本課程將以課題為主軸，淺介西方古希臘與中世紀哲學思想（西元前五世紀至西元十二世紀）。討論的課題有三。一、蘇格拉底將「我應當如何生活？」勘定為哲學問題的核心，影響後世哲學家至關深遠。其歷史意義為何？我們該如何回應這一歷史事件？
二、希臘羅馬哲學家思考這一問題時，常以「自然」或「本性」（希臘文 physis, 拉丁文 natura）作為規範與準則：美好生活是依自然或人的本性而行的生活；違背人性的生活是錯誤或不幸的生活。第二個問題由此而生：古希臘羅馬的「自然」概念為何？它跟近現代或甚至古中國的「自然」概念同異何在？哪種自然概念在哲學上較優越？
三、哲學標榜理性思考，它與信仰或宗教有衝突嗎？這一問題對於日後在一神教背景（基督教、猶太教、伊斯蘭教）下接觸哲學的思想家來說成了一個重要的問題。為此我們將討論柏拉圖，及在伊斯蘭教脈絡下阿維羅伊（Averroes，原名 Ibn Rushd）與 Al-Ghazali 的論爭。
簡言之，本課程將討論：哲學作為一門學問與生活的關係；「自然」與「人事」二元概念的起源；及「理性」與「信仰」的對話。
This course will introduce students to ancient Western philosophy (from the Greeks to the middle ages) through three main themes. (a) Socrates defined the central question of philosophy as "how should I live?" and influenced all philosophers ever since. What is the historical significance of this understanding of philosophy? How should we respond to it? (b) The Greeks and Romans, when they reflected on the Socratic question, often spoke of nature as the standard or norm of behavior: the good life is the life in accordance with nature. What is the Greco-Roman notion of nature? Is it the same as what we nowadays think of nature? Is it the same as what ancient Chinese thinkers called ziran? Is it a good notion of nature? (c) Philosophy is about being rational--but is this in conflict with faith or religion? This became an important issue later on when the monotheistic traditions were thinking about the Greek heritage. We will therefore take the Islamic debate as an example of what is going on.