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Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition
Presents lectures by Michael Sugrue and Darren Staloff. These lectures are based on their seminar course at Columbia University on Western intellectual history augmented by additional lectures by selected "guest" lecturers. Gives a guided tour through 3,000 years of Western thought.
In 7 containers (26 cm.).
Lectures by Darren M. Staloff, Louis Markos, Jeremy Adams, Phillip Cary, Dennis G. Dalton, Alan Charles Kors, Jeremy Shearmur, Kathleen M. Higgins, Robert Hilary Kane, Robert C. Solomon, Douglas Kellner, and Mark W. Risjord.
42 audiocassettes (approximately 2520 min.) : analog, Dolby processed + 7 course guidebooks (22 cm).
Contents:
pt. 1. Classical origins --
pt. 2. Christian age --
pt. 3. From the Renaissance to the Age of Reason --
pt. 4. Enlightenment and its critics --
pt. 5. Age of ideology --
pt. 6. Modernism and the age of analysis --
pt. 7. Age of modernity.
In 7 containers (26 cm.).
Lectures by Darren M. Staloff, Louis Markos, Jeremy Adams, Phillip Cary, Dennis G. Dalton, Alan Charles Kors, Jeremy Shearmur, Kathleen M. Higgins, Robert Hilary Kane, Robert C. Solomon, Douglas Kellner, and Mark W. Risjord.
42 audiocassettes (approximately 2520 min.) : analog, Dolby processed + 7 course guidebooks (22 cm).
Contents:
pt. 1. Classical origins --
pt. 2. Christian age --
pt. 3. From the Renaissance to the Age of Reason --
pt. 4. Enlightenment and its critics --
pt. 5. Age of ideology --
pt. 6. Modernism and the age of analysis --
pt. 7. Age of modernity.
Audio Cassette
First published June 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
July 25, 2018
Third time listening (July 25, 2018),
Most of life is to distract us from the important. These lectures are not. This is my third time having listened to them over the last four years.
Our role as humans is to understand the true, the good and the meaningful. Ever since humans have been human and after they had their basic needs met, they would get together and ask variations of the three big questions, 1) who are we 2) why are we and 3) what are we supposed to do and what is deserving of our attention.
There has been a 2500 year conversation going on between the great thinkers. Most people have been too busy with life (work, family, education) and don’t get a chance to participate fully in the deserving but desperately want to. These lectures give the busy a chance to be that fly on the wall on a great conversation that has been taken place and take that one step closer to understanding our place in the universe and what it means to be human.
There’s a magic to this Great Course. I bought it in one of Audible’s annual 2 for 1 sale of Great Courses. That means it cost me only $5. That’s unbelievable. My first time listening to this course was in 2014 and I knew I was hooked even though I only understood small parts of this lecture series the first time I listened, and I knew I had to understand everything better. I spent innumerable audible credits and bought Amazon books afterwards going through some of the referenced materials. (It was incredibly smart of audible to sell this series at a sale price at ½ off and thus hooking me on philosophy in the process).
The first set of the lecture deal with the Greek Philosophers. I would highly recommend getting the Great Course Lecture on Plato’s Republic and listening to that before listening to this. It will make this whole course flow better.
It’s more important to learn how to think than what to think. The great conversation featured in this lecture series that has been going for the last 2500 years allows one to refocus on the meaningful. I only wish that ‘the they’ (see either Kierkegaard, Hegel, or Heidegger for ‘the they’ meaning) would stop dumbing down our conversation, because I think most people (the ones who are over burdened by life) want nothing more than to dwell on the meaningful and tune out the distractions.
Older Review:
I just finished re-listening to this 40+ hour lecture series. I got so much more out of it the second time around. This series is my favorite by far. Each lecture in the series ties together as a coherent whole and thus it might not be for all listeners since there is a necessary complexity for understanding the great minds through history. Many of the lectures within the series I have listened to already in the the original course they came from. But, I really appreciate this series as a whole and would strongly recommend it for someone who is getting tired of reading science and philosophy books since they don't seem to be saying anything differently from what I have already read elsewhere, and I'm definitely too lazy to read the original sources of philosophers on my own. This series gives me what the great thinkers said but without the struggle of having to read them (who wants to read all of Hegel just so one can understand him to find out he is really just silly). (less)
Merged review:
This is by far the best of the Great Course series available that I have listened to. They cover everything. Smartly they have multiple lecturers give different lectures that way no one person's prejudices gets in the way of the story being told. All of the different lectures seamlessly tie in to the next proceeding lecture. The story does tie together. I don't want to spoil ending, but boy as humankind advanced!
I was on the edge of my seat during each lecture, but when they got to the enlightenment period and later I found each lecture impossible to not think about after the lecture. Nietzsche pops in multiple places including a couple of lectures dedicated to just to him. I didn't realize that he was as consistent and coherent in his philosophy as he was. Now, I know that he was arguing that we see the world from our perspective and each of us have our own perspective and so on. Marx is more interesting than I ever thought possible. Freud has a place even today. I know that if someone values only consistency and coherence they probably would be of the school of pragmatism of William James.
