CNE/PHL 371

CNE/PHL 371: History of Hellenistic Philosophy
a certified writing course

Spring 2008 Prof. Stephens

Tues. Thurs. 12:30 – 1:45 pm HC 212

office hours: Wed. 9–11: 30 am and 1:45–2:15 pm, and by appointment
office: HC 116 phone (with voicemail): 280-2632 email: stphns at creighton dot edu

Epicurus

“Death is nothing to us.”

Cicero

“If a wise man ever assents to anything,
then he will sometimes hold mere opinions;
but he will never hold mere opinions;
therefore he will assent to nothing.”

Seneca

“Nothing happens to a wise man
contrary to his expectations.”

Description

Sex, pizza, beer, and friendship – Epicureans believe PLEASURE is the goal of life. Pain, poverty, disease, and DEATH – Stoics believe that happiness is possible despite any hardship whatsoever. Let appearances guide you, suspend all beliefs, and enjoy serenity now – this is the way of life of the Skeptic Pyrrho and his followers. This course will examine the development of philosophy after Aristotle in the Hellenistic period of Greece and the early Roman empire. We will study Epicureanism (death is nothing to us, so don’t worry, be happy), Stoicism (live agreeing with nature, perfect your reason into virtue, and that suffices for happiness), Academic Skepticism (certainties are unattainable and probabilities are all we have), Pyrrhonean Skepticism, and Platonist vegetarianism (meat is murder). We will conclude with a brief study of Plotinus’ philosophy inspired by Plato.

Required Texts

Epicurus, The Epicurus Reader; trans. and ed. by B. Inwood & L. P. Gerson (Hackett, 1994) ISBN 0872202410.
Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, trans. with intro. & notes by Martin Ferguson Smith (Hackett, 2001) ISBN 0872205878.
selections from Seneca, Selected Philosophical Letters, trans. with intro. and commentary by Brad Inwood (Oxford, 2007) pdfs below
Epictetus, The Discourses, the Handbook, Fragments; ed. by Christopher Gill, trans. by Robin Hard (Everyman, 1995) ISBN 0460873121
Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Scepticism, trans. by J. Annas & J. Barnes (Cambridge, 1994) ISBN 052131206X
Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals, trans. by Gillian Clark (Cornell, 2000) ISBN 9780801436925
Plotinus, The Essential Plotinus; trans. by Elmer O’Brien (Hackett, 1964) ISBN 0915144093
William O. Stephens, How to Write Philosophy Papers ($4 @ Philosophy Dept.)

Recommended Texts on reserve at Reinert Alumni Library

Brad Inwood, Reading Seneca: Stoic Philosophy at Rome (Oxford Univ. Press, 2005). ISBN 0199250898.
A. A. Long, Hellenistic Philosophy: Stoics, Epicureans, Sceptics (Univ. of California, 2nd ed. 1986) ISBN 0-520-05808-9.
R. W. Sharples, Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics: An Introduction to Hellenistic Philosophy (Routledge, 1996) ISBN 0-415-11035-1 can be checked out. This useful little book is arranged by topic rather than by school.

Websites

Tim O’Keefe’s Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on Epicurus.
David Konstan’s Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on Epicurus.
David Sedley’s SEP article on Lucretius.
my IEP article on Stoic ethics.
Katja Vogt’s SEP article on Seneca.
Keith Seddon’s IEP article on Epictetus.
Leo Groarke’s SEP article on Ancient Skepticism.
Harold Thorsrud’s IEP article on Ancient Greek Skepticism.
Richard Bett’s SEP article on Pyrrho.
Eyjólfur Emilsson’s SEP article on Porphyry.
Lloyd Gerson’s SEP article on Plotinus.
Edward Moore’s IEP article on Neoplatonism.
A review of the recent book Plotinus on Intellect.

Course Requirements and Percentage of Final Grade*

This is a CERTIFIED WRITING course. The College stipulates that students write at least twenty (20) pages, including rewritten pages, for certified writing courses. This is equivalent to approximately 5,000 words. You will satisfy the writing requirements by writing papers on four different philosophies and rewriting one of those papers. You are welcome to do additional rewriting if you wish. If so, I will average the scores of the two drafts of that paper assignment. Occasionally you may be given a very short writing task to complete outside of class (two examples: generate two discussion questions about the assigned reading, or summarize the assigned reading–or some portion of it–in 60 words), which will be due at the beginning of the next class. Occasionally you may be given a very short writing task to complete during class. These short writing tasks will be designed to encourage you to read, fully and faithfully, and think about, before, during, and after class, what has been assigned.

