CNE/PHL 370: History of Classical Greek Philosophy

Fall 2010        M W F 12:30–1:20 pm       Prof. Stephens       Dowling Hall Humanities Center 7B

office hours: Mon. Wed. 3:25 to 4:50 pm, Fri. 3:25 to 4 pm, and by appointment

office: Dowling Hall Humanities Center 209       phone (with voicemail): 280-2632       stphns AT creighton DOT edu

Socrates’ death scene in the Phaedo

Description

Through the close and careful examination of the original texts we will study the richness and complexities of ancient Greek philosophy during the “Classical” period (7th to 4th century BCE).  Beginning with the Presocratics, whose extant texts are sadly fragmentary, we will trace the development of recognizably philosophical, that is, rational, non-superstitious, scientific thinking about the world-order (kosmos), nature (physis), soul (psychē), and reason (logos) through the Sophists of the Greek Enlightenment period and Socrates, as he is portrayed in Plato’s dialogues.  The central figures of the course will be Plato and Aristotle.  We will read three of the earlier Platonic dialogues, students will elect one additional dialogue for us to study, and we will study all of the Republic, which is arguably the greatest, most influential philosophical masterpiece of Western civilization.  We will then investigate Aristotle’s ingenious and extensive system of thought.  Aristotelian ideas profoundly shaped Medieval philosophy, theology, logic, and the natural sciences for centuries.  Consequently, any decent understanding of our cultural heritage, the history of ideas, of science, of religion, and, of course, the history of Western philosophy, must necessarily begin with a study of the history of Classical Greek philosophy.  It is wise for philosophy majors to take this course before they attempt any serious study of philosophers who were born after Aristotle (e.g. Epicurus, the Stoics, Plotinus, Augustine, Anselm, Abelard, Aquinas, Ockham, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, J. S. Mill, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Sartre, Foucault, Derrida, any other French or German philosopher, any other British philosopher, any American philosopher—you get the idea).

video introduction to the course (10 mins. 31 secs.)

Required Texts

• Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy from Thales to Aristotle, edited by Cohen, Curd & Reeve (Hackett, 3rd ed. 2005) ISBN 0-87220-769-2
• William O. Stephens, How to Write Philosophy Papers ($4 at the Philosophy Dept.)
• Alexander Nehamas, "Plato's Pop Culture Problem, and Ours," The New York Times, Aug. 29, 2010

Course Requirements and Percentage of Final Grade

Standards of Evaluation for Letter Grades

F    “Failure – no credit” (< 60% average)

• Extreme lack of clarity or lack of coherence of argument or expression of thought.
• Disregard for the requirements of the assignment.
• Irrelevant use or failure to use relevant course readings.
• Submission of another’s words or thoughts as if they were your own, whether in the form of plagiarism or failure to acknowledge the source of an idea.
• Very poor class attendance with no participation in discussions and zero posts to the BlueLine Discussion Forum.

D    “Work of inferior quality, but passing” (60 to < 70%)

• Unclarity or incoherence of argument or expression of thought.
• Failure to satisfy the requirements of the assignment.
• Poor or inadequate understanding or use of relevant course readings.
• Improper acknowledgment or citation of the sources of your ideas.
• Poor class attendance with little or no participation in discussions and few, skimpy (or zero) posts to the BlueLine Discussion Forum.

C    “Satisfactory work”

• Basic clarity and coherence of argument and expression of thought.
• Satisfaction of the assignment’s basic requirements.
• Fair or adequate understanding of the major views and theories in the relevant course readings and the arguments presented in support of those views and theories.
• Minimally clear and coherent evaluation of the views and arguments in the relevant course readings.
• Minimally proper acknowledgment and citation of the sources of your ideas.
• Generally consistent class attendance with some infrequent participation in discussions and some infrequent, mediocre posts to the BlueLine Discussion Forum.
• 77% to < 80% average for a C+; 70% to < 77% average for a C.

B    “Noteworthy level of performance”   Demonstrates all of the qualities of satisfactory work plus:

• Good, above average clarity and coherence of argument and expression of thought.
• Clear, logical organization of the essay's introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Clear, detailed, and accurate understanding of the major views and theories in the relevant course readings and of the arguments in support of those views and theories.
• Good attempt to provide argumentative support for your evaluation of the views, theories, and arguments presented in the relevant course readings.
• Regular, consistent class attendance with good, thoughtful, frequent participation in discussions and fairly consistent, good posts to the BlueLine Discussion Forum.
• 87% to < 90% average for a B+; 80% to < 87% average for a B.

