Lectures on Ancient Philosophy. An Outline of Modern European Philosophy

Merab Konstantinovich Mamardashvili (1930–1990) — one of the most significant thinkers of the second half of the 20th century. This edition includes two courses of lectures given by M. K. Mamardashvili to students of VGIK. In the lectures on ancient philosophy (1980), the focus is on the problem of being, arising in the space of ancient Greek thought. In the reflections of Greek philosophers, the author traces the fundamental principles that underlie the ancient, and subsequently the European ideal of thinking and understanding the world and man. The lectures on modern European philosophy (1978–1979) are dedicated to the main core ideas that are the pillars of the philosophical culture of the 20th century. Referring to the works of Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Husserl, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Sartre, and others, M. K. Mamardashvili reveals ideas that permeate all directions, serve as their crystallizations, thus creating a certain unity of style in modern philosophical thought.