Class participation	16 %
Short writing tasks	8 %
paper on Epicureanism due Feb. 8 at noon	10 %
paper on Stoicism due March 12 at 5 pm	10 %
paper on Skepticism due April 2 at 5 pm	10 %
paper on Porphyry due April 16 at 12 noon	6 %
Rewritten paper due April 24 at 12:30 pm	16 %
Mid-term Exam	12 %
Final Exam	12 %

Academic Honesty

If you plagiarize any part of your paper, then you will most likely receive an F for the course, depending on the instructor’s judgment. If you cheat on an exam, then you will receive at minimum an F (zero points) on that exam or, in flagrant cases, an F for the course, again depending on the instructor’s judgment. See the Creighton College of Arts and Sciences’ Academic Honesty Procedures.

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.
Extremely infrequent class attendance with no participation in discussions.

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.
Infrequent class attendance with little participation in discussions.

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 occasional participation in discussions.
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 regular, good participation in discussions.
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 excellent, thoughtful, and insightful participation in discussions.
90% and >.

Participation

Class participation includes comments and questions in class discussions and talking with me about course material outside of class. Punctual attendance is expected for every class, every week. Three tardies count as one absence. Five (5) or more absences will earn an AF (F due to excessive absence). Each absence fewer than six will incrementally lower your class participation grade. On the other hand, actively, orally contributing comments and questions in class discussions raises your class participation grade. Both quality and quantity of oral remarks count. Since we will be closely attending to the readings in our class discussions, it is important that everyday you bring your book to class.

Papers

Papers should be submitted on time. 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 one letter grade (= 10 pts.) 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 the course or take an F for the course. If you plagiarize any part of your paper, you will receive an F for the course. Plagiarism is stipulated to include papers written jointly with anyone else, papers (or sections of a paper) bought or taken from the web or any other source, re-used, recycled, or revised papers written in or for any other course. Be sure to discuss your paper TOPIC with me before you begin serious writing. Follow closely the guidelines in How to Write Philosophy Papers. If need be, additional assistance is available at the Writing Center (Hitchcock Communication Arts Building Room 306, phone 280-4707).

Keep in Contact with the Instructor 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 me. Failure to do so can have unhappy consequences.

Schedule

Jan. 10 Introduction to course: Antisthenes, Diogenes of Sinope, and the Cynics

Jan. 15 The Epicurus Reader: The Ancient Biography of Epicurus, The Extant Letters, Ancient Collections of Maxims (pp. v–xv, pp. 3–40)

Jan. 17 Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, Introduction and Book One (pp. vii–xxxiv, 1–33)

Jan. 22 Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, Book Two (p.34–65)

Jan. 24 Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, Book Three (p. 66–98)

Jan. 29 Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, Book Four (p.99–134)

Jan. 31 Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, beginning of Book Five (p.135–150)

Feb. 5 Seneca, Selected Philosophical Letters, Life and Works, The Nature of his Letters, His Approach to Writing Philosophy, The Selection of Letters,
Letter 58, Letter 65, Letter 66

Feb. 7 Seneca, Letter 71, Letter 76

Feb. 12 Seneca, Letter 85, Letter 87, Letter 118

Feb. 14 Seneca, Letter 119, Letter 120, Letter 121

Feb. 19 Seneca, Letter 122, Letter 123, Letter 124

Feb. 21 Epictetus, Discourses Book 1

Feb. 26 Epictetus, Discourses Book 2

Feb. 28 Mid-term Exam Review Guide for Mid-term

SPRING RECESS

March 11 CANCELED due to illness

March 13 Epictetus, Discourses Book 3

March 18 Epictetus, Discourses Book 4

March 20 The (Pyrrhonean) Skepticism of Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Scepticism Book I

March 25 Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Scepticism Book II

March 27 Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Scepticism Book III

April 1 Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Scepticism continued

April 3 Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals, Introduction §1–7 and Book One (pp. 1–22, 31–54)

April 8 Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals, Book Two (55–80)

April 10 Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals, Book Three (80–100)

Review Guide for Porphyry, On Abstinence

April 15 Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals continued. Bring two typed discussion questions to class.

April 17 NO CLASS (conference in Chicago)

April 22 Plotinus, The Essential Plotinus, Introduction (13–32), “The Good or the One” (72–88). 70-word summary of this treatise due at 12:30 pm

April 24 Plotinus, “The Good or the One” continued

May 1 10–11:40 am Final Exam Review Guide for Final

* The instructor reserves the right, at his discretion, to make minor changes to this syllabus during the course including scheduling of due dates and assignments.