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Home , Gorgias

Historical (190:312) MW 4 (1:10-2:30) Murray 208 Lowell Edmunds, Department of ClassicsRAB 008, DC • 732 932 9305 [email protected] Office Hrs.: T 4:30-5:30 RAB 008 DC

Goals of the course: To acquire knowledge of the principal sources for Socrates; to strengthen a historical sense of the “Problem of Socrates”; to become aware of the most important contemporary positions on the “Problem of Socrates”; to develop the ability to formulate and express critical opinions on issues raised during the course.

Webpages for course: www.rci.rutgers.edu/~edmunds; WebCT (see below).

Evaluation: Two papers (each 20% of final grade), five quizzes (30%), and final examination (30%). The lowest quiz grade is dropped. There are no make-up's on quizzes. The final consists of multiple choice questions and an essay. Papers or other forms of work may not be substituted for the quizzes or the final. There is no option for extra credit.

Grading: 59 or below = F; 60-69 = D; 70-75 = C; 76-79 = C+; 80-85 = B; 86-89 = B+; 90 or above = A. Grades will not be scaled or “curved.” 59.5 or higher will be rounded off to 60; 69.5 or higher to 70; etc. 59.4 or lower will not be rounded off to 60; 69.4 or lower will not be rounded off to 70; etc. Because the papers and final are required, the only T grade that can be given is TZ.

Policy on final: Final may not be taken in advance of the announced date and time. Students will be eligible for a make-up final examination only on the basis of the original copy of a medical excuse, which must be signed by a doctor of medicine. Any other form of excuse must be specifically recommended by the appropriate dean’s office and must be signed by a dean. Boilerplate excuses will not be accepted (e.g., “X has been experiencing personal difficulties which may have affected his/her studies. Please extend consideration to him/her.”) The use of notes and texts is not permitted. Students may not wear headsets or earphones of any kind. Students may not consult palm pilots or PDA's or other such electronic devices during the exam. Students may not hold cell phone conversations during the exam. Cell phones must be turned off and stored out of sight.

Policy on lectures and discussions: It is expected that students will attend lectures, ask questions, and participate in discussions. Because much of the content of the course will emerge in this format, the instructor’s lecture notes, brief in any case, may not accurately reflect the “lecture” on any given day. For this reason, lecture notes will not be distributed by e-mail or in any other format, electronic or otherwise. Nor will summaries of “lectures” be available by e-mail or in any other format, electronic or otherwise.

Papers: Two 2000-word papers will be required for this course. The paper topics give you the opportunity for systematic reflection on the literature you are reading. Papers will be graded on both style and content. See guidelines at the end of this syllabus. The asignments for the papers will appear on the WebCT at dates to be announced in . 1 of 9 Grades on papers will not be discussed by e-mail. A student who believes that he or she deserved a higher grade should prepare a written of his or reasons; should bring this statement, with the paper, to the instructor's office hours. Grades cannot be discussed on the basis of "I felt I did better than that."

Required Texts (1. - 3.):

1. At Rutgers Bookstore:

Aristophanes, Clouds, trans. Jeffrey Henderson , Memorabilia, etc., trans. E.C. Marchant et al. , Euthyphro, etc., trans. H.N. Fowler Plato, , translated Donald J. Zeyl (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1987) (ordered Jan. 16, 2007) , Hippolytus: see Week 8 below.

2. On electronic reserve (Alexander):

A collection of Passages. In Assignments below, P = Passage. P1 is an index of the Passages, with information about the authors, copyright information, etc. Please print out, keep, and refer to this index. P20 is a second index, for additional passages. Please print out this second index, too, as soon as available.

3. See on WebCT below.

Requirements:

Lectures: Attendance is expected. Lectures serve to explain and expand the course readings. Material presented in lectures is fair game for tests even if it is not replicated in your books. See also Assignments below. and pronunciation of Greek words: will be taught in class (see dates below). Key terms will be referred to in Greek. Quizzes and final will include questions which require ability to read Greek words. Electronic Communication: The course has a webpage at WebCT. Please go to http://teachx.rutgers.edu/webct/students/ in order to get started. There is a discussion group on the WebCT page to which you are encouraged to contribute. Please check the page regularly. You are responsible for information posted on the webpage, including supplements to assignments. S = supplement. Readings: Required readings for each class are listed below on the syllabus. It is essential to read each assignment carefully before class. Lectures will presuppose familiarity with the relevant texts. Exams: Both the quizzes and the final will consist of multiple-choice questions. Bring #2 pencil and eraser. There will be no make-up exams except in the case of a properly documented medical or other emergency. See also Policy On Mid-Term And Final above.

