Understanding the culture in which we live, we need to be familiar with the ideas that have shaped it. On the Renewing Your Mind lecture series THE CONSEQUENCE OF IDEAS (Sn 2000, Wd 1200, Sat 230), Dr. R.C. Sproul traces the contours of Western philosophy throughout history. From ancient Greek thinkers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to Christian philosophers such as Augustine, Anselm and Aquinas to the shapers of modern thought such as Hume, Kant and Nietzsche, R.C. demonstrates the consequences of each of these and other important thinkers’ ideas on world events, theology, the fine arts and culture, as well as everyday life.
Episodes in this series:
Thales. The series begins with Thales, who conceived of a unifying factor in reality.
Monism and Pluralism. Unaided by Scripture, the pre-Socractic philosophers embarked on a quest for ultimate reality. How did we get here? What is the source of all things? What gives reality purpose and harmony?
Parmenides, Heraclitus, and Zeno. Are you the same person you were ten years ago? On being and becoming.
Socrates. What happened to virtue? What happened to truth? Is all hope lost in the realm of science, politics, and our court system? Socrates asked the same questions.
Plato (Pt01). All of us should know what a person is when we see one. But if you were asked to give a definition of a person that captured the essence of personhood to the exclusion of all other creatures, what would it be?
Plato (Pt02). Plato’s thoughts on knowledge.
Aristotle (Pt01). Why do acorns produce oak trees instead of something else? Early philosophers of the ancient world were the acting scientists of their day trying to understand the reality in which they existed.
Aristotle (Pt02). What is the necessary instrument for knowledge? What instrument is employed to make sense of it all?
Plotinus and Neo-Platonism. Not everyone has assumed that the God who exists is a being.
Augustine. How can we be sure we can trust our senses? Augustine defeated the claims of those skeptical about the reliability of our senses.
Anselm. He argued for the existence of God, “that being that which no greater can be conceived”.
Aquinas (Pt01). Is it possible to gain knowledge of God through nature? Aquinas thought so.
Aquinas (Pt02). How does the knowledge of the infinite reach our finite minds? Aquinas’ thoughts on language, knowledge and our quest to know who God is.
The Renaissance Revolution. People today choose the authority of science and philosophy over theology; this is not a new thing.
Descartes. Before you think a thought, you need to know where to begin; Descartes suggests you begin by doubting.
Descartes and “Cause and Effect”. How does thought translate into action? What is the connection among thought, will and action?
Leibniz. If God is perfect, how can His handiwork be so imperfect? Leibniz offered the most popular solution; but it has a built-in weakness.
Pascal. His answer to the problem of our greatest misery.
Locke. How do we come by the knowledge that we know?
Crisis in the 18th century (Pt01). The relationship between metaphysics and epistemology must be considered as we search for certainty in the world around us.
Crisis in the 18th century (Pt02). Eighteenth century empiricists attempted to know the essential qualities of the things in the material world. What was the problem with their process of inquiry?
Berkeley and Empiricism. How do we get from a tree falling in the forest to affirming God’s existence? Bishop Berkeley challenged the tide of empiricism.
Hume (Pt01). What reason do you have to connect two events in a cause and effect relationship?
Hume (Pt02). David Hume’s challenge to the law of causality influenced the sphere of theology.
The Enlightenment (Pt01). The underlying ideas that shaped Enlightenment thought and the effect they have today.
The Enlightenment (Pt02). Many Enlightenment minds worked to rid society of religion. One way was to disregard Scripture and use only what is observed in nature andn deduced by reason as the means of understanding our place in the world.
Kant (Pt01). In the 18th century, he challenged the classical arguments for the existence of God.
Kant (Pt02). Kant’s critique of the theoretical knowledge of the metaphysical realm and how that affects classical arguments for the existence of God.
Hegel. Does God evolve? Hegel tried to explain God’s relationship to the world and history.
Marx. Is there something wrong with the way we measure the value of our work? Marx’s solution went far beyond economics.
Kierkegaard. Have you taken the existential leap of faith in committing yourself to the Christ of Scripture?
Nietzsche. Attempting to give meaning to what he perceived as meaningless existence, Nietzsche gave the world a philosophy that still haunts us today.
Sartre and Heidegger. Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre began his anthropology with the rejection of God.
Russell. If everything must have a cause, then what caused God? And what is wrong with that question?
Modern Philosophers. Positivism, pragmatism, pluralism and relativism roam our schools, workplaces and even churches. How do we deal with them?
