistic about Reasons.

2009 Lecture 2: Normativity and Metaphysics

First lecture of the 2009 John Locke Lectures entitled 'Being Realistic about Reasons.

2009 Lecture 1: Being Realistic about Reasons Introduction

The John Locke Lectures are among the world's most distinguished lecture series in philosophy. The series began in 1950 and are given once a year.