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The Evolution of Theology in the Greek Philosophers

1900 to 1902
University of Glasgow

The Evolution of Theology in the Greek Philosophers gives an account of those ideas of Greek Philosophers which have decisively affected the subsequent development of theological thought. The selection of topics is confined mainly to the writings of Plato and Aristotle, to the main representatives of the Stoic philosophy, and to Philo and Plotinus among the Neo-Platonists.

Books

The Evolution of Theology in the Greek Philosophers, vol. 1

Available Chapters

Preface

Contents

Lecture First: The Relation of Religion to Theology

Lecture Second: Stages in the Evolution of Theology

Lecture Third: The Precursors of Plato

Lecture Fourth: The Beginnings of the Platonic Idealism

Lecture Fifth: The Nature of Ideas and their Systematic Unity

Lecture Sixth: The State and the Idea of Good

Lecture Seventh: Further Development of the Theory of Ideas

Lecture Eighth: The Immortality of the Soul and the Idea of God

Lecture Ninth: The Final Results of the Platonic Philosophy

Lecture Tenth: The Transition from Plato to Aristotle

Lecture Eleventh: Aristotle's View of Reason in its Practical Use

Lecture Twelfth: Aristotle's View of Reason in its Theoretical Use

Lecture Thirteenth: Does the Primacy Belong to Reason or to Will?

James MacLehose and Sons
1904

Caird presents an outline of Greek philosophy, discusses its influence on the development of theology, and addresses the question of the genesis of Platonic philosophy in its logical, ethical, metaphysical, and theological aspects. He also presents an account of the theoretical and practical philosophy of Aristotle and of the Stoics. After initial discussion on the development of religion and its relation to theology, Caird focuses on the central idea of religion, and on the opposition of the secular and the religious consciousness.

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The Evolution of Theology in the Greek Philosophers, vol. 2

Available Chapters

Contents

Lecture Fourteenth: The Final Results of the Aristotelian Philosophy

Lecture Fifteenth: The General Character of the Post-Aristotelian Philosophy

Lecture Sixteenth: The Origin and Principle of the Stoic Philosophy

Lecture Seventeenth: The Stoic Synthesis of Pantheism and Individualism

Lecture Eighteenth: The Stoic Conception of the Chief Good

Lecture Nineteenth: The Stoic View of Practical Ethics

Lecture Twentieth: The Transition from Stoicism to Neo-Platonism

Lecture Twenty-first: The Philosophy and Theology of Philo

Lecture Twenty-second: The General Character of the Philosophy of Plotinus

Lecture Twenty-third: The Place of Plotinus in the Development of Greek Philosophy

Lecture Twenty-fourth: The World-soul as Mediator between the Sensible and Intelligible Worlds

Lecture Twenty-fifth: The Nature of Man and his Relation to God

Lecture Twenty-sixth: The Controversy between Plotinus and the Gnostics

Lecture Twenty-seventh: The Influence of Greek Philosophy upon Christian Theology

James MacLehose and Sons
1904

Volume 2 begins with discussion of Aristotle's most significant conclusions, and Caird then turns to an exposition of the general character of post-Aristotelian philosophy, this exposition providing him with a context within which he can investigate the origin and the principles of Stoic philosophy, the Stoic synthesis of pantheism and individualism, the Stoic conception of the chief good, and the Stoic view of practical ethics. These reflections are completed by a lecture describing the transition from stoicism to neo-Platonism.

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Contributor(s)
  • Benedikt Bock, University of Glasgow