History of Philosophy and Christian Thought Essentials

Speaker: 
Dr. Ron Nash

This course is a basic introduction to the history of philosophy and Christian thought. These lectures were given for Biblical Training in Orlando, Florida during the fall semester of 2001.

Recommended reading: 

Nash, Life's Ultimate Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy
Nash, The Word of God and the Mind of Man
Nash, The Gospel and the Greeks

Class Outline

Worldviews
Worldviews

Dr. Nash covers the objectives to the lectures, reading material, and discusses the five major beliefs that make up a worldview
Naturalism
Naturalism

A discussion of naturalism, what it teaches, two major exponents of naturalism (Lamont, Russell), and why it is wrong
Plato: Introduction and Summary
Plato: Introduction and Summary

Theories opposed by Plato ("Hermman"), his significance, his three forms of dualism, and Plato's basic teaching on "forms"
Plato: Theory of Knowledge
Plato: Theory of Knowledge

Plato's doctrine of the immortality of the soul, his understanding of knowledge (argued against by Augustine and Plotinus), and a discussion of rationalism vs. empiricism
Aristotle, Plotinus, and Aquinas
Aristotle, Plotinus, and Aquinas

The contributions of Aristotle (the law of non-contradiction; the difference between essential and non-essential properties), Plotinus, and Aquinas
The Case against Open Theism
The Case Against Open Theism

Open theism is the belief that God does not know the future; otherwise, we would not be free in our decisions. Nash discusses the teachings of God's omniscience and human free will, and the logical implications of this teaching.
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