The list of things I learned from this set goes. I know why the logical positivist were flawed and how Popper changed the way we see Science, and how Kuhn can be criticized for giving just as much validity to Copernicus as he would to Galileo, and so on. This is the lecture series that just keeps giving. Thank you Great Courses!
All of the different ways of seeing the universe and why it is important seemed to have been presented in this series, and I understand them!
From time to time, I check out the Great Courses Series at their website and they want more than $500 for the lectures, and it would be worth it! But, now audible has this for one credit, about $10. Get this one if you have any interest in intellectual thought. (If you have had trouble following philosophy like I have had, I would recommend first reading (or listening to), "The Cave and the Light", http://www.amazon.com/review/RKQM64N9... before listening to this series.
Most of life is to distract us from the important. These lectures are not. This is my third time having listened to them over the last four years.
Our role as humans is to understand the true, the good and the meaningful. Ever since humans have been human and after they had their basic needs met, they would get together and ask variations of the three big questions, 1) who are we 2) why are we and 3) what are we supposed to do and what is deserving of our attention.
There has been a 2500 year conversation going on between the great thinkers. Most people have been too busy with life (work, family, education) and don’t get a chance to participate fully in the deserving but desperately want to. These lectures give the busy a chance to be that fly on the wall on a great conversation that has been taken place and take that one step closer to understanding our place in the universe and what it means to be human.
There’s a magic to this Great Course. I bought it in one of Audible’s annual 2 for 1 sale of Great Courses. That means it cost me only $5. That’s unbelievable. My first time listening to this course was in 2014 and I knew I was hooked even though I only understood small parts of this lecture series the first time I listened, and I knew I had to understand everything better. I spent innumerable audible credits and bought Amazon books afterwards going through some of the referenced materials. (It was incredibly smart of audible to sell this series at a sale price at ½ off and thus hooking me on philosophy in the process).
The first set of the lecture deal with the Greek Philosophers. I would highly recommend getting the Great Course Lecture on Plato’s Republic and listening to that before listening to this. It will make this whole course flow better.
It’s more important to learn how to think than what to think. The great conversation featured in this lecture series that has been going for the last 2500 years allows one to refocus on the meaningful. I only wish that ‘the they’ (see either Kierkegaard, Hegel, or Heidegger for ‘the they’ meaning) would stop dumbing down our conversation, because I think most people (the ones who are over burdened by life) want nothing more than to dwell on the meaningful and tune out the distractions.
Older Review:
I just finished re-listening to this 40+ hour lecture series. I got so much more out of it the second time around. This series is my favorite by far. Each lecture in the series ties together as a coherent whole and thus it might not be for all listeners since there is a necessary complexity for understanding the great minds through history. Many of the lectures within the series I have listened to already in the the original course they came from. But, I really appreciate this series as a whole and would strongly recommend it for someone who is getting tired of reading science and philosophy books since they don't seem to be saying anything differently from what I have already read elsewhere, and I'm definitely too lazy to read the original sources of philosophers on my own. This series gives me what the great thinkers said but without the struggle of having to read them (who wants to read all of Hegel just so one can understand him to find out he is really just silly). (less)
Merged review:
This is by far the best of the Great Course series available that I have listened to. They cover everything. Smartly they have multiple lecturers give different lectures that way no one person's prejudices gets in the way of the story being told. All of the different lectures seamlessly tie in to the next proceeding lecture. The story does tie together. I don't want to spoil ending, but boy as humankind advanced!
I was on the edge of my seat during each lecture, but when they got to the enlightenment period and later I found each lecture impossible to not think about after the lecture. Nietzsche pops in multiple places including a couple of lectures dedicated to just to him. I didn't realize that he was as consistent and coherent in his philosophy as he was. Now, I know that he was arguing that we see the world from our perspective and each of us have our own perspective and so on. Marx is more interesting than I ever thought possible. Freud has a place even today. I know that if someone values only consistency and coherence they probably would be of the school of pragmatism of William James.
The list of things I learned from this set goes. I know why the logical positivist were flawed and how Popper changed the way we see Science, and how Kuhn can be criticized for giving just as much validity to Copernicus as he would to Galileo, and so on. This is the lecture series that just keeps giving. Thank you Great Courses!
All of the different ways of seeing the universe and why it is important seemed to have been presented in this series, and I understand them!
From time to time, I check out the Great Courses Series at their website and they want more than $500 for the lectures, and it would be worth it! But, now audible has this for one credit, about $10. Get this one if you have any interest in intellectual thought. (If you have had trouble following philosophy like I have had, I would recommend first reading (or listening to), "The Cave and the Light", http://www.amazon.com/review/RKQM64N9... before listening to this series.
October 7, 2015
It's 84 lectures long, yes, which can be more than a little daunting. However, this series is a uniquely comprehensive (yet relatively high altitude) overview of the history of Western thought and well worth the effort. Some of these lectures are excerpted from previously-released Great Courses, but for me that was more a positive than a negative, as it allowed me to place those lectures in a much wider context.
