4AANA001 Greek Philosophy I Syllabus Academic year 2016/17

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1 School of Arts & Humanities Department of Philosophy 4AANA001 Greek Philosophy I Syllabus Academic year 2016/17 Basic information Credits: 15 Module Tutor: Dr Tamsin de Waal Office: Rm 702 Consultation time: TBC Semester: 2 Lecture time and venue*: Thursday 16:00-18:00, K6.29, King s Building, Strand Campus *Please note that tutorial times and venues will be organised independently with your teaching tutor Module description This module offers an introduction to key thinkers and texts in Ancient Greek Philosophy. We will begin by looking at key figures in Presocratic philosophy and their treatment of epistemology and cosmology, and then turn to the figure of Socrates and the Socratic method, as portrayed by Plato. We will subsequently focus on the epistemology and metaphysics of Plato and Aristotle, and finish by looking at Aristotle s treatment of slavery. Key texts will be Plato s Apology, Laches, Meno, and Phaedo, and Aristotle s Physics. A fundamental part of studying Ancient Philosophy is the close reading and critical analysis of primary texts. In order to develop the skills to do this, students will be required to analyse primary texts (in translation) in the weekly seminar. All students are required to prepare the set primary and secondary reading in advance of both the lecture and seminar each week. See the outline below for details. You will also find recommended further reading below. The following volume contains all the primary texts we will be looking at S.M. Cohen, P. Curd, and C.D.C. Reeve, eds., Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Thales to Aristotle, 4th ed. (Hackett Publishing 2011). If you want all the Plato works collected together J.M. Cooper and D.S. Hutchinson, eds., Plato: Complete Works (Hackett 1997). If you want all the Aristotle works collected together J. Barnes, ed., The Complete Works of Aristotle (two volumes) (Princeton University Press 1984). 1

2 There are also numerous editions of individual texts. The great advantage of these is that they often have very useful introductions. Assessment methods and deadlines Formative assessment: One 1,500- word essay, due Monday February 27 th 2017, by 16:00. Summative assessment: One two- hour exam in May/June. Outline of lecture topics (plus suggested readings) Week One (Jan 19 th ), Introduction: How to do Ancient Philosophy M. Frede, Plato s Arguments and the Dialogue Form in Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, suppl. vol. 1992, J. Warren, Presocratics (University of California Press 2007), ch.1. M.M. McCabe, Form and the Platonic Dialogues in H.H. Benson, ed., A Companion to Plato (Blackwell 2006), J. Barnes, Life and Work, in J. Barnes, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle (CUP 1995), Week Two (Jan 26 th ), Presocratics: Heraclitus and Parmenides Heraclitus/Parmenides fragments in D.W. Graham, The Texts of Early Greek Philosophy: the complete fragments and selected testimonies of the major Presocratics, vol.1 (CUP 2010). (Also in Cohen, Curd, Reeve). G.S. Kirk, Natural Change in Heraclitus, The Pre- Socratics: a collection of critical essays (Princeton 1974), M. Furth, Elements of Eleatic ontology, in A.P.D. Mourelatos, ed., The Pre- Socratics: a collection of critical essays (Anchor Books 1974), J. Warren, Presocratics (University of California Press 2007), ch.s 4 & 5. D.W. Graham, Heraclitus: Flux, Order, and Knowledge, in P. Curd and D. Graham, eds., Oxford Handbook of Presocratic Philosophy (OUP 2008). D. Wiggins, Heraclitus Conceptions of Fire, Flux and Material Persistence, in M. Schofield & M. Nussbaum, eds., Language and Logos (CUP 1982), M.M. Mackenzie, Heraclitus and the Art of Paradox, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 6 (1988), M.M. Mackenzie, Parmenides Dilemma, Phronesis 27 (1982), G.E.L. Owen, Eleatic Questions, Classical Quarterly 10 (1960), Week Three (Feb 2 nd ), Presocratics: Empedocles and Democritus Page 2

