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Slide 1: A Brief Overview of Western Philosophy
Slide 3: Classical Culture   “Man is the measure of all things.” Example of a philosophical debate:  “In an athletic contest a man had been accidentally hit and killed with a javelin. Was his death to be attributed to the javelin itself, to the man who threw it, or to the authorities responsible for the conduct of the games?”
Slide 4: Plato’s The Republic (c. 360 B.C.)   The most influential work of philosophy and political theory from the Classical period. In this Plato discusses:      The meaning of justice The nature of the philosopher Conflict between philosophy and poetry The Theory of Forms Immortality of the soul
Slide 5: Excerpt from The Republic  “Human beings live in an underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the daylight and reaching all along the cave; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised roadway; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the roadway, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets.”* *Adapted from translation by Allan Bloom.
Slide 6: The Cave
Slide 7: The School of Athens (c. 1511) by Raphael
Slide 8: The Renaissance 14-17th Century     Europe emerged from the Middle Ages (a.k.a. Dark Ages) Rebirth of Classical ideas, but updated Rise of the Merchant class Remember: Columbus was a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci!
Slide 9: The Enlightenment (18th Century)  “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way.” – Charles Dickens on the Revolutionary Period in A Tale of Two Cities
Slide 10: Jean-Jacques Rousseau “The Social Contract”  “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others, but remains more of a slave than they.”
Slide 11: John Locke     Believed all people are equal and independent, and everyone has a natural right to defend his “life, liberty, or possessions” It is the government’s obligation to protect these rights Advocated governmental separation of powers Revolution is not only a right but a responsibility in some cases
Slide 12: “American” Ideas    “Inalienable rights…” (Declaration of Independence) “We the people….” (Constitution) “I pledge allegiance…to the republic….” (The Pledge of Allegiance)