I very much liked how this series, unlike many "history of western philosophy" overviews, did not pretend that religious theory and dogma is somehow exempt from discussions of philosophy. The lumpy, misshapen tapestry that was woven out of the combination of Plato, the Old and New Testaments, and Aristotle are central to nearly all of Western thought -- religious and secular. They were entwined so deeply that until the mid-late 19th Century you couldn't pull out any bit without the whole thing unraveling. This course helps explain how all that occurred -- which in turn helps shed light on much of the religious and secular philosophy still impacting society today.
The course also highlights how little has changed since the early Greeks: the fundamental questions being asked then were the same questions being asked now. Or, more accurately, the fundamental questions being asked now were already being asked then -- with many of the fundamental questions of nature posed by the Greeks having migrated out of the category of philosophy and into the world of science. (Though, of course, that statement itself is subject of a whole series of philosophical debates -- covered nicely in this series)
I very much liked how this series, unlike many "history of western philosophy" overviews, did not pretend that religious theory and dogma is somehow exempt from discussions of philosophy. The lumpy, misshapen tapestry that was woven out of the combination of Plato, the Old and New Testaments, and Aristotle are central to nearly all of Western thought -- religious and secular. They were entwined so deeply that until the mid-late 19th Century you couldn't pull out any bit without the whole thing unraveling. This course helps explain how all that occurred -- which in turn helps shed light on much of the religious and secular philosophy still impacting society today.
The course also highlights how little has changed since the early Greeks: the fundamental questions being asked then were the same questions being asked now. Or, more accurately, the fundamental questions being asked now were already being asked then -- with many of the fundamental questions of nature posed by the Greeks having migrated out of the category of philosophy and into the world of science. (Though, of course, that statement itself is subject of a whole series of philosophical debates -- covered nicely in this series)
February 20, 2012
This review only covers the Teaching Company Supplement, Part II (Course 010a, 1995) which surveys select 20th Century philosophers (Husserl, Heidegger, the Frankfurt School, Barthes, Rawls, Gouldner, Foucalt, Lyotard, and linguistic philosophy).
On the whole, the presentation and critique by the lecturers are excellent. The main stream in continental philosophy (Husserl, Heidegger, Frankfurt School) search, the lecturers say, for the "holy grail" of philosophy (universals, essences, permanent reality, and the world of "ought"). That approach stands in contrast with anglo-empiricism (world of facts and contingency). If the European approach seems highly abstract and removed from reality, the latter seems barren, sterile and devoid of meaning. The lesser-known philosophers (Foucalt and Lyotard) are highly critical of contemporary life (totalitarianism, will-to-power), but their focus is on protesting and tearing down, something easy to do from an academic perch that is removed from any responsibility and accountability. In their critique, the lecturers call this approach "narcisstic self-indulgence," the product of "provincial minds," and "philosophy in the dark." The presentation on Rawls was very good, reducing his thick Theory of Justice to two understandable principles: (1) one's liberty must be compatible with the liberty of others and (2) if there are any inequalities on the primary social goals (income, wealth, power, and equality), benefits must go to those who are most unequal. That is as good a definition of justice as any but it comes (at least in this presentation) without a justification as to why should one compare about the liberty of others or the inequality of others? For the egoist or skeptic, this is a problem.
For Rawls and the other philosophers, is there room for biology to inform their thought? Is it possible that freedom, justice and equality, along with the pragmatic need of finding a principle (a la Rawls) where the freedom of one is compatible with the freedom of all, is embedded in our biological being? This doesn't address the problem of inequality that Rawls highlights, but it could be that those who care about the welfare of others (nurturers by biological nature, and those who see how inequality undermines Rawls' first principle) have to fight on behalf of others and oppose those who find it hard to care for anything other than themselves.
On the whole, the presentation and critique by the lecturers are excellent. The main stream in continental philosophy (Husserl, Heidegger, Frankfurt School) search, the lecturers say, for the "holy grail" of philosophy (universals, essences, permanent reality, and the world of "ought"). That approach stands in contrast with anglo-empiricism (world of facts and contingency). If the European approach seems highly abstract and removed from reality, the latter seems barren, sterile and devoid of meaning. The lesser-known philosophers (Foucalt and Lyotard) are highly critical of contemporary life (totalitarianism, will-to-power), but their focus is on protesting and tearing down, something easy to do from an academic perch that is removed from any responsibility and accountability. In their critique, the lecturers call this approach "narcisstic self-indulgence," the product of "provincial minds," and "philosophy in the dark." The presentation on Rawls was very good, reducing his thick Theory of Justice to two understandable principles: (1) one's liberty must be compatible with the liberty of others and (2) if there are any inequalities on the primary social goals (income, wealth, power, and equality), benefits must go to those who are most unequal. That is as good a definition of justice as any but it comes (at least in this presentation) without a justification as to why should one compare about the liberty of others or the inequality of others? For the egoist or skeptic, this is a problem.
