The Giants of Philosophy audiotapes

The Giants of Philosophy audiotapes explain the views of the most influential philosophers in history. Assuming no prior knowledge of the listener, each pair of tapes presents the concerns, questions, interests, and overall world view of a great philosopher. Receive an education in philosophy -- the easy way -- on the following philsophers: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Spinoza, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dewey, and Sartre. Special emphasis is placed on making each idea both clear and relevant to modern listeners, providing new insights to help us live better lives.

PLATO (ca. 430-350 B.C.) Greece - Plato, the first great philosopher of the West, thought that existing things are modeled on changeless, eternal forms.

ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.) Greece - Aristotle was the first to systematically describe physics, biology, psychology, and the standards of literature.

ST. AUGUSTINE (354-430 A.D.) Rome - St. Augustine, the first great systematic Christian philosopher, believed Christ provided the light of knowledge to the mind.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS (1224-1274) Italy - His most famous work, the SUMMA THEOLOGICA, offered proofs of the existence of God and outlined the way to blessedness.

BARUCH SPINOZA (1632-1677) The Netherlands - Spinoza took the view that God, an infinite being, is identical with the world. Therefore, we are all part of the Diety.

DAVID HUME (1711-1776) Scotland - Hume thought the entire world is constituted from the perceptions of our sense-experience. He doubted we could know anything with certainty.

IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) Germany - Kant believed the faculty of human reason creates a world where all events are causally connected and enables us to act morally.

GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL (1770-1831) Germany - Hegel aimed to make philosophy a comprehensive science and to restate the truth of Christianity.

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER (1788-1860) Germany - Schopenhauer, a true pessimist, believed life is evil to the core, and pain and suffering are unavoidable.

SOREN KIERKEGAARD (1813-1855) Denmark - A deeply religious thinker, he believed God's existence cannot be proved, but only a religious leap of faith can make our own lives bearable and meaningful.

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE (1844-1900) Germany - Nietzsche boldly announced that God is dead. He believed creative humans can use their own strength and intelligence to give life meaning.

JOHN DEWEY (1859-1952) The United States - Dewey, a pragmatist, viewed democracy as a way of life -- best promoted by a rational and effective educational system. His educational theories were greatly influencial, yet widely criticized.

JEAN-PAUL SARTRE (1905-1980) France - Sartre was a leading advocate of existentialism - the view that we must establish our own dignity, despite a meaningless life.