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History of Philosophy (Live)
In this semester-long live course, students will get an overview of intellectual history. They will read segments of texts from classical, medieval, and modern times, and we will discuss them using the Socratic method during class meetings.
Class Experience
US Grade 9 - 12
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum
Course Description In this sixteen-week class, students will read and discuss a variety of primary texts from the history of philosophy, including the classical, medieval, and early modern eras. Class meetings will utilize a Socratic format where the instructor facilitates a discussion using guided questions. This enables students to interact with each other, the instructor, and the content more actively than in a traditional lecture-style course. Please note that this course will explore a...
16 lessons//16 Weeks
Week 1Lesson 1PlatonismStudents will read a segment from Plato's "Republic." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 2Lesson 2AristotelianismStudents will read a segment from Aristotle's "The Nicomachean Ethics." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 3Lesson 3StoicismStudents will read a segment from Epictetus' "Discourses." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 4Lesson 4EpicureanismStudents will read a segment from Lucretius' "On the Nature of Things." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 5Lesson 5AugustinianismStudents will read a segment from Augustine's "City of God." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 6Lesson 6ThomismStudents will read a segment from Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologica." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 7Lesson 7RealismStudents will read a segment from Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 8Lesson 8CartesianismStudents will read a segment from Rene Descartes' "Meditations on First Philosophy." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 9Lesson 9Natural Law TheoryStudents will read a segment from Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 10Lesson 10LiberalismStudents will read a segment from John Locke's "Second Treatise of Government." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 11Lesson 11SkepticismStudents will read a segment from David Hume's "A Treatise of Human Nature." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 12Lesson 12RepublicanismStudents will read a segment from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "Discourse on the Origin of Inequality." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 13Lesson 13KantianismStudents will read a segment from Immanuel Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 14Lesson 14FeminismStudents will read a segment from Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 15Lesson 15MarxismStudents will read a segment from Friedrich Engel and Karl Marx's "The Communist Manifesto." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.Week 16Lesson 16UtilitarianismStudents will read a segment from John Stuart Mill's "Utilitarianism." We will go over the reading in class and the instructor will contextualize it. Then we will have a Socratic discussion based on guided reading questions. There will also be an optional written assignment.
- Students will hone their critical thinking and analytical skills, practice actively participating in group discussions, and gain an understanding of several introductory philosophical concepts.
- Students will come away having read portions of a variety of texts that give them a better understanding of the people, events, and ideas that led to modern civilization.
- Students will develop a greater understanding of history, thought, and culture over time.
- Students will gain the opportunity to read dense texts in small, age-appropriate chunks, which enables them to develop their reading comprehension and analytical skills in a meaningful way.
I have a BA in Philosophy with minors in Political Science and Greek and Roman Studies, as well as an MA in Philosophy with a concentration in Ethics and Political Philosophy. I’m the head coach of a competitive high school debate team and teach the liberal arts at a classical school. I’m also a professional creative writer and journalist. I love helping students of all ages understand and interpret difficult subjects and learn how to crystallize their thoughts in writing and oral communication. I believe studying historical primary sources is a wonderful way to facilitate this kind of growth and learning.
2 - 4 hours per week outside of class
Assignments
Frequency: includedFeedback: includedDetails: Reading assignments will be required prior to each class meeting. Weekly optional writing assignments of around 250 words will also be offered. I will provide grading and feedback on these assignments if it is desired. In order to receive a grade for the course, students must complete at least eight of these assignments. They can complete another assignment to replace a grade if they wish, for up to sixteen completed assignments. A student who only completes four assignments may receive a certificate of completion for the course if they choose. Written assignments are entirely optional. The only requirement for the course is reading and participating in class discussions.Letter Grade
Frequency: includedDetails: Letter grades will be offered as an option for students who complete at least eight written assignments.Certificate of Completion
Frequency: includedDetails: A certificate of completion will be offered as an option for students who complete at least four written assignments.
If your student wishes to read more than the assigned portions of each text, or if you prefer to have physical copies of the books themselves, below is a comprehensive list of the editions we will be using in this course: Aquinas, Thomas. A Shorter Summa: The Essential Philosophical Passages of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica. Edited by Peter Kreeft. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993. Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by JAK Thomson. New York: Penguin Classics, 2004. Augustine. City of God. Translated by Henry Bettenson. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003. Descartes, Rene. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy. Translated by Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1998. Engels, Friedrich and Karl Marx. The Communist Manifesto. Translated by Samuel Moore. New York: Penguin Classics, 2011. Epictetus. Discourses and Selected Writings. Edited and translated by Robert Dobbin. New York: Penguin Classics, 2008. Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Edited by Edwin Curley. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1994. Hume, David. A Treatise of Human Nature. Edited by Ernest C. Mossner. New York: Penguin Classics, 1986. Kant, Immanuel. Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. Edited and translated by Allen W. Wood. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018. Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. Edited by Peter Laslett. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Lucretius. On the Nature of Things. Translated by Marcus Ferguson Smith. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2001. Machiavelli, Niccolo. Translated by George Bull. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003. Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty, Utilitarianism, and Other Essays. Edited by Mark Philp and Frederick Rosen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. Plato. Complete Works. Edited by John M. Cooper and DS Hutchinson. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1997. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Translated by Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992. Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Edited by Eileen Hunt Botting. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.
Please note that this course will explore a variety of potentially difficult topics, ideas, and events from divergent perspectives. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to review the syllabus in order to determine if they wish their child to analyze and discuss this content. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.
Aquinas, Thomas. A Shorter Summa: The Essential Philosophical Passages of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica. Edited by Peter Kreeft. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993. Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by JAK Thomson. New York: Penguin Classics, 2004. Augustine. City of God. Translated by Henry Bettenson. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003. Descartes, Rene. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy. Translated by Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1998. Engels, Friedrich and Karl Marx. The Communist Manifesto. Translated by Samuel Moore. New York: Penguin Classics, 2011. Epictetus. Discourses and Selected Writings. Edited and translated by Robert Dobbin. New York: Penguin Classics, 2008. Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Edited by Edwin Curley. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1994. Hume, David. A Treatise of Human Nature. Edited by Ernest C. Mossner. New York: Penguin Classics, 1986. Kant, Immanuel. Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. Edited and translated by Allen W. Wood. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018. Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. Edited by Peter Laslett. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Lucretius. On the Nature of Things. Translated by Marcus Ferguson Smith. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2001. Machiavelli, Niccolo. Translated by George Bull. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003. Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty, Utilitarianism, and Other Essays. Edited by Mark Philp and Frederick Rosen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. Plato. Complete Works. Edited by John M. Cooper and DS Hutchinson. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1997. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Translated by Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992. Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Edited by Eileen Hunt Botting. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.
Joined June, 2024
Teacher expertise and credentials
2 Degrees
Master's Degree in Philosophy from Northern Illinois University
Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy from Illinois Wesleyan University
I have a BA in Philosophy with minors in Political Science and Greek and Roman Studies, as well as an MA in Philosophy with a concentration in Ethics and Political Philosophy. I’m the head coach of a competitive high school debate team and teach...
Reviews
Group Class
$30
weekly or $480 for 16 classes1x per week, 16 weeks
55 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 14-18
1-18 learners per class
