History of Western Philosophy
10 weekly online sessions on Tuesdays at 6-7.30pm, starting from Tuesday 30 September - we are no longer taking enrolments for this course.
Overview
Humans like to ask questions, something evidenced by the persistence of philosophy throughout time and cultures. From the Pre-Socratics to the present day, philosophers have asked whether there are divine beings, whether morality exists, whether we really can know anything, and whether life does have meaning (whatever meaning means).
In this course, we'll explore how both the questions asked and answers given have persisted or changed through time. We'll engage with the titans of the Ancient Greek era, through to Immanuel Kant’s self-professed ‘revolutions’ in thought, while also considering the future of philosophy.
No prior knowledge of philosophy is required, just an inquisitive mind. Let’s examine together whether philosophers really do make progress, and what that progress might look like.
Syllabus
- Week 1: The Presocratics
- Week 2: Socrates
- Week 3: Plato
- Week 4: Aristotle
- Week 5: Religion and morality in the Middle Ages
- Week 6: Politics and knowledge in (early) modern philosophy
- Week 7: Kant: revolution(s) in thought
- Week 8: Experience, existentialism and the quest for meaning
- Week 9: Logic, analysis and argument
- Week 10: Philosophy now, philosophy next.
Course lecturers
Dr Guendalina Taietti is an Italian classicist based in Greece. Her research focuses on the Greek Reception of Alexander the Great from antiquity to the present day, Macedonian History, and the study of Human-Animal relationships in Antiquity. Guendalina completed her PhD in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Liverpool in 2017 and taught Classics both at school and University level in Italy, Greece, the UK, and China. In 2021 she joined the Continuing Education Department of the University of Liverpool as a Classics Tutor, and since April 2025 she is the Beatriu de Pinós Postdoctoral Researcher in Ancient History at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Alongside her research, Guendalina is extremely enthusiastic about making Classics accessible to the wider public, travelling, and learning new languages and cultures. In her free time, she is an amateur long-distance runner and an advocate for animal rights and the environment.
Dr Harry Drummond completed his PhD in Philosophy at Liverpool in 2024. His research aims to address questions about art and morality using the tools of contemporary philosophy of mind, psychology, and neuroscience. His published work includes work at these intersections, including on political art, the aesthetics of food, dancing and watching films together, the value of art, and AI aesthetic experiences. For Continuing Education, Harry has delivered a variety of courses in Philosophy, from introductions looking at key questions, concepts, and debates, all the way to how it can help us address social, environmental, technological, and medical crises.
Course fee
- Standard fee: £155
- Concession fee: £80.