What you'll learn
- Philosophy (Nietzsche and Socrates specifically)
Description
Nietzsche and Socrates are two figures who have have exercised a magnetic influence on the minds of those who have encountered them. Allan Bloom argued that Nietzsche and Socrates represent two basic alternatives in approaches to ethics. For Socrates man is a rational being and the task of philosophy is to provide KNOWLEDGE of the good life. For Nietzsche such knowledge does not exist - ethics are fundamentally about VALUES - which are expressions of commitment and creativity rather than questions of objective truth. In this course we will examine the ideas of two of the most fascinating and influential philosophers in the history of Western civilzation.
Notes:
Logo design by Craig Sanes. Special for the Petrarch Centre, LTD
Note: All courses and instructional material are except where otherwise explicitly indicated the original work of the Petrarch Centre, LTD.
We also provide links to texts that can be found at the Perseus website – a project of Tufts University, and used by permission.”
Who this course is for:
- Adults interested in philosophy from whatever walk of life, undergraduates in the humanities looking to augment knowledge base
Course content
- Preview52:35
Instructor
![Alexander Rosenthal Pubul](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=avatar}
- 4.6 Instructor Rating
- 27 Reviews
- 174 Students
- 6 Courses
Alexander S. Rosenthal-Pubul, MA, PhD
The Director of the Petrarch Institute, he received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Princeton University in 1994 and his PhD in Philosophy from the Katholieke Universisteit Leuven in 2005. He has taught at a number of colleges and universities including Loyola College (Maryland), and Catholic University of America (CUA) and Johns Hopkins University where he served as Assistant Director of the Center for Governmental Studies, and currently remains an online Lecturer from his home in Spain. He has taught at many levels from high school and undergraduate students, to adult learners from government and the private sector. His research interests include medieval and renaissance thought, European intellectual history, and political philosophy. Among his publications is his book Crown Under Law which deals with the intellectual origins of modern constitutionalism focusing on John Locke and Richard Hooker and their interaction with the medieval scholastic tradition. He founded the Petrarch Institute to bring to a wider audience his long experience helping students to apply the timeless wisdom of the classic texts to enrich their lives, their work, and all their endeavors.
Note: The Petrarch Institute has no affiliation with Johns Hopkins University, and its activities do not imply endorsement by JHU.