Fleming Community Library

First published in 1926, "The Story of Philosophy" is noted historian Will Durant's survey of Western philosophy. Having been described as "a groundbreaking work that helped to popularize philosophy", the book begins with detailed descriptions of the philosophical ideas of the ancient Greeks, i.e. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. The book then proceeds in chronicling the different philosophical doctrines of French Enlightenment, German Idealism, Pessimism,...

Here's a lively, not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical traditions, schools, concepts, and thinkers. It's Philosophy 101 for everyone who knows not to take all this heavy stuff too seriously. Some of the Big Ideas are existentialism (what do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?), philosophy of language (how to express what it's like being stranded on a desert island with Halle Berry), feminist philosophy (why, in the end, a...

"In the Nicomachean Ethics, which he is said to have dedicated to his son Nicomachus, Aristotle's guiding question is what is the best thing for a human being? His answer is happiness. 'Happiness,' he wrote, 'is the best, noblest, and most pleasant thing in the world.' But he means not something we feel, not an emotion, but rather an especially good kind of life. Happiness is made up of activities in which we use the best human capacities, both ones...

The greater our familiarity with the ideas that have shaped our culture over the centuries, the greater our ability to understand--and influence--that culture for Christ. From the ancient Greek thinkers Plato and Aristotle to the Christian philosophers Augustine and Aquinas to the molders of modern thought such as Kant and Nietszche, R. C. Sproul traces the contours of Western philosophy throughout history and demonstrates the massive consequences...

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.

The landmark political treatise that refuted the so-called divine right of kings and established the principles of representative government   "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains."   With these stirring words, Jean-Jacques Rousseau begins The Social Contract-the first shot in a battle of ideas that would set the stage for the American War of Independence and the French Revolution. In the feverish days of the Enlightenment, Rousseau...

An exploration of Western Civilization described through the creative works generated in art, architecture, sculpture, philosophy, poetry, music, science, and engineering.