Philosophy 452: Aristotle Spring 2008, M-W pm Wilson 104

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1 Philosophy 452: Aristotle Spring 2008, M-W pm Wilson 104 Instructor MariskaLeunissen Office:WilsonHallRm.112/ Officehours:MondayandWednesday11-12orbyappointment Course Description This course offers an examination of Aristotle s most important philosophical doctrines, withastrongfocusonhisphilosophyoflivingnatureandscientificmethodology.wewill readawidearrayofworksofaristotle,aswellasrelevantsecondarysources.topicsthatwill be discussed are(among others) Aristotle s notions of nature, movement, teleology, and necessity;thenotionsofessence,substantialbeing,anddefinition;aristotle saccountofthe soulandofsoul-functions;hisbiology(includingembryology);hisbio-cosmology;aristotle s views on the special status of human beings; and his theory of intentional action. The primary readings will include(selections from) the Physics, the Metaphysics, On the Soul, the biologicalworks,on the Heavens,andtheNicomachean Ethics andpolitics. Specialattentionwill bepaidtointeractionsofaristotlewithhispredecessorsinhisdiscussionsofphilosophical problemsandtothemethodologicalproblemsinvolvedinthestudyofaristotle streatises, manyofwhicharenotoriouslydifficultandobscure. Prerequisites Thisclassismainlydesignedtooffergraduatestudentsamorethoroughunderstandingof keynotionsandideasinaristotle,buttheclassisopentoanyonewhohascompletedatleast onecourseinphilosophyatthe300-levelorhasreceivedpermissionoftheinstructor.these prerequisites, however, are the minimum: students who have not previously taken any introductions to ancient philosophy(such as Phil. 347C: Ancient Philosophy) or do not alreadyhavesomeexperiencereadingaristotlemightfindthiscourseverydifficult. Course requirements 1)Oneshort(15min.)seminarpresentation 15% 2)Threeshort(2-page)criticalessays 30% 3)Oneresearchpaper(15-20pages) 50% 4)Participation 5% Note: Youmustcompleteallfiveassignmentstoreceivecreditforthiscourse.Inaddition, regular attendance and class participation are expected. Please bring assigned readings to class. Ad1.Oneshort(15min.)seminarpresentation Eachstudentwillbeexpectedtogiveashortpresentation,whichprovidesanintroduction to both the assigned primary and secondary texts. The presentation mainly serves to help focusthediscussionofthetextsonthemostimportantorinterestingissues. 1

2 Ad2.Threeshort(2-page)criticalessays Studentswillbeaskedtowritethreecriticalessays(twopages,double-spaced,standardfont andmargins)onselectionsfromtheprimarytexts.eachessayconstitutes10%(30%intotal) ofthefinalgrade,andtheyallmustbecompletedontime,asassigned,inordertopassthe seminar. Unless special permission is obtained from the instructor in advance, late papers willnotbeacceptedwithoutgradepenalty:foreach24hthatthepaperislate,one-thirdofa lettergradewillbededucted(e.g.,anawillbecomeana-).permissionwillonlybegivenin case there is a genuine emergency or the circumstances areexceptional in some other way (e.g.extremeorprolongedillness,orfamilycrisis).theessaysaredueon2/4;3/17;4/7in class. Ad3.Oneresearchpaper Each student will be expected to write a research paper(15-20 pages, double-spaced, standard font and margins) on a topic of his or her choice related to the course material (students are encouraged to discuss this topic first with the instructor before starting their research). A research paper should develop a genuine argument, while both giving a thoroughanalysisofprimarytextsandtakingaccountoftherelevantsecondaryliteratureon theissuesdiscussed(moredetailedinstructionswillbeprovidedinclass).theresearchpaper constitutes50%ofthefinalgrade.thepaperisdueonmay1. Ad4.Participation Students are expected to be willing to participate in discussions. In order to be able to participateactivelystudentswillhavetohavepreparedtheprimaryandsecondaryliterature recommended.participationconstitutes5%ofthefinalgrade.(bonuspointsatinstructor s discretion) Plagiarism will be punished as severely as the university allows. Please make yourself familiarwiththeuniversity spoliciesonplagiarism. Grading scale: NumericGrades 0.00% F D- D D+ C- C C+ B- B B+ A- A A+ LetterGrades F D- D D+ C- C C+ B- B B+ A- A A