For Rawls and the other philosophers, is there room for biology to inform their thought? Is it possible that freedom, justice and equality, along with the pragmatic need of finding a principle (a la Rawls) where the freedom of one is compatible with the freedom of all, is embedded in our biological being? This doesn't address the problem of inequality that Rawls highlights, but it could be that those who care about the welfare of others (nurturers by biological nature, and those who see how inequality undermines Rawls' first principle) have to fight on behalf of others and oppose those who find it hard to care for anything other than themselves.
August 19, 2021
A great overview of the Western philosophical tradition. I especially enjoyed the series of lectures delivered by Michael Sugrue, which I found on his Youtube channel. His enthusiasm for the source material is infectious!
July 5, 2015
There are a handful of good compendiums available on Western Philosophy but none I have read covers the breadth the way this course - which goes way beyond Philosophy - does. The most significant aspect is the space the course has for modern developments rather than getting stuck in the brilliant but well-covered thoughts of the 17th-19th century thinkers.
A handful of professors lead to an inevitable mish-mash of delivery styles and content depth than desirable but in a way this allows the course to overcome some of the single writer bias which is inevitable otherwise. More importantly, the course coordinator ensures a great mix as a result - one that would include Newton and Freud or Rousseau to Marx/Smith or Luther/Calvin or Machiavelli.
One will often feel breathless and yearn for more than provided in 30-minute sessions. This is exactly what the course sets out to do - provide a clear introduction and not much more. The course takes an exceptionally novel trend when it begins discussing the 20th century. Rather than touching up on the known scientific revolutions, it expounds on the new thoughts on the structuralism, rationality as bounded by the language, deconstruction etc.
A handful of professors lead to an inevitable mish-mash of delivery styles and content depth than desirable but in a way this allows the course to overcome some of the single writer bias which is inevitable otherwise. More importantly, the course coordinator ensures a great mix as a result - one that would include Newton and Freud or Rousseau to Marx/Smith or Luther/Calvin or Machiavelli.
One will often feel breathless and yearn for more than provided in 30-minute sessions. This is exactly what the course sets out to do - provide a clear introduction and not much more. The course takes an exceptionally novel trend when it begins discussing the 20th century. Rather than touching up on the known scientific revolutions, it expounds on the new thoughts on the structuralism, rationality as bounded by the language, deconstruction etc.
November 15, 2014
More lectures I listen to while I'm driving, this edition had 57 lectures in Parts I through V, and was quite an undertaking. Very uneven quality, with some of the lectures cannibalized from other courses so that they were out of context.
I got to like the main guys, Darren Staloff and Michael Sugrue, even though they were historians and not philosophers. They worked hard to engage their students and give a feel for their topics. One lecturer (who shall remain nameless) was wretched; others were excellent. Dennis Dalton gave great insight on political philosophers, and I will seek out his course on Political Theory.
I got to like the main guys, Darren Staloff and Michael Sugrue, even though they were historians and not philosophers. They worked hard to engage their students and give a feel for their topics. One lecturer (who shall remain nameless) was wretched; others were excellent. Dennis Dalton gave great insight on political philosophers, and I will seek out his course on Political Theory.
June 26, 2016
I listened to the 3rd edition. Quite excellent.
June 10, 2020
I listened to this the second time now. Still barely scratched the surface. You can get so much out of this. Will probably listen to it again with accompanying PDF.
October 23, 2017
Wow...84 lectures at 30 minutes each. Done! There's so much to say about this, but I did try to capture my thoughts after each "chapter" (7 chapters total). I will repeat them here, in order, and add a 7th, but before doing that, here's my overview:
A) I feel like I just learned more about the world than I ever realized existed. Thank you!
B) I also feel like there are some GREAT lecturers in this world (and some not so great)
C) I got to "know" the lecturers...some of them are CHARACTERS...oh my gosh...
D) I found that philosophy, as a whole, kind of becomes boring after about 1900, making this whole thing kind of waver toward the end.
On to the chapters....12 lectures per chapter:
1-12) This was the foundations of philosophy and western thought. You know all the players, and it makes learning about them fun (Socrates, etc)
13-24) Unfortunately, this whole set is about the foundation of Christian thought. And while the lecturers make it clear that the "Western Intellectual Tradition" includes a blending of classic Greek thought and Biblical Hebrew/Christian thought, I found this whole section rather troubling. It all sounded like "pseudo-profound bullshit. Let's hope Set 3 gets better.
25-36) And now that we're beyond the medieval Christian lectures, things are starting to get interesting again. It is still somewhat disheartening to see so many great minds (Descartes comes to mind) trying desperately to tie themselves into knots fitting "God" into mathematics, logic and science. However, the lecture on Newton was VERY inspiring! I never quite appreciated all he'd accomplished!"
37-48) "The Enlightenment": that period more or less around 1680-1715 (+/- 80 years). Driven by Isaac Newton on the one hand, but also saw the rise of some other classic texts on human thought, such as Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations". The rise of Deism, and David Hume's scathing criticism of "Natural Religion" (seeing proof of God by studying nature). A great addition to the series!
