Philosophy and Religion in the West Audiobook By Phillip Cary, The Great Courses cover art

Philosophy and Religion in the West

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Philosophy and Religion in the West

By: Phillip Cary, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Phillip Cary
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $41.95

Buy for $41.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Professor Cary explores thousands of years of deep reflection and brilliant debate over the nature of God, the human self, and the world in these 32 lectures. It's a debate that serves as a vivid introduction to the rich and complex history shared by the West's central religious and philosophical traditions.

Whether you're a believer, a seeker, or both, you'll find much to spark your deepest ponderings in these talks on the long and rich interplay between faith and reason. You'll join Professor Cary on the fascinating search for answers about the similar questions philosophy and faith ask: What is the ultimate reality? What can we know, or what should we believe about it? To learn how these crucial issues have been discussed over the past three millennia is to enter the core of our intellectual heritage - to find the origin of some of our deepest perplexities and most cherished aspirations. It is a comprehensive journey - intellectually, philosophically, and spiritually - but one which requires no special background. By the end of these lectures, you'll gain a new or sharpened fluency in issues that include the historical interaction between philosophical traditions (such as Platonism) and religious traditions (such as Judaism and Christianity); the synthesis of philosophy and religion that characterized the "classical theism" of the medieval period; the most prominent philosophical criticisms of religion; and the reasons why many religious thinkers of the 20th century are suspicious of the alliances between philosophy and religion.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1999 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1999 The Great Courses
Philosophy Spirituality
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Philosophy and Religion in the West

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    185
  • 4 Stars
    43
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    169
  • 4 Stars
    35
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    153
  • 4 Stars
    38
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth listening twice

I immensely enjoyed this lecture series and didn't want it to end. There's so much information and insight that it is worth listening to at least twice. One gains a deeper level of understanding the second time around.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing and so beautifully structured.

This lecturer has very rare skill to powerfully and simply explain very complex topics. I swallowed this course in several days and I only regret that Phillip Cary doesnt have something not for 16, but for 50 hours.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth listening

I learned a lot from this lecture series. His examples are helpful and add value to each philosopher.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

best history of western philosophy n religion

this is my 3rd time listening to this and it's a great refresher. always gets to the heart of the matter.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent content and delivery.

The information was present coherently and succinctly without sacrificing core content. I will listen a second time through.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Course... literally!

Philip Cary does an impressive job waking through Christian, Jewish, and Islamic history (it seems more could have been covered on Islam). I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in keeping up with religious philosophical conversation today.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great presentation

I found my self taking notes. looking deeper into sections of philosophy and theology that I never even considered. I loved the ending with an invitation to understand each other's points of view. to considered possibly being wrong and you can always change your mind or opinion.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well said and well argued

You may want to get the basics on Plato and Kant though. I had to listen to many of the lectures a couple times. I loved it !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Some Corrections Regarding the Jewish Tradition

Any additional comments?

Professor Cary mentions the Oven of Aknai story in his discussion of rabbinic Judaism in which Rabbi Eliezer gets God himself to declare that he is right. It is Rabbi Joshua ben Karha, not Rabbi Judah, who argues that the Torah is not in heaven and that, therefore, the rabbis are able to overrule even God himself. On a more serious note, Professor Cary argues that the rationalistic tradition died out after Maimonides in the 13th century. I understand that for the sake of time it makes sense not to get bogged down into late medieval Jewish philosophy and thinkers like Hasdai Crescas and Isaac Abarbanel, but to claim that such a tradition did not exist is false. Yes, the medieval Jewish philosophical tradition lost out to Kabbalah, but that is a complicated story that played out over several centuries. Kabbalah's victory had far more to do with historical circumstances like the expulsion of 1492 and the fact that its debt to non-Jewish sources was less obvious than to anything intrinsic to Judaism.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Interesting info, well structured, great presentation. I really enjoyed this. Especially as someone who grew up in a western religious tradition with little exposure to philosophy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!