The Great Courses (Firm)
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 9
Language
English
Description
Logic is intellectual self-defense against such assaults on reason and also a method of quality control for checking the validity of your own views. But beyond these very practical benefits, informal logic—the kind we apply in daily life—is the gateway to an elegant and fascinating branch of philosophy known as formal logic, which is philosophy’s equivalent to calculus. Formal logic is a breathtakingly versatile tool. Much like a Swiss army...
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
We commonly define the Pythagorean theorem using the formula a2 + b2 = c2. But Pythagoras himself would have been confused by that. Explore how this famous theorem can be explained using common geometric shapes (no fancy algebra required), and how it’s a critical foundation for the rest of geometry.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Quantum mechanics gives us a picture of the world so radically counterintuitive that it has changed our perspective on reality itself. In Quantum Mechanics: The Physics of the Microscopic World, award-winning Professor Benjamin Schumacher gives you the logical tools to grasp the paradoxes and astonishing insights of this field.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Because it’s a multidisciplinary field, there isn’t just one future for robotics, but instead multiple futures. What could some of them look like? Consider everything from companion robots that can coordinate our activities to surgical robots that can work autonomously inside our bodies using updates from a “robotic cloud system.”.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
What turns a remotely controlled machine into an autonomous robot? Self-control. So where does self-control in robots come from? Find out in this lecture on robot controllers: the computer-like part of robots that uses sensory information to decide how the robot should achieve its immediate and long-term goals..
6) Claudius
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2001.
Language
English
Description
A sign of the Augustan system's genius was its ability to survive eccentric or even mad emperors. History is fascinated by those emperors' excesses, which indeed can be highly instructive. Claudius, for all his oddness, was a shrewd and able ruler.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Freudian psychology sees mothers as the wellspring of neuroses. Contrast this view with Harry Harlow’s groundbreaking studies of maternal caregiving and Carol Gilligan’s theory of differing moral development in females and males. Close with a powerful precursor to Gilligan’s ideas: Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Banquets were the most significant social experience in the Etruscan world. Using tomb art as your guide, delve into the banquet world and see the customs for celebrating victories and observing religious events. You’ll also learn about the inclusion of women in these public events—unique in the ancient world..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Begin to investigate what archaeologists actually do, the nature and scope of their work, and popular misconceptions about the field. As an introduction to the course, trace the colorful history of archaeology from its beginnings with the ancient Babylonian king Nabonidus to archaeological luminaries of the 20th century.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
This section of the course considers the big question: How should society be organized? Here, perform a thought experiment that casts into doubt the moral justification of government. Then probe more deeply into this view, called philosophical anarchism, which has a spectrum of positions from benign to violent.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Until the invention of the telescope in 1610, astronomy was mostly the study of the sky positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets. Learn the extraordinary precision attained by ancient astronomers in their observations. Discover why they prized this knowledge, and also uncover a lost great discovery of the Babylonians.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Now that Augustine has thoroughly critiqued Roman society, it's time to turn away from what he was arguing against and find out what he was arguing for. In this new beginning, Augustine uses biblical evidence to explore the world's creation and how God works both within and outside of time.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Begin exploring the tactics involving in reaching marketing goals with a look at how to design products and services to provide the best possible customer experience. Along the way, you’ll learn six rules for effectively managing customer experiences (including getting bad experiences out of the way and empowering employees)..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Turn from the Pharisees to the Essenes, the sect associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the first of three lectures on this fascinating sect, focus on how a strict system of ritual purity was a fundamental part of everyday life at Qumran (the site where the Scrolls were found)..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2010.
Language
English
Description
Here, Professor Hale outlines the goals of the course. Then, he introduces you to Demosthenes - the ancient Greek orator whose life and career illustrates how practice, hard work, memorization, the acceptance of early failures, and other skills are essential to overcoming obstacles from stage fright to speech impediments.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Study the fifth principal part, which forms the basis of the perfect and pluperfect middle/passive, and the sixth and final principal part, which forms the basis of the aorist passive. Then learn how to construct the infinitive in different tenses, looking at examples in Homer and the New Testament.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Read the first five lines of Homer’s Iliad, focusing on vocabulary and grammar. Then investigate the quality that makes Homer a great poet: his use of sound and meter. Homer composed in dactylic hexameter, which was used throughout antiquity. Learn the rules that govern this epic meter.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Continue your study of Eastern Europe’s development with a look at several decisive battles, including the Battle of Kosovo and the Battle of Tannenberg. You’ll see how these battles were transformed into legends—and were also key turning points for the region’s political landscape. Witness the creation of a united Poland-Lithuania, as well as the rise of modern empires in Prussia, Austria, and Russia..