Topics discussed: 

• Plato as authoritarian
• Plato as moral teacher
• Spiritual practices in the ancient world
• Attention training for greater attentional autonomy

Topics discussed: 

• Common themes across Plato's body of work
• Plato as a solver of metaphysical puzzles
• Plato as a math fanatic
• Plato as mystic

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Topics discussed:

• A review of the philosophers covered in Unit I
• A summary of the sociopolitical conditions that gave rise to anti-democratic sentiment
• A brief biography of Plato, up to the period in which he opens his school

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Topics discussed:

• The history and mythology of Pythagoras
• The workings of Pythagorean communities
• The benefits of routine and social pressure
• The ethics of the Pythagorean Archytas

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Topics discussed: 

• The philosophical notion of bullshit
• Socratic questioning
• Socrates' motivations for engaging in Socratic questioning
• Socrates' ethics
• Xenophon on self-mastery

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Topics discussed: 

• The atomistic philosophy of Democritus
• The role of chance in our success or failure (and what that means for our ethics according to Democritus)
• Democritus' maxims for how to achieve ataraxia (tranquility)
• Democritus' notion that what's good for us is good for society

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Topics discussed:

• The Sophistic movement in general
• The traditional take on Protagoras
• Revisionary takes on Protagoras
• The psychodynamic reflections of Gorgias
• Prodicus' views on the importance of a good vocabulary

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Topics discussed:

• A brief synopsis of the views of Parmenides
• Anaxagoras' notions of an "original mixture" and Mind (an early version of the laws of nature)
• Empedocles' theories of Love and Strife
• The sociological factors behind intellectual progress
• Empedocles' defense of universal ethical principles

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Topics discussed:

• The Persian Invasions of Greece
• Xenophanes' theological views
• Xenophanes' distinction between knowledge and belief
• Epistemic self-awareness
• Heraclitus' relativism and his doctrine of flux
• Heraclitus' views on improving the soul

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Topics discussed: 

• The Milesian Worldview
• The philosophy of Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes 
• Ethical reflections on Anaximander's thought
• The Milesian revolt against Persian control

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