University of Montana, Fall 2007
Philosophy 251H: History of Ancient Philosophy
History of Ancient Philosophy
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 11:10 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Forestry 106
This course will introduce you to three central figures in ancient Greek philosophy: Socrates (469-399 BC), Plato (427-347 BC), and Aristotle (384-322 BC). Socrates, who is sometimes characterized as the father of western philosophy, famously did not write anything and was put to death by his fellow Athenians for unorthodox religious beliefs and for supposedly corrupting the youth. We will try to acquaint ourselves with his philosophical method and his particular concern for ethical topics by reading some of Plato’s dialogues. Plato (a student of Socrates’) and Aristotle (a student of Plato’s) are the two philosophical giants of the ancient Greek world. We will read Plato’s magnum opus, The Republic, which addresses topics of ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics, and just about any other philosophical subject you might hope for. We will read selections from Aristotle’s work on ethics and physics, including his discussion of friendship and his fourfold account of the nature of causality.
Course Requirements
1. Attendance, Participation, Quizzes 10%
2. Unit 1 Exam (Friday, September 28) 25%
3. Unit 2 Exam (Wednesday, October 31) 25%
4. Unit 3 Exam (to be given with the Final Exam) 25%
5. Final Exam (Tuesday, December 11, 8:00-10:00 a.m.) 15%
Required Readings
Books
These are available at the UM bookstore (and are also on two hour reserve in Mansfield Library).
Aristotle, Introductory Readings, trans. Irwin and Fine (Hackett; ISBN 0872203395)
Plato, Laches and Charmides, trans. Sprague (Hackett; ISBN 0872201341)
Plato, Republic, trans. Reeve (Hackett; ISBN 0872207366)
Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates, 3rd edition, trans. Grube (Hackett; ISBN 0872205541)
Additional Readings
These are available via Electronic Reserve and Blackboard.
Plato, “Alcibiades’ Speech,” Symposium (215a-223b)
Plato, Phaedo (63b-68c; 95e-103a)
Plato, Greater Hippias (286a-293c)
Electronic Reserve
To obtain readings via Electronic Reserve, go to http://eres.lib.umt.edu/eres. The cheapest place to print Electronic Reserve readings (if you print double-sided pages) is Campus Quick Copy (in the UC). They charge $0.09 per single- sided page; $0.13 per double- sided page (or $0.065 per side).
Blackboard
This course has a site on Blackboard. Readings via Blackboard can be found in a folder labeled “Course Materials.” For more information on how to access Blackboard, go to http://umonline.umt.edu/StudentInfo/welcome.htm.
Attendance, Participation, Class Etiquette
Attendance and Participation: Your attendance and participation are crucial for the success of this class and will play a significant role in determining whether or not our time together proves to be intellectually challenging and fulfilling. As many of you probably know, it is a university requirement that you attend all class meetings for courses in which you are enrolled (http://www2.umt.edu/catalog/policy_procedure.htm). In my experience, students also get the most out of those classes that they regularly attend. In this course I will regularly take attendance. Everyone may miss three classes, no questions asked (and no justifications/explanations required). After that, each absence will reduce your attendance/participation/quiz grade by 10% (that is, 1% of your final grade).
Etiquette: As a courtesy to me and to your fellow classmates, during class please do not (1) talk to your nearby classmate while I or others are speaking; (2) peruse other reading materials (such as newspapers, crossword puzzles, etc.) or play computer games; or (3) use your cell phone. Cell phones should be turned off or placed on vibrate—and should not be taken out during class. If you know that you will have to leave class early, please sit near an exit so you can minimize how disruptive this will be for others.
Quizzes
On occasion I may give short quizzes. These will be unannounced and may not be made up if you are not in class that day.
Unit Exams
You will be given three unit exams during the term. Each unit exam is worth 25% of your final grade. In general, there will be no makeup exams except for extreme cases, such as severe medical illness (which must be documented by a doctor’s note).
Final Exam
You will be given a comprehensive final exam at the end of the term. It will be worth 15% of your final grade.
The Art of Reading
Reading, like writing, is an art that can only be acquired through extensive and intensive practice. The typical reading assignment in this class (with the occasional exception) will be much shorter in length than in some of the other disciplines. Don’t be misled by this. You should plan to read each assignment a minimum of two times before you come to class: (i) read it through once to get a sense of the overall shape of the discussion and what the chief issues and questions seem to be; (ii) then read it a second time, reading more slowly and with an eye to how the different parts hang together. As Thoreau put it, “To read well, that is, to read true books in a true spirit, is a noble exercise, and one that will task the reader more than any exercise which the customs of the day esteem. It requires a training such as the athletes underwent, the steady intention almost of the whole life to this object. Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they were written….[T]his only is reading, in a high sense, not that which lulls us as a luxury and suffers the nobler faculties to sleep the while, but what we have to stand on tip-toe to read and devote our most alert and wakeful hours to” (“Reading,” Walden).
