Season 1 • Episode 8
LatestIn our eighth and final lecture, we explore Aristotle’s powerful influence on 20th- and 21st-century philosophy, highlighting his “revenge” against logical positivism, which confined meaning to analytic and empirical claims. We examine how Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, and Alasdair Mactyre revived virtue ethics by returning to human flourishing, character, and practical wisdom, and how Saul Kripke’s work on necessity and essence reopened metaphysics to Aristotelian ideas about substance and natural kinds. Dr. Orr closes by reflecting on Aristotle’s undeniable and enduring relevance as a living guide for contemporary philosophy.
In Aristotle: From Logic to Life, an eight-hour course, Dr. Orr explores Aristotle's comprehensive philosophical system, tracing his life, empirical methodology, and key contributions to logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and poetics. We examine his theories of substance, causation, virtue ethics, eudaimonia (human thriving), political life, and his analysis of tragedy and catharsis. The course follows his impact from medieval rediscovery and tensions with monotheism to contemporary revivals, showing why Aristotle remains a vital guide for modern philosophy.
Creator
Dr. James Orr
US