49-60) This covered the age of "ideology", or as it's better known, "the 1800s". Post-enlightenment thinkers, dominated by Germans, but not exclusively. Kant, Kierkegaard, Adam Smith, Marx, Nietzsche and more. This one was hard to follow, and would almost require a require a re-listen.
Highlights:
Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
Kierkegaard's "Leap of Faith"
Marx's economic theories
61-72) This was MUCH harder to follow than any of the previous lectures. Possibly it's because everyone *knows* who Socrates, Augustine, Hume and Marx were. The modern thinkers are unknowns. I only knew about Freud and James. And it also seems like the "single thread" which was Western thought has now become a complicated "web". Let's hope it wraps up well."
73-84) An almost PAINFUL addition to the series. Names nobody has ever heard of, because they aren't yet "historic figures". Modernism galore. Thinkers talking about right wing economic theory, anarchy, language. Basically, a rehash of old thought without a lot of new thoughts to cling on to. I found myself zoning out and just ignoring much of this.
All in all: Do it! Don't let the ending spoil your fun. Find 42 hours (driving in a car is how I did it) to spare, and listen to these CDs!
(I will give it one other "ding"....not a single FEMALE was studied, nor was a single female lecturer chosen to speak on the CD's. Hard to believe that the entirety of western intellectual tradition doesn't have ONE great female mind)
A) I feel like I just learned more about the world than I ever realized existed. Thank you!
B) I also feel like there are some GREAT lecturers in this world (and some not so great)
C) I got to "know" the lecturers...some of them are CHARACTERS...oh my gosh...
D) I found that philosophy, as a whole, kind of becomes boring after about 1900, making this whole thing kind of waver toward the end.
On to the chapters....12 lectures per chapter:
1-12) This was the foundations of philosophy and western thought. You know all the players, and it makes learning about them fun (Socrates, etc)
13-24) Unfortunately, this whole set is about the foundation of Christian thought. And while the lecturers make it clear that the "Western Intellectual Tradition" includes a blending of classic Greek thought and Biblical Hebrew/Christian thought, I found this whole section rather troubling. It all sounded like "pseudo-profound bullshit. Let's hope Set 3 gets better.
25-36) And now that we're beyond the medieval Christian lectures, things are starting to get interesting again. It is still somewhat disheartening to see so many great minds (Descartes comes to mind) trying desperately to tie themselves into knots fitting "God" into mathematics, logic and science. However, the lecture on Newton was VERY inspiring! I never quite appreciated all he'd accomplished!"
37-48) "The Enlightenment": that period more or less around 1680-1715 (+/- 80 years). Driven by Isaac Newton on the one hand, but also saw the rise of some other classic texts on human thought, such as Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations". The rise of Deism, and David Hume's scathing criticism of "Natural Religion" (seeing proof of God by studying nature). A great addition to the series!
49-60) This covered the age of "ideology", or as it's better known, "the 1800s". Post-enlightenment thinkers, dominated by Germans, but not exclusively. Kant, Kierkegaard, Adam Smith, Marx, Nietzsche and more. This one was hard to follow, and would almost require a require a re-listen.
Highlights:
Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
Kierkegaard's "Leap of Faith"
Marx's economic theories
61-72) This was MUCH harder to follow than any of the previous lectures. Possibly it's because everyone *knows* who Socrates, Augustine, Hume and Marx were. The modern thinkers are unknowns. I only knew about Freud and James. And it also seems like the "single thread" which was Western thought has now become a complicated "web". Let's hope it wraps up well."
73-84) An almost PAINFUL addition to the series. Names nobody has ever heard of, because they aren't yet "historic figures". Modernism galore. Thinkers talking about right wing economic theory, anarchy, language. Basically, a rehash of old thought without a lot of new thoughts to cling on to. I found myself zoning out and just ignoring much of this.
All in all: Do it! Don't let the ending spoil your fun. Find 42 hours (driving in a car is how I did it) to spare, and listen to these CDs!
(I will give it one other "ding"....not a single FEMALE was studied, nor was a single female lecturer chosen to speak on the CD's. Hard to believe that the entirety of western intellectual tradition doesn't have ONE great female mind)
June 6, 2024
An excellent course covering the full spectrum of Western Philosophy from the Ancient Greeks right up to twentieth century post-modernism.
The 84 lectures are short - only 30 minutes (or 20 minutes at 1.5x speed!) - and are given by a variety of lecturers. It was recorded back in the 90s, something which comes across in contemporary references to Pope John Paul II and President Bill Clinton, and some language which has fallen out of favour, e.g. "retarded", but thankfully philosophy is largely a timeless enterprise. Everything from Plato to Nietzche is as relevant today as it was in the 90s. The Modernist and Postmodernist philosophies are perhaps still being worked out in our culture, so a more updated course might choose to embellish or de-emphasize some aspects of these sections.
It serves as an excellent overview for those, like me, who are interested in philosophy but have never taken a formal university course on the history of philosophy. The lectures flow well into each other, and the multiple lecturers offer different perspectives on important figures like Plato and Kant. I feel like I am now at least conversant in many of the frequently referenced major figures.
