Philosophy Course Program

You are presented with the basis of the the program of the philosophy course The Metaphysics of Freedom designed for college students.

Each course is taught according to the needs and requests of students. The videos of the course can also be changed depending on the department that offers the course.

For instance, for students of the Department of Legal Studies, the course is called The History of Origin and Comparative Characteristics of the Religious and Philosophical Doctrines, Their Impact on Modern Legislation in the Countries of the West and the East."

The fundamental difference between this course and other courses is the following:

the focus is on legal issues (from ancient times to the present day);
many works studied in this course are written by lawyers.

The full course consists of:
Semester 1 (Western Philosophy) - 14 lectures and 14 seminars
+ 4 additional lectures and 4 seminars (at student’s requests)
Semester 2 (Eastern Philosophy) - 14 lectures and 14 seminars
Semester 3 (History of Religion) - 14 lectures and 14 seminars

The short version of the course consists of:
Semester 1 (Western philosophy) - 8 lectures and 8 seminars
Semester 2 (Eastern philosophy) - 8 lectures and 8 seminars
Semester 3 (History of religion) - 8 lectures and 8 seminars

Note:
Classes included only in the full course are marked with an asterisk

Semester 1

Semester 2

Semester 3

Introductory lecture. The Subject of Philosophy and Its Main Sections.

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Consciousness and Matter. “I” as a System of Individual Representations of Oneself.

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Space and Time… What is Time and Can One Control It?

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1. The concept of Democritus - Newton (substantial) about space and time.
2. The concept of Aristotle - Leibniz (relativistic) about space and time.
3. Are space and time eternal or not? Are space and time infinite and limitless?
4. Is it possible to control time?
5. Perception of space and time in Western and Eastern cultures.

Philosophical Categories: Necessity and Chance; Opportunity and Reality; Content and Form; Essence and Phenomenon.

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*The Life and Teaching of Pythagoras. The Role of Language and Mathematics in Cognition and Structure of Consciousness and Knowledge.

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* Hellenistic Philosophy. Stoics and Epicureans

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The Teachings of Plato and Its Role in the Formation of the Political and Legal System of Ancient Greece.

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1. The main provisions of the political and legal system of Plato.
2. The structure and content of the treatise The Republic.
3. The justice system in the aristocratic model of the state of Plato. The treatise the Laws.
4. The theory of ideas of Plato. Plato's Cave.
5. The dialectic of Plato as the main method of cognition of the essence of being.
6. The doctrine of the soul of Plato. Evidence of the immortality of the soul.
7. The influence of the mathematical work of Archytas of Tarentum on the worldview of Plato.
8. The death of Plato and his will.

Recommended reading:
The Republic by Plato

The Life and Philosophical Teachings of Aristotle.

Seminar questions:

1. The structure and content of the Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle.
2. What is the welfare in the understanding of Aristotle?
3. How are the welfare of a state and the welfare of an individual related from the point of view of Aristotle?
4. What should dominate: the welfare of an individual person or the welfare of the whole society?
5. The concept of abstinence and the concept of vice in the understanding of Aristotle.
6. The structure and content of the 2nd and 3rd books of the Nicomachean Ethics. The concept of virtue in the understanding of Aristotle. What are virtues and what is included in the virtues?
7. The concept of generosity and the concept of magnanimity in the understanding of Aristotle. The structure and content of the 4th book of the Nicomachean Ethics.
8. The concept of justice in the understanding of Aristotle. The structure and content of the 5th book of the Nicomachean Ethics.
9. How do you understand the quote by Aristotle: "Tolerance and apathy are the last two virtues of a DYING society"?

Recommended reading:
The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle

* Medieval Philosophy. Blessed Augustine on Freedom and Divine Predestination. The Doctrine of Thomas Aquinas As a Synthesis of Christian Doctrine and Philosophy of Aristotle

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*The Philosophy of New Time. The Duality of Descartes and the Metaphysics of Spinoza. The Philosophical Principles of Leibniz and the Inductive Methodology of Francis Bacon’s Scientific Research.

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German Classical Philosophy. From Kant's Critique of Pure Reason to Hegel's Dialectic.

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Is Our Thinking on the Other Side of the True World? (Kant about Things in Oneself and the Infinity of Human Duty)

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* How Does the Human “I” and the Infinite “I” of God Correlate (Fichte on How Consciousness Creates the World)

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* Experience of Beauty As a Way of Gaining the Lost Harmony of the First Unity (Schelling's Philosophy of Exultation)

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Truth Striving to Be Known (Hegel on the History of Divine Self-Knowledge)

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*The World As Will and Representation As a Reflection of Arthur Schopenhauer’s Loneliness. Friedrich Nietzsche's Nihilism.

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*The Unconscious, Subject, Freedom and Power. Psychoanalysis in the Works by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Neo-Freudianism of Erich Fromm.

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*Main Ideas in the Works by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The Significance of Marxism and Its Role in History.

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Introduction to Indian Philosophy. Sanskrit As the Perfect Model of the Sacred Language

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The Structure of the Vedas वेद and Their Significance in World Philosophy. Astika आस्तिक and Nastika नास्तिक; Classification of Major Philosophical Schools in Indian Philosophy

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Comparative Characteristics of the Religious and Philosophical Teachings of Lokayata, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism

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Comparative Analysis of the Main Orthodox Schools (Darshan दर्शन) of Indian Philosophy: Samkhya and Yoga

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Comparative Analysis of the Main Orthodox Schools (Darshan दर्शन) of Indian Philosophy: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, Vedanta

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"Essence of the Supreme Reality" Abhinavagupta. The Basics of Kashmir Shaivism

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*In Search of Truth. Sri Aurobindo and Arthur Avalon

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* Bhagavad Gita. Bhakti As a Way of Liberating the Soul

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* Aesthetics and Philosophical Views of Kabir

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* Fundamentals of Vedic Mathematics

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The Doctrine of the Universal Law and the Absolute in the Treatise Dao De Jing by Lao Tzu. The Main Categories of Taoism

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* Historical Evolution and Basic Concepts of Confucianism. The Confucian Canon

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The Ideology of Sun Tzu As a Synthesis of Confucian Principles, the Dialectic of Taoism, Political Science of the Legists and Managerial Pragmatism of Mo Tzu

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* Zen Buddhism and the Martial Arts of the East. “Letters from a Zen Master to a Fencing Master” by Takuan Soho

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Religion As a Special Kind of Human Attitude to the World and to Oneself. Western and Eastern Mind

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* Religions of Ancient Egypt. The History of the Rise of Judaism (X-VI Centuries BCE)

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The Basics of Judaism. The Mystery of the Jerusalem Temple

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Fundamentals of Christian Doctrine. The Causes of the Rise, Prosperity and Decline of Christianity

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* The Main Trends in Christianity: Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism

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* Crucifixion - a Symbol of Faith or a Tool of Execution? Baptism of Rus'

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The Life and Death of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. Islam

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Immortality - Myth or Reality? Taoism

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Great Abdication or Fatal Mistake? Buddha and His Role in History

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Trimurti - the Light Coming from the East. Hinduism and Its Main Directions

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* German-Scandinavian Gods. The Meaning of the Runes and Their Use in Ancient Rituals and in Magic

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* Cosmology and a Man in the Traditional Mayan Religion

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*A Sect. The Origin of the Concept and Definition of a Sect. Typology in Science. Totalitarian and Destructive Sects

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Comparative Analysis of the Main Approaches of the Most Influential Religious and Philosophical Teachings of the West and East

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