A    “Outstanding achievement and an unusual degree of intellectual initiative”   Demonstrates all of the qualities of noteworthy performance plus:

• Excellent, superior clarity and coherence of argument and expression of thought.
• Clear, rigorous, and cogent argumentative support for your evaluation of the views, theories, and arguments presented in the relevant course readings.
• Originality and creativity of interpretation, explanation, argumentation, or criticism.
• Superior class attendance with consistent, excellent, and insightful participation in discussions and frequent, astute posts to the BlueLine Discussion Forum.
• 90% and >.

Participation & Attendance

Class participation includes comments and questions in class discussions and talking with me about course material outside of class. Daily, punctual attendance is expected.   Three tardies count as one absence.  Eight or more absences will earn an AF (F due to excessive absence).  Each absence fewer than eight will incrementally lower one’s class participation grade.  There are two kinds of activities that count as “participation”: inside of class and outside of class.  Inside of class participation is raising your hand to be called on and making comments about the reading or the discussion, or asking questions about the reading or my lecture, or responding to questions I raise or comments made by other students.  Outside of class participation includes (a) philosophical conversations with Prof. Stephens outside the classroom, and (b) intellectually substantive electronic messages, including emails to Prof. Stephens or posts (or replies) in the BlueLine Discussion Forum for the course.  Both quality and quantity of remarks are recorded.  Since we will be closely attending to the readings in our class discussions, it is important that everyday you bring to class your book.  All students are expected to model academic honesty and integrity in all their work for this course.

Papers and Submission Policies

Papers should be submitted on time.  By a “paper” I mean thin sheets made from wood pulp, stapled together, with printing on them, NOT an electronic file on a storage device or an email attachment.  Include the word count of the paper (not including the words on the cover sheet) on the cover page.  Early submissions are much appreciated.  Requests for extensions must be made at least three (3) class days  (i.e. weekdays) prior to the due date.  Papers submitted after the due date (or granted extension date) will be penalized  5 points (= half a letter grade) per weekday late (not counting holidays recognized by the University).  If the paper has not been received by the instructor within a week after its due date, then the student must withdraw from or take an F for, the course.  Be sure to discuss your paper topic with me so I can approve your topic and approach before your begin serious writing.  Follow closely the guidelines in How to Write Philosophy Papers.  You can get additional help at the Writing Center.  Print your NAME, the COURSE number and name, the name (properly spelled) of your PROFESSOR, the TITLE of your paper, and the WORD COUNT on the cover page.

Academic Honesty Statement

Keep in Contact with the Professor throughout the Course

If you have any problem that hinders you from attending class, doing the assigned reading, studying for the exams, or writing your papers, please come see me or call me or send me e-mail or leave me a note in my mailbox or under my office door.  Whatever happens, it is your responsibility to keep in contact with Prof. Stephens.  Failure to do so can have unhappy consequences.

Selected Websites

• Hemlock Available in the Faculty Lounge (amusing teaching evaluations of Socrates).
• Michael Lahanas’ “Who is who?” puzzle of Raphael’s The School of Athens painting.  [In the large picture, he misnumbered Aristotle and Plato.  Below he has them correct.]
• “The Origins of Mathemathical Physics,” Physics Today (June 2000) an article on how a recently discovered 10th century manuscript (the Archimedes Palimpsest) shows that the ancient Greek inventor Archimedes made more ingenious mathematical discoveries than were originally believed.
• A review of an interesting book on Anaximander.
• A review of a provocative book on Parmenides and Empedocles.
• A review of an ambitious book on the death of Socrates.
• A review of an important book on Plato’s myths.
• Bernard Suzanne’s interesting website on Plato and his dialogues.  Suzanne’s terrific MAPS of the ancient Greek world.
• A list of all of Plato’s dialogues with links to Benjamin Jowett’s translations of each.
• A review of Matthew R. Christ, The Bad Citizen in Classical Athens (Cambridge University Press, 2006).

Schedule of Assignments

The Presocratics and the Sophists

Socrates and Plato

                                        
Plato                                                                                       

Aristotle

Aristotle

Wednesday, December 15, 8:00–9:40 am  Aristotle Exam #2                 

* The instructor reserves the right, at his discretion and as needed, to make minor changes to this syllabus during the course of the semester (and the semester of the course) including due dates, assignments, and requirements.

last updated 22 December 2011
Copyright © 2012 William O. Stephens