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Philosophy we think of it in the West evolved from the cosmopolitan environment of the Eastern Mediterranean. From the out set it has spiralled around questions about the nature of reality and the human self, about knowledge, society and ethics, and about the existence and nature of God. The pursuit of philosophy has gone hand in hand with the evolution of mathematics, logic, the natural sciences and medicine. This year-long programme introduces a selection of philosophical thinkers and their writings from antiquity to the present day.
The programme is made up of six 5-week courses, beginning in September 2023 and ending in July 2024. Each week there is a seminar on the text or topic led by a member of the London Jesuit Centre Team. Texts will be provided in advance ,with a guide and questions to help reading.
Term 1
Thales to Plato
An introduction to ideas and arguments from the first Greek-speaking philosopher-scientists through to the work of Plato, whose thought set the agenda for the next two thousand years of philosophy.
Term 2
Aristotle and After
This course introduces the work of Aristotle, and goes on to explore the complex intellectual world that evolved in the Hellenistic and Roman eras and which provided the matrix for Christian Theology.
Term 3
Medieval Philosophers
This explores the philosophers – both Christian and Islamic – of the Medieval period, in which Greek philosophical concepts were integrated into religious thought in new ways.
Term 4
The Birth of Modern Philosophy
This course explores the beginning of a new era in philosophy: from Descartes’ search for certainty, through Hume’s scepticism, to Kant’s ‘Copernican revolution’.
Term 5
The 19th Century
This course explores the work of five philosophical greats of the 19th century: Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Feuerbach, Nietzsche.
Term 6
The 20th Century
This course explores how philosophy developed in the 20th century: Heidegger and Wittgenstein, an influential group of women philosophers in post-war UK, French postmodernism, and more.
John Moffatt SJ works at the London Jesuit Centre. His first degree was in Classics. He taught in London secondary schools intermittently between 1985 and 2016 and has worked briefly in University Chaplaincy. He has been involved with teenage and adult faith education in Britain and South Africa and has recently completed a doctorate in medieval Islamic philosophy.