2 of 9 Papers: Two 2000-word papers will be required for this course. The paper topics give you the opportunity for systematic reflection on the literature you are reading. Papers will be graded on both style and content. The topics and guidelines for the papers are stated at the end of this syllabus. Grades on papers will not be discussed by e- mail. A student who believes that he or she deserved a higher grade should prepare a written statement of his or reasons; should bring this statement, with the paper, to the instructor's office hours. Grades cannot be discussed on the basis of "I felt I did better than that."

Assignments:

Pl. = Plato Xen. = Xenophon P + [numeral] = passage or text on electronic reserve in Alexander. P1 is an index of these readings, with some background information. SocratesX = Xenophon's Socrates. SocratesP = Plato's Socrates.

Week 1

Wed. Jan. 17 Introduction.

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Time Reckoning; Periods of Greek History; Greek alphabet; Historical Background

Week 2

Mon. Jan. 22 a. P7. b. For deme map and explanation of political organization of go to plato-dialogues.org/tools/attica.htm. Use with Brickhouse and Smith (P7). c. Time Reckoning: see file on webpage. d. Periods of Greek History: see file of this name on webpge for The Hero. In class: Greek alphabet and pronunciation of Greek words. Chronology of Platonic dialogues and problem of Socrates. e. P5. f. P9.

Jan. 22 and Jan. 23 For Spring 2007 the LAST DAY to DROP is 1/22/07 (without a "W" grade) and the LAST DAY to ADD is 1/23/07. Jan. 23 - March 19 Undergraduate Drop Period with a "W" grade

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Trial, Imprisonment, and Death of Socrates

Wed. Jan. 24 Pl., Euthyphro (= pp. 2-59 in Plato). Greek alphabet and pronunciation of Greek words. Study questions: what does Euthyphro tell us about underlying reasons for accusation against Socrates?

Week 3

Mon. Jan. 29 P8; Pl., (= pp. 63-145 in Plato)

3 of 9 Wed. Jan. 31 Xen., Apology (= pp. 639-63 in Xenophon); Xen., Memorabilia 1.1.1-1.2.8, with intro. (= pp. vii, viii-ix, 2-15 in Xenophon); 1.2.62-64 (= pp. 43-45 in Xenophon). Compare and contrast Xenophon's version of Socrates' defense with Plato's.

Wed. Jan. 31 QUIZ 1

Week 4

Mon. Feb. 5 Pl. Crito (= pp. 148-91 in Plato); Xen. Memorabilia 1.3.1-4 (= pp. 44-47 in Xenophon). Can Socrates' views in Crito be reconciled with his views in Pl., Apology? Wed. Feb. 7 Death of Socrates: Pl. Phaedo (= pp. 195-403 in Plato)

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Poverty ; ; Soul1

Week 5

Compare and contrast SocratesX and SocratesP. "Self-knowledge consists, for SocratesX, in recognizing the extent and limits of one's own dunamis, of what one is and is not technically capable of doing—not in recognizing the "self" is the soul and that one must therefore live with a view to the goods of the soul rather than to bodily or external goods."2

Mon. Feb. 12 and Wed. Feb. 14 Xen. Mem. 1.2.1-8 (pp. 13-15); 1.2.12-28 (pp. 17-25); 1.2.51-55 (pp. 37-39); 1.3.5-8 (pp. 47-49); 1.4.9 (p. 59); 1.4.13-14 (p. 61); 1.5.1-6.14 (pp. 65-75); 3.14.7 (p. 261); 4.1.2 (p. 265); 4.3.14 (pp. 305-307); 4.8.1 (p. 353: "moral strength" = strength of soul)

P24; P25 (intros. to ); Pl. Phaedrus 279b8-c3 (prayer to Pan) (pp. 577-579); Pl. Apol. 23b7-c1 (pp. 87-89); 29d2-30b4 (pp. 109-111); 31a-c (pp. 113-115); Pl. Phaedo 66b-67b (in section, 61b-69e, on Socrates’ attitude to death [philosoph- occurs 22x]).

Amipsias, Konnos fr. 9 (PCG 2.202) from P10 Laertius 2.28 (Diogenes Laertius 2 to be read in entirety in Week 8) (one of many refs. to single cloak and going without shoes); P11 (Edmunds, pp. 196-97 [section 3] on endurance).

