Grasp the important ideas that have served as the backbone of philosophy across the ages with this extraordinary 60-lecture series. This is your opportunity to explore the enormous range of philosophical perspectives and ponder the most important and enduring of human questions - without spending your life poring over dense philosophical texts. Professor Robinson guides you through more than 2,000 years of philosophical thinking and gives you a coherent, comprehensive, and beautifully articulated introduction to the great conversation of philosophy. Every lecture contains substance that can change your view of the world and its history. You'll journey from the early ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; chart the origins of Christian philosophy and investigate the Islamic scholars who preserved and extended Greek thought during the Middle Ages; and venture through Enlightenment contributions to philosophy, from Francis Bacon to Locke, Hume, Kant, Mill, and Adam Smith. Then shift your attention to the modern era, where you see ideas like psychoanalysis, pragmatism, as well as the collision between the inherently social understanding of meaning created by Wittgenstein, the vastly different estimation of human thought developed by the code-breaking genius Alan Turing, and the subtle response to him made by the American philosopher John Searle. The result is a course that gives you everything you need to grasp humanity's philosophical history - without years of academic study and piles of dense reading.LIFETIME MANUFACTURER WARRANTY. Your satisfaction is important to us, and we at The Great Courses offer a lifetime replacement warranty to purchasers of our products from The Great Courses on - if a DVD or CD disc ever breaks, warps, or gets damaged, we will replace it free of charge. If you have any concerns with your product, or want to request a replacement, please contact The Great Courses through our storefront for more information.
K**Y
Thorough and Engaging
I have recently (within the last few years) become a fan of both Barnes and Noble's Portable Professor series and The Great Courses. I now own nine Great Courses, and six Portable Professor. This review references the 2nd edition of Robinson's Great Ideas in Philosophy, which, as described by Robinson, contains an additional ten lectures vs. the original edition.Two of the Great Courses I have purchased belong to Daniel Robinson's Great Ideas series. I am about seven lectures deep or so into each, and after having initially switched gears over to Psychology from Philosophy after about the third lecture, I mistakenly concluded that Robinson was a one-track lecturer, with much of the early material in each seeming to mirror the other (Robinson begins his Psychology course discussing many of the same philosophical ideas he discusses in Philosophy). I had to remind myself that these are 48- and 60- lecture series, respectively, and as it turns out, Robinson was laying what is perhaps the most in-depth groundwork for each course I have ever encountered in the sum total of my academic experiences. Not only does Robinson ground the student in origins, but even takes time to explain many of the inaccuracies found in stock (Robinson's term) textbooks used in colleges and universities today (including my own). The man is well-versed not only in philosophy and psychology, but also physics, law, mathematics, and others. A true polymath.A fascinating and eloquent lecturer, able to hold my invested and unbroken attention across every topic so far, it becomes clear I would certainly, for example, have had much less difficulty in Sensation and Perception during my own degree program had Robinson been my lecturer. Rest in peace, professor.
K**M
Incomplete Set
When I only received part 1 of the New Tesatment, I thought it was my mistake and I had to order the whole set again, because I could not find part 2 only. I thought I was ordering the complete set of this one and what did I receive? The case for part 1, which is suppose to be disc 1 thru 6 with disc 3,4,5,6 & 7 only. That is messed up. I am sure that the lectures are great as are the old and new testament lectures, but I will never order any lectures from these courses again. Although I am sure it is the fault of the seller. Now I have to waste my time contacting the seller and will probably have to mail these back. They are not Amazon guaranteed, so that should tell you something.
J**S
No booklet
One of the cases was cracked which is OK because I knew I was buying a used product. But I'm disappointed that the course booklet was missing. That is a great addition to the DVDs created by the Great Courses company. Nevertheless, I'm keeping the item.
W**R
The best survey of philosphy that I have ever seen
An excellent course in philosophy presented by a remarkable professor. I recommend this course. It covers the field in enough detail to give you an introductory understanding of the range of philosophical inquiry from antiquity to modernity.
D**E
I think this is my favorite course from the teaching company
I think this is my favorite course from the teaching company . Dr. Daniel Robinson is awesome athough I really like Dr Kenneth Harl as well .. So I would say this is my favorite Philosophy course and Dr Harl has taught my favorite History Courses. This course, the Great Ideas of Philosophy is another won that I have listened to many times in the car but now have been able to enjoy on DVD.
A**R
NOT as advertised.
Missing Course Guidebook as well as DVDs containing 40% of the lecture series.
L**A
Four Stars
Erudite professor and a lovely broad scope
T**S
Makes up for all those philosophy lectures you missed
A great presenter, articulate, confident and knowledgeable. The series begins with a careful appraisal of ancient thought leading to the Greeks. I must admit I'm still watching as an abundance of thorough lectures. Buy, you won't regret it.
Trustpilot
3 weeks ago
1 day ago
