From Plato to Jesus

1. From Plato to Jesus

2. Part I: From Socrates to Sartre: The History of Philosophy and Christian Theology: • Chapter 1: From the Pre-Socratic Period to the Classical Period (600 B. C. –A. D. 400) • The Pre-Socratic Period (ca. 600-400 B.C) • The Classical period (ca. 400 B.C- A.D 400)

3. The Pre-Socratic Period • Heraclitus on Change • Flux and Fire • God’s reason is the Universal law • The conflict of Opposites • The One and the Many: The Milesians and the Pythagoreans • The Milesian Philosophers • The Pythagorean Philosophers

4. The Pre-Socratic Period • The One Versus the Many: The Eleatics • Parmenides • Zeno

5. The Classical Period • The Many Versus the One: The Sophists and the Skeptics • The Sophists • The Skeptics • The One Behind the Many: Socrates • Socrates’ Theory of Knowledge • Socrates’ Theory of Ethics

6. The Classical Period • The One Above the Many: Plato, the Hedonists and the Neoplatonists • Plato • Plato’s Epistemological Dualism • Plato’s Anthropological Dualism • Plato’s Ethical Dualism • The Hedonists: Epicurus and the Pleasure Principle

7. The Classical Period • Neoplatonism • Plotinus’s System of Creation • Mystical Union with God as Salvation • The One in the Many: Aristotle • Aristotle’s Logic • Aristotle’s Metaphysics • Aristotle’s Ethics

8. Chapter 2: The Medieval Period (ca. A.D. 400-1400) • Augustine and his Kindred Spirits: “The One Over the Many” • Antecedents to Aquinas • The One in the Many: Aquinas’ Integration of Philosophy and Theology • The Rejection of the Integration of Philosophy and Theology

9. Augustine and his Kindred Spirits: “The One Over the Many” • Augustine • Augustine’s Epistemology • Augustine’s Theology • Augustine’s Morality • Boethius • Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite • John Scotus Erigena • Anselm

10. Antecedents to Aquinas • Exaggerated Realists • Nominalists • Conceptualism

11. The One in the Many: Aquinas’ Integration of Philosophy and Theology • The Backdrop for Aquinas’ system: Islamic and Jewish Philosophy • The Islamic Philosophers • Jewish Philosophy: Moses Maimonides

12. The One in the Many: Aquinas’ Integration of Philosophy and Theology • Aquinas • Aquinas and the Scholastic Method • Faith and Reason • Proofs for the Existence of God • Proof from Motion • Proof from Efficient Cause • Proof from Necessary versus Possible Beings • Proof from the Degrees of Perfection • Proof from the Order of the Universe

13. The One in the Many: Aquinas’ Integration of Philosophy and Theology • The One in the Many • Other Matters of Importance from Aquinas

14. The One in the Many: Aquinas’ Integration of Philosophy and Theology • John Duns Scotus (1265-1308) • William of Ockham (1280-1349) • Johannes Eckhart’s (1260-1327)

15. Chapter 3: The Modern Period (1400- 1900) • The Renaissance Period (A.D. 1400-1900) • The Enlightenment Period (1600s to 1900) • Conclusion to the Modern Period

16. The Renaissance Period • Erasmus: The Seed of Separation of Faith and Learning is Sown • Martin Luther: The Triumph of Faith over Reason

17. The Enlightenment Period • Rationalism, Idealism, Romanticism: The One Behind the Many • Background of the Enlightenment: The New Science • Rationalism, Romanticism, and Idealism: The One over the Many • Rationalism • Romanticism

18. The Enlightenment Period • Immanuel Kant (The One in the Many) • Kant’s View of Knowledge • Analytic Judgments versus Synthetic Judgments • A priori Knowledge versus a posteriori Knowledge • Noumenal Reality versus Phenomenal Reality • Kant’s Rejection of the Traditional Proofs for the Existence of God • The Categorical Imperative

19. The Enlightenment Period • (Absolute) Idealism • Hegel’s Absolute Spirit/Mind • Logical Idealism • Philosophy of Nature • Philosophy of Spirit/Mind • Evaluation of Absolute Idealism

20. The Enlightenment Period • Schopenhauer’s Absolute Will • The World • The World as Idea • The World as Will

21. The Enlightenment Period • Empiricism, Positivism, and Utilitarianism: The Many over the One • Empiricism • John Locke: Representative Theory of Knowledge • Locke’s Epistemological Theory • Locke’s Political Theory • George Berkeley: “To Be is To Be Perceived”

22. The Enlightenment Period • David Hume: Empiricist Skeptic • Epistemological Skepticism • Religious Skepticism • Evaluation of Hume and Empiricism • Positivism • Utilitarianism

23. Chapter 4: The Contemporary Period of Philosophy (1900-present) • The One Over the Many • The Many Over the One • Conclusion to the Survey of the One and the Many and History of Philosophy

24. The One Over the Many • The Metaphysicians Bergson and Whitehead • Henri Bergson: Intuition and the Élan Vital • Alfred North Whitehead: Actual Entity and the Connectedness of All Things • (American) Romanticism • Dialectical Materialism

25. The Many Over the One • Pragmatism • Charles Pierce • William James • John Dewey • Analytic Philosophy • Bertrand Russell’s Logical Atomism • The Vienna’s School of Logical Positivism • The Later Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Analysis • Richard Rorty’s Contingency of Language

26. The Many Over the One • Existentialism • Essence Precedes Existence • Sören Kierkegaard • Edmund Husserl • Martin Heidegger • Existence Precedes Essence

27. Part II: The Incarnation and the One and the Many: The Interface of Philosophy and Christian Doctrine • Chapter 5: Introduction to Christology • The New Testament and the Incarnation • The Patristic Period • The Medieval Period • The Modern Period • The Contemporary Period • Conclusion

28. The New Testament and the Incarnation • Jesus’ Deity • Titles in Judaism Applied to Jesus That Could be Divine, Human, or a Personification of God • Messiah • Son of Man • Wisdom • Logos • “Son of God” as a Title Placing Jesus on Par with God • “Lord” as the Title Equating Jesus with God

29. The New Testament and the Incarnation • Humanity • The Virgin Birth • Conclusion to the New Testament Witness to Jesus