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An Introduction to Ancient Greek Philosophy

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An Introduction to Ancient Greek Philosophy An Introduction to Ancient Greek Philosophy Instructor: Zenon Culverhouse; email: [email protected] Course Description: Ancient Greek philosophy is the foundation of all subsequent thought in the Western world. Greek philosophers were among the first to engage in rational, systematic inquiry into questions that are still of fundamental importance to us today, such as how we should live, what, if anything, we can know, and whether we should fear death, and their theories shaped the way we think about these questions today. This course will trace developments in Greek thought on these and other questions from the first philosophers, the Presocratics, to Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Hellenistic philosophy. We will also look at how Greek philosophical influences on three later thinkers, Plotinus (3rd century CE) and Saint Augustine (5th century CE) and Boethius (6th century CE), were instrumental in the formation of Christian thought. We will investigate this development by reading selections from primary texts in ancient Greek philosophy, e.g. the fragments of the Presocratics, Plato’s Apology and Republic, Aristotle’s Metaphysics and Nicomachean Ethics, and the Confessions of St. Augustine. The goal of doing so is to understand how and why each thinker shaped his own world-view in response to his predecessors. Grading: No Grade Requested: This is the default. C/NC: Simply provide evidence that you have attended all lectures (to the best of your ability) and have read the assigned materials. There are several ways to do this. For attendance, make sure I know you are there. For the assigned readings you may: • Email or turn in a question or very brief comment every week. (It would be helpful to get your questions before the lecture, but after is fine.) • Submit a question or comment about each of the week’s readings at the end of the course. Letter grade: A 3-5 page paper on a topic of your choosing. You need not limit yourself to a traditional interpretive essay. Be sure to clear your topic with me prior to writing. Objectives: The goal of this course is not simply to learn the main claims and arguments these philosophers advanced regarding nature, thought, and action, but to appreciate their writings as an engagement with philosophy as a way of life. In this regard, we will also attend closely to the style and manner of presentation of their writings. Each thinker is different: some of the Presocratics wrote in verse, Plato wrote in dialogue form, and Aristotle wrote in the straightforward manner typically associated with analytic philosophy today, while Augustine wrote a confessional and Boethius a consolation. Each distinct style reveals its author’s distinct aims and means of persuasion. Weekly Schedule N.B. In some cases, the readings are specified by “selections.” The specific pages will be announced as we proceed. Readings = Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy; HP = Hellenistic Philosophy Week 1 – Introduction & Early Greek Philosophy: The Pre-Socratics Read: Thales, Pythagoras, Parmenides, and Zeno (in Readings) Week 2 – Classical Greek Philosophy: Plato, the student of Socrates Read: Apology, Protagoras (selections), and Gorgias (selections) Week 3 – Plato beyond Socrates Read: Meno (up to 81e), Symposium (speeches of Aristophanes and Diotima), and Republic (Books IV and VII). Week 4 – Aristotle on his Predecessors Read: Plato Phaedo (selections) and Parmenides (selections) Aristotle Posterior Analytics I. 1-3, Metaphysics I. 1-4, 6, 9, Nicomachean Ethics VII. 1-3. Week 5—Aristotle’s Positive Doctrine Read: Physics I.8, II (selections), De Anima II. 1-2, Nicomachean Ethics I.7 & 13, II. 2, 5, & 6 VI. 1-2, X. 7-8. Week 6 – Hellenistic Philosophy-Stoicism Read: Introduction (HP xv-xx), on Zeno (110-112), Discourses of Epictetus (179, 233, 242-243) and Seneca (243-244). Week 7—Epicureanism and Skepticism Read: Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus (HP 28-31) and Maxims (HP 32-36), and Sextus Empiricus (HP 302-314) Week 8— Early Christian Philosophy: Neoplatonism of Plotinus Read: Plato Timaeus (selections) and Aristotle Physics VIII & Metaphysics XII, Plotinus Enneads I & selections Week 9— Saint Augustine Read: Confessions (selections from Books, I, III, V, VII, IX, X, and XII) Week 10— The value of the study of philosophy: Boethius Read: Consolation (selections) .
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