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
Investigate 51 Pegasi b, the first planet detected around a Sun-like star, which shocked astronomers by being roughly the size of Jupiter but in an orbit much closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun. Probe the strange characteristics of these “hot Jupiters,” which have turned up around many stars..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2014.
Language
English
Description
Discover the extraordinary beauties of the churches of the Russian Orthodox tradition. Learn about the religious culture that inspired these structures, with their characteristic gilded domes and striking decoration of sculpture, frescoes, and tile work. Visit outstanding cathedrals in Vladimir, Suzdal, and Yaroslavl, as well as the Kremlin churches of Moscow.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
A fascinating aspect of CBT is the collaborative journey the therapist and patient take to create the patient’s case formulation, a living document that serves as a basis for an individual treatment plan and guides the therapy process. Watch as the doctor helps Michael unpack his anger to understand why certain situations make him furious..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2010.
Language
English
Description
Now that you've learned how to overcome obstacles and prepare, it's time to learn the essential elements of actually giving a speech. Here, Professor Hale uses famous historical figures, including Gandhi and President Kennedy, as models for how to deliver your speech to - and connect with - specific audiences.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Dig into the unique opportunities—and challenges—of social media and word-of-mouth communications. From Facebook pages to viral videos, you’ll learn how to navigate today’s marketing innovations and tap into their power, reach, and low cost. You’ll also learn how to dodge common errors other companies make..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Trace the origins of the conservation movement in the 19th century, and its early initiatives to establish federal protection of wilderness in the face of staunch opposition from commercial interests. Grasp the astonishing conservation record of President Theodore Roosevelt, whose efforts created a wide spectrum of national parks, wildlife preserves, and national forests..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Examine the nature of the colonial economy, and trace economic decisions by the British that constrained the livelihoods of artisans and peasants. Assess the Raj's fiscal policy, which privileged British interests over public works. Observe how these policies affected the lives of millions who toiled to produce the wealth of the Raj.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
The City of God is arranged into two broad parts. Here at the halfway point, recap Books 1 through 10 and analyze the first half of the text as a whole. At this point, Augustine has laid the groundwork for a transition from a largely apologetic argument to something more transformative in the second half.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Carbon dioxide is a pollutant so significant to human civilization that Professor Wysession devotes an entire lecture to it. If CO2 is only 0.04% of the atmosphere, how can it be so harmful? Is global warming a natural process? What actions can we take to reduce the dangers of CO2?
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Begin by exploring the contexts in which Western sacred music developed, from its use in religious ritual to its emergence in the concert hall as edifying entertainment. Then encounter three distinct eras in sacred music, hearing excerpts from medieval chant, Handel’s iconic Hallelujah chorus, and Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
How is it that our very physical brain creates the very subjective experience we call reality? That is the mind-body problem. In Mind-Body Philosophy, award-winning Professor Patrick Grim of SUNY Stony Brook leads an exhilarating tour through millennia of philosophy and science addressing one of life’s greatest conundrums: What is consciousness and how does it arise?
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Investigate the use of Greek demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, which correspond to English words such as this, that, these, and those. Chart a rich sampling of demonstratives, including a reflexive pronoun, in Luke 23:28-29. Then continue with the heightening tension in lines 70-75 of the Iliad.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Look at the problem of free will from the point of view of the soul, the conjectured seat of mentality that exists apart from the body. Discover that neuroscience suggests that the soul does not exist and also casts doubt on the concept of free will.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Begin the first of three lectures on tropical cyclones, known as hurricanes, typhoons, or cyclones depending on where they occur. Plot the historical tracks of these gigantic storms, sharpen your understanding of how they are named, and focus on tropical cyclones that were so notorious that their names have been retired.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
A number of science fiction stories tackle the concept of religion, which is often at odds with the concepts that define science fiction. Delve into how science fiction approaches religion, from parody, to reimagining familiar biblical stories and characters in the scope of science fiction, to confronting existing religions and inventing new beliefs. You’ll also explore the opposite scenario, in which science fiction is used by religious writers...
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Advancements in modern robotics have made robots useful, safe, reliable, easy to use, and affordable to have in our homes. So how exactly do different home robots—such as vacuum cleaners like Roomba, gutter cleaners like Looj, and lawn mowers like MowBot—adjust to the unique demands of their respective tasks?.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2014.
Language
English
Description
Strengthen your skills as a family history detective with this in-depth look at the Genealogical Proof Standard, the five-step process that certified genealogists use for proving ancestral identities, relationships, life events, and other biographical details. Then, wrap up the lecture with a fascinating look at the nature of evidence.