3 Course schedule (subjecttoadjustment) Week1 1/14; 1/16 Week2 1/23 Week3 1/28;1/30 Introduction: How to study Aristotle? Physics I: Change, causation, analogy art & nature Primaryreadings: Metaphysicsalpha;PhysicsII.1-7 Secondaryreadings: Charles, D.(1991), Teleological Causation in thephysics, in L. Judson(ed.), Aristotle s Physics, A Collection of Essays,Oxford, Recommended: Broadie, S. (1990), Nature and Craft in Aristotelian Teleology,inD.Devereux&P.Pellegrin(eds.),Biologie, Logique et Métaphysique chez Aristote,Paris, Physics II: Defense of natural teleology; different concepts of necessity Primaryreadings: PhysicsII.8-9;On Generation andcorruption II.11;MeteorologyIV.12 Secondary readings: Cooper,J.M.(1987), HypotheticalNecessityandNaturalTeleology, in:a. Gotthelf&J.G.Lennox,Philosophical Issues in Aristotle s Biology,Cambridge, Psychology: the concept of soul and soul functions Primaryreadings: On the SoulI.1-2;II.1-4;III.9-13 Secondaryreadings: V.Caston(2006), Aristotle spsychology in:gill,m.l&p.pellegrin(eds.), Blackwell Companions to Philosophy, A Companion to Ancient Philosophy,Malden, Essay I (physics & psychology): due 2/4 Week4 2/4;2/6 Biology I: historia or the collection of facts Primaryreadings: History of AnimalsI-II.1 Secondaryreadings: Grene,M.&D.Depew(2004),The Philosophy of Biology, An Episodic History, Chapter1:AristotleandAfter,Cambridge,

4 Week5 2/11;2/13 Week6 2/18;2/20 Week7 2/25;2/27 Week8 3/3;3/5 Biology II: teleological explanations (final causes; teleological principles; demonstration in the natural sciences) Primaryreadings: Parts of AnimalsI;Posterior AnalyticsII.11 Secondaryreadings: Lennox,J.G.(2001), PuttingPhilosophyofSciencetotheTest:TheCaseof Aristotle sbiology,in:aristotle s Philosophy of Biology, Studies in the Origins of Life Science, Cambridge, Biology III: Aristotle s science in theory and practice; material and formal natures Primaryreadings: PartsofAnimalsII-IV Secondaryreadings: Gotthelf, A.(1997a), The Elephant s Nose: Further Reflections on the AxiomaticStructureofBiologicalExplanationsinAristotle,inW.Kullmann & S. Föllinger(eds.), Aristotelische Biologie: Intentionen, Methoden, Ergebnisse, Stuttgart, Lennox,J.G.(2001), MaterialandFormalNaturesinAristotle sdepartibus Animalium,in:Aristotle s Philosophy of Biology, Studies in the Origins of Life Science, Cambridge, Biology IV: Theory of natural reproduction and the development of the embryo Primaryreadings: Generation of AnimalsI-II Secondaryreadings: A.Coles(1995), Biomedical Models of Reproduction in the Fifth Century BC and Aristotle s Generation of Animals,Phronesis40, Biology V: The four causes in embryology Primaryreadings: Generation of AnimalsV Secondaryreadings: Code, A. (1987), Soul as Efficient Cause in Aristotle s Embryology, Philosophical Topics15, Henri,D.(2006), UnderstandingAristotle sreproductivehylomorphism, Apeiron 39:3. Spring break 3/10-3/14 Essay II (biology): due 3/17 4

5 Week9 3/17;3/19 Week10 3/24;3/26 Week11 3/31;4/2 Week12 4/7;4/9 Motion 1: Animals as self-movers in biology Primaryreadings: Movement of Animals;Progression of Animals Secondaryreadings: Furley, D.J.(1994), Self-Movers, in M.L. Gill& J.G. Lennox(eds.), Self- Motion From Aristotle to Newton,Princeton,3-14. Freeland,C.A.(1994), AristotleonPerception,Appetition,andSelf-Motion in M.L. Gill& J.G. Lennox(eds.), Self-motion from Aristotle to Newton, Princeton, Motion 2: the motions and features of the heavenly bodies in cosmology Primaryreadings: On the HeavensII Secondaryreadings: MariskaE.M.P.J.Leunissen, WhyStarshavenofeet.Teleological ExplanationsinAristotle scosmology,forthcomingin:a.c.bowen&c. Wildberg(eds.),A Companion to Aristotle s Cosmology: Collected Papers on De Caelo, BrillLeiden. Motion 3: Unmoved movers in theology Primaryreadings: MetaphysicsL Secondaryreadings: Preus,A.(1990), ManandCosmosinAristotle:MetaphysicsLandthe BiologicalWorks,inD.Devereux&P.Pellegrin(eds.),Biologie, Logique et Métaphysique chez Aristote,Paris, Sedley, D.(2000), Metaphysics L.10, in M. Frede& D. Charles(eds.), Aristotle s Metaphysics Lambda. Symposium Aristotelicum,Oxford, Essay III (motion): due 4/7 Metaphysics: Substance and Essence, Form and Definition Primaryreadings: MetaphysicsZ Secondaryreadings: Bolton,R.(2002), SubstanceandtheDefinitionofDefinitioninAristotle,in M.Canto-Sperber&P.Pellegrin(eds.),Le Style de la Pensée. Recueil des Textes en Hommage à Jacques Brunschwig,Paris,

