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Ancient Philosophy

12 resources

Level
Type

📹Videos(1)

video👁️ 0

Crash Course Philosophy: Plato and Aristotle

Quick overview of key ancient philosophers

beginner🇬🇧

🎓Courses(3)

course👁️ 0

Aristotle: The Nicomachean Ethics

What is philosophy? How does it differ from science, religion, and other modes of human discourse? This course traces the origins of philosophy in the Western tradition in the thinkers of Ancient Greece. We begin with the Presocratic natural philosophers who were active in Ionia in the 6th century BCE and are also credited with being the first scientists. Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximines made bold proposals about the ultimate constituents of reality, while Heraclitus insisted that there is an underlying order to the changing world. Parmenides of Elea formulated a powerful objection to all these proposals, while later Greek theorists (such as Anaxagoras and the atomist Democritus) attempted to answer that objection. In fifth-century Athens, Socrates insisted on the importance of the fundamental ethical question—“How shall I live?”—and his pupil, Plato, and Plato’s pupil, Aristotle, developed elaborate philosophical systems to explain the nature of reality, knowledge, and human happiness. After the death of Aristotle, in the Hellenistic period, Epicureans and Stoics developed and transformed that earlier tradition. We will study the major doctrines of all these thinkers. Part I will cover Plato and his predecessors. Part II will cover Aristotle and his successors.

intermediate🇬🇧
course👁️ 0

Ancient Philosophy: Plato & His Predecessors

What is philosophy? How does it differ from science, religion, and other modes of human discourse? This course traces the origins of philosophy in the Western tradition in the thinkers of Ancient Greece. We begin with the Presocratic natural philosophers who were active in Ionia in the 6th century BCE and are also credited with being the first scientists. Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximines made bold proposals about the ultimate constituents of reality, while Heraclitus insisted that there is an underlying order to the changing world. Parmenides of Elea formulated a powerful objection to all these proposals, while later Greek theorists (such as Anaxagoras and the atomist Democritus) attempted to answer that objection. In fifth-century Athens, Socrates insisted on the importance of the fundamental ethical question—“How shall I live?”—and his pupil, Plato, and Plato’s pupil, Aristotle, developed elaborate philosophical systems to explain the nature of reality, knowledge, and human happiness. After the death of Aristotle, in the Hellenistic period, Epicureans and Stoics developed and transformed that earlier tradition. We will study the major doctrines of all these thinkers. Part I will cover Plato and his predecessors. Part II will cover Aristotle and his successors.

beginner🇬🇧
course👁️ 0

Ancient Philosophy

Coursera course: Ancient Philosophy: Plato & His Predecessors

intermediate🇬🇧

📚Books(1)

book👁️ 0

Nicomachean Ethics

Nicomachean Ethics - A book resource

intermediate🇬🇧

🌐Websites(5)

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website👁️ 0

Perseus Digital Library

Free ancient texts in Greek/English

beginner🇬🇧
website👁️ 0

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Presocratics

Detailed articles on ancient thinkers, practitioner-recommended

beginner🇬🇧
website👁️ 0

perseus.tufts.edu

Perseus Digital Library (Tufts) is a comprehensive online archive of classical Greek and Latin texts with English translations, searchable by author, work, or topic, and linked to glossaries and linguistic tools. It includes major works of ancient philosophy (Plato, Aristotle, etc.) and related scholarly resources for study.

intermediate🇬🇧
website👁️ 0

classics.mit.edu

MIT Classics hosts the Internet Classics Archive, a free collection of public-domain translations of ancient Greek and Roman texts. It provides full-text HTML editions of major philosophical and literary works, including Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.

intermediate🇬🇧
website👁️ 0

stoics.com

Stoics.com is an educational resource focused on Stoicism and ancient philosophy, offering accessible articles, quotes, and practical guidance drawn from classical thinkers.

intermediate🇬🇧

🎙️Podcasts(2)

podcast👁️ 0

The Stoic

For centuries, all sorts of people—generals and politicians, athletes and coaches, writers and leaders—have looked to the teachings of Stoicism to help guide their lives. Each day, author and speaker Ryan Holiday brings you a new lesson about life, inspired by the thoughts and writings of great Stoic thinkers like Marcus Aurelius and Seneca the Younger. Daily Stoic Podcast also features Q+As with listeners and interviews with notable figures from sports, academia, politics, and more. Learn more at DailyStoic.com.Support the podcast and go deeper with Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-f...

beginner🌐
podcast👁️ 0

History of Philosophy Without Gaps

Peter Adamson, Professor of Philosophy at the LMU in Munich and at King’s College London, takes listeners through the history of philosophy, ”without any gaps.” The series looks at the ideas, lives and historical context of the major philosophers as well as the lesser-known figures of the tradition. www.historyofphilosophy.net. NOTE: iTunes shows only the most recent 300 episodes; subscribe on iTunes or go to a different platform for the whole series.

beginner🌐

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best free resources to learn Ancient Philosophy?

Dantes has curated 97 resources for Ancient Philosophy, including 31 videos, 1 books, 3 courses, 12 websites, 6 podcasts. All resources are hand-picked for quality — no algorithmic filler. Browse the full list above to find the format that works best for you.

Is Ancient Philosophy hard to learn?

Ancient Philosophy is approachable at the beginner level — there are resources here specifically for those starting from scratch. As you progress, intermediate and advanced material is also available to take your skills further.

What types of Ancient Philosophy learning resources are available on Dantes?

For Ancient Philosophy, Dantes has curated 31 videos, 1 books, 3 courses, 12 websites, 6 podcasts. Each resource type serves a different learning style: videos and YouTube for visual learners, books for depth, courses for structured progression, and websites for quick reference.

How does Dantes select Ancient Philosophy resources?

Dantes is an algorithm-free learning directory. Resources are hand-curated based on quality, accuracy, and usefulness — not engagement metrics or paid placements. The goal is to surface the best learning material for Ancient Philosophy, whether it's a free YouTube series, a classic textbook, or an open courseware from a top university.

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