3 Empedocles/Democritus fragments in D.W. Graham, The Texts of Early Greek Philosophy: the complete fragments and selected testimonies of the major Presocratics, vol.1 (CUP 2010). (Also in Cohen, Curd, Reeve). C. Osborne, Empedocles recycled in Classical Quarterly 37 (1987), S. Berryman, Democritus and the explanatory power of the void in V. Caston and D.W. Graham, (eds.), Presocratic Philosophy: essays in honour of Alexander Mourelatos (Ashgate 2002), J. Warren, Presocratics (University of California Press 2007), ch.s 8-9. O. Primavesi, Empedocles: Physical Divinity and Allegorical Myth, and D. Sedley, Atomism s Eleatic Roots, in P. Curd and D. Graham, eds., Oxford Handbook of Presocratic Philosophy (OUP 2008). C. Kahn, Religion and Natural Philosophy in Empedocles Doctrine of the Soul, in A.P.D. Mourelatos, ed., The Pre- Socratics: a collection of critical essays (Anchor Books 1974), A.L. Pierris, ed., The Empedoclean Kosmos: Structure, Process and the Question of Cyclicity (Patras: Institute for Philosophical Research 2005) esp. D. Sedley, Empedocles Life Cycles, D. Furley, Aristotle and the Atomists on Motion in a Void and Aristotle and the Atomists on Infinity, in Cosmic Problems (CUP 1989), 77-90, D. Sedley, Two conceptions of Vaccum, Phronesis 27 (1982), Week Four (Feb 9 th ), Socrates and the Socratic Method: Plato s Apology Apology. G. Vlastos, The Socratic Elenchus in G. Fine, ed., Plato I: Metaphysics and Epistemology (OUP 1999), (See also reply to Vlastos: Brickhouse and Smith, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 2 (1984), ; and OSAP 9 (1991), ). M. F. Burnyeat, Socratic Midwifery, Platonic Inspiration in Explorations in Ancient and Modern Philosophy, vol. 2 (CUP 2012), M.M. McCabe, The Virtues of Socratic Ignorance in Classical Quarterly 38 (1988), G. Vlastos, Socrates Disavowal of Knowledge in G. Fine, ed., Plato I: Metaphysics and Epistemology (OUP 1999), G. Vlastos, Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher, ch.s.2-3. Brickhouse, T.C., & Smith, N.D., Plato s Socrates (OUP 1994), esp. chs.1-2. Week Five (Feb 16 th ), Socrates and the Socratic Method: Plato s Laches Laches. T. Penner, What Laches and Nicias Miss and whether Socrates thinks Courage is Merely a Part of Virtue, Ancient Philosophy 12 (1992), D. Devereux, The Unity of the Virtues, in H.H. Benson (ed), A Companion to Plato (Wiley- Blackwell, 2006), D. Devereux, Courage and Wisdom in Plato s Laches, Journal of the History of Philosophy 15 (1977), Walter Schmid, On Manly Courage: A Study of Plato s Laches (SIU Press, 1992). Page 3

4 H. H. Benson, The Priority of Definition and the Socratic Elenchus, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 8 (1990), (READING WEEK FEBRUARY 20 TH - 24 TH ) Week Six (March 2 nd ), Plato: Meno Recollection, Knowledge and True Belief Meno. G. Fine, Inquiry in the Meno, in R. Kraut, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Plato (CUP 1992), G. Fine, 'Knowledge and True Belief in Meno', in Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 27 (OUP 2004), D. Scott, Plato s Meno (CUP 2006), esp. Parts II and III. D. Scott, Platonic Recollection, in G. Fine, ed., Plato I: Metaphysics and Epistemology (OUP 1999), See also Recollection and Experience (CUP 1995), 1. A. Nehamas, Meno s Paradox and Socrates as a Teacher, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 3 (1985), H.H. Benson, Meno, the Slave- Boy and the Elenchos, Phronesis 35 (1990), Week Seven (March 9 th ), Plato: Phaedo Forms and Particulars Phaedo 72e- 77a and 96a- 105c. D. Sedley, Platonic Causes, Phronesis 43 (1998), A. Nehamas, Plato on the Imperfection of the Sensible World, in G. Fine, ed., Plato I: Metaphysics and Epistemology (OUP 1999), G. Vlastos, Reasons and causes in the Phaedo, in G. Vlastos, Platonic Studies (Princeton University Press 1981), G. Fine, Forms as Causes: Plato and Aristotle in Fine, Plato on Knowledge and Forms (OUP 1986), T. Irwin, The Theory of Forms, in G. Fine, ed., Plato I: Metaphysics and Epistemology (OUP 1999), N.P. White, Plato s Metaphysical Epistemology, in R. Kraut, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Plato (CUP 1992), Week Eight (March 16 th ), Aristotle: Physics The Four Causes Physics II.1-3 and Metaphysics VI.2-3. J. Annas, Inefficient causes, Philosophical Quarterly 32 (1982), J. Lear, Aristotle, the Desire to Understand (CUP 1988), R. Sorabji, Necessity, Cause and Blame: Perspectives on Aristotle s Theory (Duckworth 1980), ch.10. R.J. Hankinson, Cause and Explanation in Ancient Greek Thought (OUP 1998), ch.4. M. Hocutt, Aristotle s Four Becauses, Philosophy 49 (1974), Page 4

