How can Aristotle help you become a better person? In this course by award-winning teacher and leading Aristotle expert Prof. Cary J. Nederman (PhD, York University), you will become a more ethical person as you explore Aristotelian thought. The word "politics" is an often-controversial term in our day, conjuring associations with partisanship and subterfuge. But as conceived by the ancient Greeks, politics was essential for becoming a virtuous person. Learn from one of the leading experts on Aristotle and political theory.

Two years before he died, St. Thomas Aquinas, probably the greatest teacher the Church has ever known, was asked by his assistant Brother Reginald to write a simple summary of the faith of the Catholic Church for those who lacked the time or the stamina to tackle his massive Summa Theologica. In response, the great saint quickly set down in language that non-scholars can understand his peerless insights into the major topics of theology: the Trinity, Divine Providence, the Incarnation of Christ, the Last Judgment, and much more.

Benedict de Spinoza's Ethics, first published in 1677, constitutes a major systematic critique of the traditional and religious foundations of philosophical thought. In it, Spinoza follows a logical step-by-step format consisting of definitions, axioms, propositions, proofs, and corollaries to create a comprehensive inquiry into the truth about God, nature, and humans' place within the universe. From these broad metaphysical themes, Spinoza derives what he considered to be the highest principles of religion and society and lays out an ethical system in which reason is the supreme value.

Written after the capture of Rome in 410 by Alaric, King of the Visigoths, St Augustine's City of God was intended as a response to pagan critics who blamed Christianity for this brutal defeat. Augustine attacks ancient pagan beliefs and relates the corruption and immorality that led to Rome's downfall, which began before Christ, before reaching his main argument: that the City of Man is perishing and only the Heavenly City of God will endure.

The influence of Aristotle, the prince of philosophers, on the intellectual history of the West is second to none. In this book, Jonathan Barnes examines Aristotle's scientific researches, his discoveries in logic and his metaphysical theories, his work in psychology and in ethics and politics, and his ideas about art and poetry, placing his teachings in their historical context.