1 "With Socrates, a new conception of the soul enters the world: the soul is no longer just the principle of life, but the most precious possession we have, the very center of our being, harboring the nature of our personality and the value of our character. The most important thing in the world, for Socrates, is the therapy of the soul": Christian Wildberg, "Socrates and Euripides," in Sara Ahbel-Rappe and Rachana Kamtekar, ed., A Companion to Socrates (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), p. 30. 2 Louis-André Dorion, "Xenophon's Socrates," in Ahbel-Rappe and Kamtekar, ed., p. 96 (for full ref., see preceding n.). Cf. Zeyl intro. to Pl.Gorgias, p. ix n. 1.

4 of 9 Wed. Feb. 14 QUIZ 2

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Daimonion and the irrational

Week 6

Compare and contrast the daimonion as described by SocratesX and SocratesP. Can the two pictures be reconciled? What in fact was the daimonion? Is it fair to combine the daimonion with the dreams and trances of Socrates under the heading "irrational"?

Mon. Feb. 19 For daimonion: P 2 ("divination" in OCD); in Pl.: Alc. 1 103a5, 105d5- 106a1; Apol. 31c8-d1 (charge), 40a4-c3 (did not oppose me today), 41d6 (ditto); Euthyphro 3b5-7 (Euthyphro: Meletus’ charge because of) (pp. 9-11); Phaedrus 242b8- c3 (pp. 459-61); P18 ([Plato] Theages.

Wed. Feb. 21 For daimonion: in Xen.: Apol. 4-5, 10, 12, 13; Mem. 1.1.2-4, 9; 4.3.1-18; 4.8.1, 5-6; Symp. 8.5; P 19 (, On the ). Standing in trances: two examples in Pl. Symp. 220c-d (Potidaea); cf. 174d-175b. Reliance on dreams: Pl. Crito 43c-44b (pp. 153-55). Cf. Mem. 1.3.4 (p. 47) (prefers divine to human counsel)

Paper 1 due

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Socrates and the

Week 7

Mon. Feb. 26 P4 ("sophists" in OCD );

Xen. Mem. 1.6.1-15 (Antiphon) (= pp. 67-75 in Xenophon);

4.2.1-40 (Euthydemus) (= pp. 269-97 in Xenophon); out of sequence pederastic sub-text here ("the handsome, 269; his youth); will return to; Socrates uses arg. from expert; book collection (273); can't excel without justice (277); humility of Euythydemus (285); , know thyself, know your own powers; 288-89; concluding ¶ interesting (one wishes for more detail)

Xen. Mem. 4.4.1-25 () (= pp. 000 309-325). out of sequence; 4.4.9 (p. 313) method (Xen. grasped the issue that is in Pl. Gorgias); way of life;; obedience to law (cf. Crito) = justice; unwritten laws; stange argument about incest; conclusion: the gods too identify law with justice

Pl. Gorgias, pp. ix-xv (Zeyl intro. incl. footnotes); 447a-449c (pp. 1-5); 449c-461b (pp. 5-20); 523a-527e (pp. 107-113).

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Socratic Irony

Wed. Feb. 28 P 6 (, EN [] 4.7); P 11 (Edmunds, “The Practical Irony … "); references to irony in previous assignments.

Wed. Feb. 28: QUIZ 3 *

Socrates and Euripides

Week 8

Mon. Mar. 5 Euripides, Hippolytus. Please procure your own copy in any translation. Available at www.perseus.tufts.edu.

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An (the only) Ancient Biography of Socrates

Wed. Mar. 7 P 10 (Diogenes Laertius)

Wed. Mar. 7 QUIZ 4

Recess Mar. 10-18 (Please do assignment for Week 9.)

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Socrates and the Athenian elite

Week 9

Mon. Mar. 19 Pl., Laches (P14); outline of Pl. Laches on webpage; Pl. Gorgias 447a- 461b, with intro. (= pp. ix-xv, 1-20 in Plato, Gorgias, trans. Zeyl).

March 19 Undergraduate Drop Period with a "W" grade ends today.

Wed. Mar. 21

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Aeschines of Sphettos: A Typical Companion?