6 Week13 4/14;4/16 Week14 4/21;4/23 Politics: natural cities and political animals Primaryreadings: PoliticsI Secondaryreadings: R.Kraut(2002), PoliticsI:Nature,Politicalanimals,andCivicPriority,in:R. Kraut,Aristotle: Political Philosophy,Oxford, Ethics: friendship and happiness Primaryreadings: Nicomachean Ethics VIII Secondaryreadings: Annas,J.(1993),The Morality of Happiness,NewYork,Chapter12. Research Paper: due May 1 Texts Primary texts - required: J.Barnes(ed.)(1984),The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation, 2 volumes, Princeton.ISBN: Publisher:PrincetonUniversityPress. [This is the standard English translation, to which most scholars writing in English turn first;itisoftenreferredtoasthe RevisedOxfordtranslation.Thetranslationscollectedin thesetwovolumesaredecent,butnotperfect.youarethereforeencouragedtocheckthe original Greek as much as possible: for this you can use the Oxford Classical Texts series (note, however, that not all of Aristotle s text have been published in this series), or the Budé; the Loeb Classical Library series is very unreliable(both the Greek and the translation).ifyoudonotknowgreek,thealternativeistocomparedifferenttranslations:if youdetectsignificantdifferencesintranslationyouareencouragedtobringthoseupinclass, becauseyouhavelikelyhitonamuchdisputedpassage.] Hereareafewalternativetranslations: - highlyrecommendablearetheclarendonaristotleseries,whichincludetranslations with commentary of selected parts of Aristotle s works (check out saforwhichtranslationsareavailable). - T.Irwin&G.Fine(trans.&eds.)(1995), Aristotle: Selections or(1996) Aristotle: Introductory readings,hackett. Invaluableweb-pagesare: - Perseus: - ThesaurusLinguaeGraecae: - StanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy: 6

7 Primary texts highly recommended: -D.M.Balme(1972),Aristotle s De Partibus Animalium I and De Generatione Animalium I (with Pages from II.1-3).Oxford. -J.Barnes(1993),Aristotle, Posterior Analytics,Oxford. -D.W.Hamlyn(1993),Aristotle De Anima, Books II and III (with Passages from Book I), Translated with Introduction and Notes,Oxford. -JamesG.Lennox(2001),Aristotle on the Parts of Animals I-IV, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary,ClarendonPress,Oxford. Secondary literature required: Seecourseschedule. Ereserve:passwordis nature. Secondary literature recommended for general reading: -J.Barneset.al.(eds.),Articles on Aristotle, 4 vols. Duckworth. -J.Barnes(ed.)(1995),The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle,Cambridge. -I.Bodnár(2006), Aristotle sphilosophyofnature,stanfordencyclopediaofphilosophy, Gill,M.L&P.Pellegrin(eds.)(2006), Blackwell Companions to Philosophy, A Companion to Ancient Philosophy,Malden. -Hankinson,J.R.(1998),Cause and Explanation in Ancient Greek Thought,Oxford. Secondary literature (edited) books with articles on Aristotle s philosophy of nature: -D.DevereuxandP.Pellegrin(eds.),Biologie, Logique et Métaphysique chez Aristote,Paris, L.P.Gerson(ed.)(1999),Aristotle,CriticalAssessments,London. -M.L.Gill&J.G.Lennox(eds.)(1994),Self-Motion From Aristotle to Newton,Princeton. -A.Gotthelf(ed.)(1985),Aristotle on Nature and Living Things,Bristol. -A.GotthelfandJ.G.Lennox(eds.)(1987),Philosophical Issues in Aristotle Biology,Cambridge, L.Judson(ed.)(1991),Aristotle s Physics, A Collection of Essays,Oxford. -M.R.Johnson(2005),Aristotle on Teleology,Oxford. -W.KullmannandS.Föllinger(eds.)(1995),AristotelischeBiologie: Intentionen, Methoden, Ergebnisse,Stuttgart, J.G. Lennox(2001a). Aristotle s Philosophy of Biology, Studies in the Origin of Life Science. Cambridge. -G.E.R.Lloyd(1996),Aristotelian Explorations,Cambridge. -F.D.Miller(1995),Nature, Justice, and Rights in Aristotle s Politics,Oxford - M.C. Nussbaum& A. O. Rorty(eds.)(1997), Essays on Aristotle s De Anima, Oxford ( ). -Pellegrin,P.(1986),Aristotle s Classification of Animals: Biology and the Conceptual Unity of the Aristotelian Corpus,tranlatedbyA.Preuss,Berkeley. -R.Sorabji(1980),Necessity, Cause, and Blame, Perspectives on Aristotle s Theory,Ithaca. 7