It is quite possible that I will return to this course to dip into individual lectures and refresh my memory, though in reality it is more likely that I have a dialogue with ChatGPT. But having a human-curated selection of significant thinkers it is worth paying attention to is a valuable resource.
The 84 lectures are short - only 30 minutes (or 20 minutes at 1.5x speed!) - and are given by a variety of lecturers. It was recorded back in the 90s, something which comes across in contemporary references to Pope John Paul II and President Bill Clinton, and some language which has fallen out of favour, e.g. "retarded", but thankfully philosophy is largely a timeless enterprise. Everything from Plato to Nietzche is as relevant today as it was in the 90s. The Modernist and Postmodernist philosophies are perhaps still being worked out in our culture, so a more updated course might choose to embellish or de-emphasize some aspects of these sections.
It serves as an excellent overview for those, like me, who are interested in philosophy but have never taken a formal university course on the history of philosophy. The lectures flow well into each other, and the multiple lecturers offer different perspectives on important figures like Plato and Kant. I feel like I am now at least conversant in many of the frequently referenced major figures.
It is quite possible that I will return to this course to dip into individual lectures and refresh my memory, though in reality it is more likely that I have a dialogue with ChatGPT. But having a human-curated selection of significant thinkers it is worth paying attention to is a valuable resource.
April 28, 2019
The breadth and scope of this Great Courses series is mind-boggling. Really, it is doomed to fail. A single course that overviews the history of Western philosophy, from Pre-Socratics to the modern day? Of course it is going to miss key thinkers. Of course it is going to broadly generalize philosophers and their nuanced thought. But this is an introductory course-- a lengthy one, but one that skims over major schools of thought in a single lecture.
But this course would be, I think, an essential guide for any college humanities course. As a student of literature, I had familiarity with some of the thinkers whose work intersects with literary study. However, this program connected these schools of thought in a cohesive way without forcing them into a schematic.
I also enjoyed the variety of lecturers who presented. Some were more or less pleasing to listen to, but the different styles kept me engaged.
Lastly, do not mistake this introductory course for one that is simplistic or dumbed down. Many of the lectures warrant a second or third listen. Especially when we reach the modern era, with Structuralism and beyond, be prepared for some pretty esoteric stuff. Very highly recommended.
But this course would be, I think, an essential guide for any college humanities course. As a student of literature, I had familiarity with some of the thinkers whose work intersects with literary study. However, this program connected these schools of thought in a cohesive way without forcing them into a schematic.
I also enjoyed the variety of lecturers who presented. Some were more or less pleasing to listen to, but the different styles kept me engaged.
Lastly, do not mistake this introductory course for one that is simplistic or dumbed down. Many of the lectures warrant a second or third listen. Especially when we reach the modern era, with Structuralism and beyond, be prepared for some pretty esoteric stuff. Very highly recommended.
February 10, 2022
Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition is a great course that I have been thinking about going through for nearly half a decade. I finally started it last September, and I wrapped it up earlier this evening when I found some free time from my professional studies. This is a marvelous course, one that is a tour of the Western canon of philosophers and their thought. A couple get more than one lecture, but the vast majority only receive a single lecture of about 30 minutes. The notes section often has them at 2 to 3 pages. The course is a taste of a much broader and wider world, and there are surprisingly few Americans for those who may be expecting some Founding Fathers. The omission is noticeable, but it does little to mar the work. In fact, there are a great many figures that sometimes get overlooked that are present here, particularly in the last few lectures. For anyone who is curious and wants to take explore the topic of our common intellectual tradition, I highly recommend taking a look. It is a long course, and so it requires something of a commitment to get from beginning to end, but the nature of the lectures are such that you can listen to one on a Monday and another on the following Tuesday and feel like little is lost.
Its a very good survey.
93/100
Its a very good survey.
93/100
May 14, 2025
Why did you read this book?
I like the Great Courses, and this subject seemed interesting to me.
What format did you read this book in?
Listened to the audiobook on Audible.
Is this an educational book or a book for entertainment?
This book was an educational read.
What genres do you think this book belongs to?
History, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Science, Self Help
What was your favorite part of the book?
There were several concepts I found appealing. But if I had to pick one, it’s the idea that those who study philosophy are seekers of the “truth.”
Who would you suggest this book to?
Anyone who likes to listen to informative lectures on philosophy, logic, and great historical thinkers will like this audio course.
What is your general opinion/ rating of this book?
I thought the material covered was extensive and very detailed. It covers some great concepts and the people who created it. I am not going to lie, some of this stuff went right over my head. But if you enjoy philosophical ideas and logic arguments, then I highly suggest this series. Just a warning, though, some of the speeches can be a bit dry to listen to.
I like the Great Courses, and this subject seemed interesting to me.
What format did you read this book in?
Listened to the audiobook on Audible.
Is this an educational book or a book for entertainment?
This book was an educational read.
What genres do you think this book belongs to?
History, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Science, Self Help
What was your favorite part of the book?
There were several concepts I found appealing. But if I had to pick one, it’s the idea that those who study philosophy are seekers of the “truth.”