5 J.M. Moravcsik, What makes reality intelligible? Reflections on Aristotle s theory of aitia, in L. Judson, ed., Aristotle s Physics: A Collection of Essays (OUP 1991), Week Nine (March 23 rd ), Aristotle: Physics Natural Teleology and Chance Physics II.4-9. D. Sedley, Was Aristotle s teleology anthropocentric?, Phronesis 36 (1991), R. Wardy, Aristotelian rainfall and the lore of averages, Phronesis 38 (1993), J. Cooper, Hypothetical Necessity and Natural Teleology in A. Gotthelf and J.G. Lennox, eds., Philosophical Issues in Aristotle s Biology (CUP 1987), D. Furley, The Rainfall Example in Physics II.8 in Cosmic Problems: Essays on Greek and Roman Philosophy of Nature (CUP 1989), D. Charles, Teleological Causation in the Physics, in L. Judson, ed., Aristotle s Physics: A Collection of Essays (OUP 1991), ch.5. Week Ten (March 30 th ), Aristotle: Politics Slavery Aristotle s Politics I.1-6 and I.13. W.W. Fortenbaugh, Aristotle on Slaves and Women in Barnes et al., Essays on Aristotle 2 (Duckworth 1977), M. Heath, Aristotle on Natural Slavery, Phronesis 53 (2008), M. Schofield, Ideology and philosophy in Aristotle s theory of slavery, in Saving the City: Philosopher Kings and Other Classical Paradigms (Routledge 1999), Suggested additional readings On the Presocratics G.S. Kirk, J.E. Raven, and M. Schofield, The Presocratic Philosophers, 2nd edn, (CUP 2007) (often referred to as KRS this has very useful commentary alongside text of the fragments). A.A. Long, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Early Greek Philosophy (CUP 1999). P. Curd and D. Graham, eds., Oxford Handbook of Presocratic Philosophy (OUP 2008). J. Barnes, The Presocratic Philosophers (Routledge 1982). J. Warren, Presocratics (University of California Press 2007). On Socrates S. Ahbel- Rappe and R. Kamketar, eds., A Companion to Socrates (OUP 2006). T.C. Brickhouse and N.D. Smith, Plato s Socrates (OUP 1994). L. Judson and V. Karasmanis, eds., Remembering Socrates: Philosophical Essays (OUP 2006). D.R. Morrison, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Socrates (CUP 2011). G. Vlastos, Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher (CUP 1991). On Plato H.H. Benson, ed., A Companion to Plato (Blackwell 2006). T. Irwin, Plato s Ethics (OUP 1995). Page 5

6 G. Fine, ed., Plato 1: Metaphysics and Epistemology, and Plato 2: Ethics, Politics, Religion, and the Soul (OUP 1999). G. Fine, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Plato (OUP 2008). R. Kraut, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Plato (CUP 1992). On Aristotle J.L. Ackrill, Aristotle the Philosopher (OUP 1981). J. Barnes, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle (CUP 1995). J. Barnes, M. Schofield, and R. Sorabji, eds., Articles on Aristotle, 4 vols. (Vol.1: Science, Vol.2: Ethics and Politics, Vol.3: Metaphysics, Vol.4: Psychology and Aesthetics) (Duckworth 1979). J. Lear, Aristotle: the Desire to Understand (CUP 1991). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a good online resource plato.stanford.edu Page 6