Academic Dishonesty
I will not tolerate cheating in this course. Cheating, like other forms of academic dishonesty such as plagiarism, is a violation of the University of Montana Student Conduct Code (http://ordway.umt.edu/SA/VPSA/index.cfm/name/StudentConductCode). When you cheat, you harm your fellow students by giving yourself an unfair advantage, and you harm yourself by failing to take yourself seriously. Anyone caught cheating on a unit exam or the final exam will receive a failing grade (“F”) for the course and be referred to the appropriate University officials for further sanctions, including possible expulsion.
Schedule of Readings and Written Assignments
(Subject to change with advance notice)
Note: Page references to works by Plato are to the page numbers and letters found in the margins (called Stephanus pages).
ER/BB = Electronic Reserve/Blackboard
Week 1
M 8/27 Introduction
I. Socrates
W 8/29 Who is Socrates?
Reading: Plato, “Alcibiades’ Speech,” Symposium (215a-223b; ER/BB)
F 8/31 Care of the Soul
Reading: Laches [LAYkees] (178a-189d)
Week 2
M 9/3 No Class (Labor Day)
W 9/5 What is Courage?
Reading: Laches (189d-194b)
F 9/7 What is Courage? (cont.)
Reading: Laches (194b-201c)
Week3
M 9/10 What is Temperance?
Reading: Charmides [KARmidees] (153a-161b)
W 9/12 What is Self-Knowledge?
Reading: Charmides (161b-169d)
F 9/14 The Science of Good and Evil
Reading: Charmides (169d-176d)
Week 4
M 9/17 Socrates’ Defense
Reading: Plato, Apology (17a-24b; in The Trial and Death of Socrates)
W 9/19 Was Socrates Guilty?; The Fear of Death
Reading: Apology (24b-34b)
F 9/21 What Punishment Did Socrates Deserve?
Reading: Apology (34b-42a)
Week 5
M 9/24 Socrates on Virtue and Law
Reading: Plato, Crito (43a-50a; in The Trial and Death of Socrates)
W 9/26 Socrates on Virtue and Law (cont.)
Reading: (1) Crito (50a-54e);
(2) Plato, Phaedo [FEEdough] (115a-118a; in The Trial and Death of Socrates)
F 9/28 Unit 1 Exam (In-Class)
II. Plato
Week 6
M 10/1 What is Justice?
Reading: Plato, Republic, Book 1 (327a-338b)
W 10/3 What is Justice? (cont.)
Reading: Republic, Book 1 (338b-354c)
F 10/5 Glaucon’s Challenge
Reading: Republic, Book 2 (357a-368c)
Week 7
M 10/8 The Ideal State (Kallipolis)
Reading: Republic, Books 2-4 (368c-427d)
W 10/10 The Ideal State (cont.)
Reading: Republic, Book 5 (449a-471c)
F 10/12 Justice in City and Soul
Reading: (1) Republic, Book 4 (427c-445e);
(2) Republic, Book 5 (471c-473e)
Week 8
M 10/15 Forms and Causes
Reading: (1) Plato, Phaedo (63b-68c; 95e-103a; ER/BB);
(2) Plato, Greater Hippias (286a-293c; ER/BB)
W 10/17 Lovers of Seeing and Listening
Reading: Republic, Books 5-6 (473e-502c)
F 10/19 The Sun and the Divided Line
Reading: Republic, Book 6 (502c-511e)
Week 9
M 10/22 The Cave and the Philosopher’s Education
Reading: Republic, Book 7
W 10/24 Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy, Tyranny
Reading: Republic, Book 8
F 10/26 The Tyrant; The Defense of Justice Concluded
Reading: Republic, Book 9
Week 10
M 10/29 Art in Kallipolis; The Myth of Er
Reading: Republic, Book 10
W 10/31 Unit 2 Exam (In-Class)
III. Aristotle
F 11/2 The Good, Virtue, and Human Function
Reading: Aristotle, Nicomachean [NickomahKEEan] Ethics (NE), Book I.1‑5; 7‑10
Week 11
M 11/5 Virtue and the Mean
Reading: (1) NE, Book I.13 (1102a5-29);
(2) NE, Book II.1-6
W 11/7 Action, Choice, and Responsibility
Reading: NE, Book III.1-5
F 11/9 Virtue and Intellect
Reading: NE, Book VI.1-2; 5; 8; 12-13
Week 12
M 11/12 No Class (Veterans Day)
W 11/14 Two Types of Justice
Reading: NE, Book V.1-2; 7
F 11/16 Friendship
Reading: (1) NE, Book VIII.1-3;
(2) NE, Book IX.8-9
Week 13
M 11/19 The Best Life
Reading: NE, Book X.6-9
W 11/21 No Class (Thanksgiving Break)
F 11/23 No Class (Thanksgiving Break)
Week 14
M 11/26 Kinds of Being
Reading: Aristotle, Categories 1-5
W 11/28 Change
Reading: Aristotle, Physics I.7-8
F 11/30 Nature
Reading: Physics II.1-2
Week 15
M 12/3 Cause and Chance
Reading: Physics II.3-7
W 12/5 Necessity and Purpose
Reading: Physics II.8-9
F 12/7 Later Greek Philosophers: Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans
Reading: Class Handout
Final Exam: Tuesday, December 11, 8:00-10:00 a.m. (Part I: Unit 3 Exam; Part II: Comprehensive Exam)