Week 10

6 of 9 Mon. Mar. 26 of Sphettos P21 (G.C. Field); P22 (fr. of a speech by Lysias)

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Socrates in the milieu of pederasty

Wed. Mar. 28 P12 (Halperin, "One Hundred Years … ")

Week 11

Mon. Apr. 2 Xen. Symposium: introduction on webpage; Xen. Symposium (= pp. 530- 635 in Xenophon)

Mon. Apr. 2 QUIZ 5

Wed. Apr. 4 P13 (Pl., Charmides); P15 (Pl., Symposium); Pl. Phaedrus (= pp. 407-579 in Plato); Xen. Mem. 1.3.8-15 (= pp. 49-53 in Xenophon); 2.6.1-39 esp. 28-32 (= pp. 127-47 in Xenophon); 3.11.1-18 (conversation with Theodote) (= pp. 239-49 in Xenophon)

Week 12

Mon. Apr. 9 P17 ([Plato], I); Aeschines Alcibiades in P21 (G.C. Field); P16 (Pl. Theaetetus) * Wed. Apr. 11 Paper 2 due

Week 13

Mon. Apr. 16 and Wed. Apr. 18 Follow-up days.

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As butt of comedy

Week 14

Mon. Apr. 23 and Wed. Apr. 25 P3 ("education" in OCD); , Clouds;3 P23 (Antiphon, On Truth)

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Conclusions

3 Lines 165-66. It's a four-line speech in Greek. Two lines fell out in type-setting (unless restored in your printing): Well, as a defendant he'll easily win acquittal, when he has such knowledge of the intestine of a gnat.

7 of 9 Week 15 Mon April 30 Last class; classes end this day

Tues. May 1 and Wed May 2 Reading days Thurs. May 3 Spring exams begin Tues. May 8 12:00 - 3:00 pm Final exam in this course

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Papers

•Your database for each paper consists of: All the works and passages cited in the assignment. Do not cite other ancient works. Do not cite secondary literature. •Do cite, precisely, the works and passages you use. See below on the form of references. •You must write a first paragraph which gives your reader an overview of your paper and tells your reader what position you are taking with respect to the material you are discussing. •Papers cannot be discussed by e-mail as you are writing them. Questions like "Is it OK if I say that … ?" cannot be answered. Papers cannot be submitted in advance for pre- approval. If you would like to discuss your paper before you begin to write it, please come to the instructor's office hours.

FORMAT AND MECHANICS

• Papers are to be turned in at the end of class on the due date. Papers may may not be submitted by e-mail, by e-mail attachment, or by fax. • Credit will be taken off for papers received late (1/3 letter grade for every day late, e.g. a B paper turned in two days late would receive a C+ grade). • The paper is to be a minimum of 2,000 words. Please put the word count at the end of the paper, flush right. • Font: 12-point New York, Times New Roman, or Geneva. Do not use any other font. • Format: set top and bottom margins at 1" and left and right margins at 1.5". Spacing: 1.5 lines. Paragraph indent: .5". • Papers which do not meet these specifications will be returned for re-formattting and such papers will lose 1/3 letter grade per day until resubmitted in hard copy. • Pages should be numbered, in the lower right-hand corner. •At the top of the first page, centered, the following three lines information should appear:

Title of paper Student's name and RUID Student's e-mail address

• Please put a staple in the upper-left hand corner. • Proofread. Use spelling checker.

8 of 9 DON'T'S

• Do not use a cover-sheet or title-page or binder or folder. • Direct copying of secondary sources is plagiarism, a form of cheating that is justification for a failing grade on the assignment. Submitting work that is not you own is also a form a cheating, with the same penalty. • Do not use footnotes. Imbed references in parentheses in text of your paper. Examples: Amos & Lang, 42; Il. 7.372-378; Hdt. 1.3; Aristot. 1.4 ( = Book 1, ch. 4; use arabic numerals). References must be to the translations assigned for this course. References to the Od. must be to the line numbers of Lombardo's translation, which are different from the numbers in the Greek original. • Do not give a bibliography. It is completely unnecessary. • Do not quote excessively. You should make specific references to passages you are discussing or using as evidence, but should not pad out the paper with long inserted quotations. Long quotations will count against you. • Do not use "dangling quotations." If you quote something, comment on it. Say what it shows. • Do not use "this" as a noun. E.g., do not begin a , "This shows that" or "From this it is clear that." Your reader has to stop to figure out what "this" refers to. All of the previous sentence? The two preceding sentences? One word in the preceding sentence? • Do not cite the instructor. E.g. "Professor Edmunds said that … ." Your paper must be argued from the assigned texts. • Do not psychologize. E.g., “Socrates was sexually repressed and that is why he frowned on sexual relations with young men and was able to resist Alcibiades.” • Do not go for the bullet, the simple that explains everything. Your papers are dealing with complexities. • Do not use similes. E.g., “Socrates is like a baseball player who … .” • Do not use colored printer ink. Use black ink.

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