Who would you suggest this book to?
Anyone who likes to listen to informative lectures on philosophy, logic, and great historical thinkers will like this audio course.
What is your general opinion/ rating of this book?
I thought the material covered was extensive and very detailed. It covers some great concepts and the people who created it. I am not going to lie, some of this stuff went right over my head. But if you enjoy philosophical ideas and logic arguments, then I highly suggest this series. Just a warning, though, some of the speeches can be a bit dry to listen to.
November 13, 2018
Lectures are of uneven quality. Many were good, but many were boring (the presentation, not the subject matter). Despite their best efforts, the speakers hopelessly misunderstand certain important trends in philosophy. They do not really understand the problem of universals. They present nominalism versus realism inaccurately. They also seriously underestimate the influence of Aristotle on the enlightenment. They rehash the standard idea that the enlightenment threw Aristotle out the window. When they talk about Aristotle, they say he is an empiricist. Then when they talk about why the enlightenment thinkers did NOT like Aristotle, they say it's because Aristotle is dogmatic and impervious to empirical facts. REALLY? Do they not realize the contradiction here? Just an example of how some truths are lost from one lecture to another.
July 19, 2021
The theme of this lecture series on Western philosophy is Athens vs Jerusalem, the ongoing debate between reason vs mythos or emotion.Humankind has always sought spiritual solace starting with the Greek gods but then dominated by scripture and the role of the church.Starting in Athens, a second movement has been reason and secular science where the first pre Socratic philosphers began to question the myths about nature, and ever since there has been a dialetic between the two great aspects of our character.Almost all the lectures are good until we get to the last part where 20th century philosophy disintegrates into logic,physics,and language almost completely incomprehensible to a layman.The confusions of our age have confused philosophers ,once the lovers of wisdom.
October 20, 2021
The Teaching Company 7 part lectures on the “Great Minds of Western Intellectual Tradition” was released in 2000. The lectures present the history of Western thought from Pre Socratic Grecian physics and metaphysics to the present time. The 12 lectures in Part 1 set the foundation for the 84 lecture series. These Part 1 lectures helped me understand how the social science of sophists, Platonic thought, Aristotle metaphysics, and Cicero Roman Eclecticism influence today’s Western political practices and values. (P)
February 14, 2020
If you like philosophy this is a good introduction to many philosophical topics. The lectures are on ascending order in time.
There were many lectures that focused on the Bible. For example, they had 2 lectures on the book of Job. I understand the relevance of the OT and Western thinking but it seemed a bit excessive.
Near the end the lectures started talking about the philosophy of words and semantics - I found this rather boring.
There were many lectures that focused on the Bible. For example, they had 2 lectures on the book of Job. I understand the relevance of the OT and Western thinking but it seemed a bit excessive.
Near the end the lectures started talking about the philosophy of words and semantics - I found this rather boring.
November 20, 2017
I listened to the first edition on cassette every couple of years and I really love the Great Courses series. The 3rd edition is excellent and it is nice to simply download 43 hours onto the audible app. If I stay healthy I will likely check out the 9th edition when it can be uploaded directly into my brain.
August 15, 2018
My biggest complaint about this course on the great minds of the Western intellectual tradition is that even at almost 44 hours long it didn't dive as deeply as I would have liked. It's a great intro to Western philosophy starting with Plato and ending with Robert Nozick. As far as intros go I couldn't ask for much more.
February 16, 2019
This is overall an excellent introduction
into a vast area of study. My only complaint
is, why is Sartre omitted from the 20th century
portion? This is a huge omission and
makes me very curious as to what other
major gaps and flaws there are
into a vast area of study. My only complaint
is, why is Sartre omitted from the 20th century
portion? This is a huge omission and
makes me very curious as to what other
major gaps and flaws there are
March 5, 2023
Provides a survey of the history of Western philosophy from its origins in classical Greece to the present. All the greats.
Samples
Pre Socratic - Thales first principle among the principles of water air fire and earth is WATER. " necessity begets all"
Anaximander - water is not the first principle of all, but an almost empty void contained all four elements and yielded all matter we interact with
Heraclitus - you cannot step in to the same river twice
Samples
Pre Socratic - Thales first principle among the principles of water air fire and earth is WATER. " necessity begets all"
Anaximander - water is not the first principle of all, but an almost empty void contained all four elements and yielded all matter we interact with
Heraclitus - you cannot step in to the same river twice
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2018
Awesome, Awesome and Awesome!!
Maybe too much to be fully understood in one try but that's due to its full and encyclopedic content.
Maybe too much to be fully understood in one try but that's due to its full and encyclopedic content.
June 20, 2019
Each lecture gives an overview of a notable mind and their ideas. What more is there to say?
April 29, 2022
The first third of the lectures are very good, after that it becomes a bit repetitive as every person just rehashes the same ideas.
July 13, 2024
Great book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2018
That moment when you realise there is an age-old profession for people who want to tell others that their way of thinking is the best.
Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition is an 84 lecture course on Western Philosophy. It covers the usual suspects while drawing in contemporary or subsequent criticisms, and it also adds in a few more modern thinkers (see links below for the full list). There is the added benefit that no one lecturer covers more than a few topics, so you get many perspectives and expert insights.
I've been on the road a lot lately and so +40 hours of audiobook seemed like a suitable way to keep myself entertained. There is also a good chance I learnt something, even if that thing was that even university lecturers pronounce Satre and Nietzsche incorrectly, just like everyone else.
It's hard to offer up a substantial review of such a diverse mix of topics, lectures, lecturers, and background reading. I think some of the material was presented without enough critical examination (e.g. Nozik's propositions are only dealt with on a superficial level and aren't critiqued for how easily they would break down thanks to power accumulation), whilst other parts offered insights I wouldn't have made otherwise (e.g. Nietzsche's Ubermensch is clarified as being about "your best self", which makes his work much more palatable).
The summary I'd offer is that I feel more educated. Do the course and you'll understand how hilarious that sentence is.
The course: https://www.thegreatcourses.com.au/co...
The list of lectures included: https://www.scribd.com/doc/159220021/...
Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition is an 84 lecture course on Western Philosophy. It covers the usual suspects while drawing in contemporary or subsequent criticisms, and it also adds in a few more modern thinkers (see links below for the full list). There is the added benefit that no one lecturer covers more than a few topics, so you get many perspectives and expert insights.
I've been on the road a lot lately and so +40 hours of audiobook seemed like a suitable way to keep myself entertained. There is also a good chance I learnt something, even if that thing was that even university lecturers pronounce Satre and Nietzsche incorrectly, just like everyone else.
It's hard to offer up a substantial review of such a diverse mix of topics, lectures, lecturers, and background reading. I think some of the material was presented without enough critical examination (e.g. Nozik's propositions are only dealt with on a superficial level and aren't critiqued for how easily they would break down thanks to power accumulation), whilst other parts offered insights I wouldn't have made otherwise (e.g. Nietzsche's Ubermensch is clarified as being about "your best self", which makes his work much more palatable).
The summary I'd offer is that I feel more educated. Do the course and you'll understand how hilarious that sentence is.
The course: https://www.thegreatcourses.com.au/co...
The list of lectures included: https://www.scribd.com/doc/159220021/...
audiobooks
November 7, 2025This is an audio collection of lectures in Western Philosophy and Philosophers over the past 2500 years. An excellent overview of the participants and their contributions to Western intellectual thought. You know the names, this helps lay out their central themes. I’d recommend taking notes for later reference. I figured it would be more satisfying than reading several score Wiki entries and far less burdensome than reading an entire library containing the oeuvre of each. Yes, but you may still end up reading a good deal of their key works anyway.
I read a friend’s review and realized I had a very different take on this series. I appreciated the Milesian, classical, and medieval philosophers to gain a historical understanding and appreciation in modern citation but I wasn’t overly interested in the content of the series until the Enlightenment philosophers and especially the more modern ideas beginning with Nietzsche and Freud onward. Ya gotta eat your entree before digging into dessert.
I read a friend’s review and realized I had a very different take on this series. I appreciated the Milesian, classical, and medieval philosophers to gain a historical understanding and appreciation in modern citation but I wasn’t overly interested in the content of the series until the Enlightenment philosophers and especially the more modern ideas beginning with Nietzsche and Freud onward. Ya gotta eat your entree before digging into dessert.
November 9, 2020
"Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition" was a helpful chronological overview of a wide variety of philosophical thinkers. However, the effectiveness of the presenters and the depth with which thinkers were treated varied substantially from lecture to lecture. Some presenters were highly systematic, masters of the topic, and gifted speakers. Others were difficult to listen to in style and substance. Some thinkers got a great deal of treatment, while others, like Aquinas, got little more than a slight nod. In general, I found that I most benefitted from learning about thinkers I hadn't come across in my Bachelor of Philosophy program. I wouldn't recommend this to a beginner in philosophy, but I would recommend this to someone versed in philosophy and looking to brush up.
December 24, 2008
I read parts III ("From the Renaissance to the Age of Reason"), IV ("The Enlightenment and Its Critics"), and VII ("The Crisis of Modernity") of this audiobook lecture series, which were the only parts currently available at my local library. I hope to catch the rest of the other parts when they get returned by the borrowers. It's ultimately better to hear lectures on philosophy than to read books on them. Somehow the complex discourses are easier to understand when a professor is verbally explaining them, than from reading what an academic wrote which tends to be more dense. I'm learning a lot from all of these philosophical readings of late!
December 18, 2015
The misconceptions and biased interpretations made this very difficult to listen to. These professors claim to understand philosophy, but do not even take the time to properly explain counter-arguments as they are so caught up in their biblical interpretation of every concept.
There were some good lectures, but overall, I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to great minds, better to listen to audio versions of a few of the authors' works than these overly religious interpretations of everything.
There were some good lectures, but overall, I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to great minds, better to listen to audio versions of a few of the authors' works than these overly religious interpretations of everything.
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