Dr W. O. Stephens         Spring 2002          M W 2:30–3:45 PM         HC 212

Office hours: MW 1:30–2 PM, TuTh 1–2 PM, and by appointment

Office: HC 116        phone: 280-2632         email: stphns@creighton.edu

The ancient Stoics defined the goal of life as living according to nature. They believed that this meant living according to reason, which in turn entailed living virtuously.  They argued that only the true Stoic, the Sage, is truly free since only the Sage is consistently virtuous, and so enduringly happy, even when penniless, without friends or family, physically ill, or while being tortured on the rack.  In Tom Wolfe’s latest novel, A Man in Full, Epictetus’ Stoicism provides the deliverance of two different male characters by transforming their conception of manliness (see my article "Real Men Are Stoics: An interpretation of Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full" in The Stoic Voice journal).  Epictetus taught Stoicism to adolescent Romans in his own school in northwest Greece in the late 1^st and early 2^nd centuries CE.  A record of Epictetus' lectures written by one of his students is an excellent text for the study of ancient Stoicism.  These lectures or ‘discourses’ influenced many, including Marcus Aurelius, the emperor of Rome from 161–180 CE.  Marcus' Stoic approach to ruling is displayed in the Academy award winning film Gladiator, which displays dramatic Stoic motifs.  One such motif is constantly maintaining a calm resolve in the pursuit of honorable goals.  The Stoics condemned all pathê ("emotions" or "passions") as harmful, disturbing movements of the soul.  In one of his greatest essays Seneca defines, analyzes, and argues for the total elimination of the worst emotion of all–anger.  In our seminar we will study the fascinating living philosophy of Stoicism through Wolfe’s bestseller, Epictetus’ Discourses, Seneca’s On Anger, and Ridley Scott’s film Gladiator (see my article "The Rebirth of Stoicism?" in Creighton University Magazine).

Course Objectives

• To learn the core principles, concepts, doctrines, and arguments of several Stoic authors.
• To learn and critically evaluate criticisms of Stoic ideas that have been and can be made.
• To recognize salient Stoic influences in contemporary Western culture, e.g. in film and the novel.

Required Texts

• Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full (Bantam, 1999) on reserve at Reinert Alumni Library
• Epictetus, The Discourses, trans. by R. Hard (J.M. Dent, 1995) on reserve at RAL
• Seneca, Moral and Political Essays, ed. and trans. by John M. Cooper & J. F. Procopé (Cambridge, 1995) on reserve at RAL

Websites on Stoicism

• Stoic Links is an excellent resource.
• The Stoic Place has a variety of historical, topical, and textual information and links.
• The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has an excellent, extensive entry on Stoicism.
• Edmund Kern, "Harry Potter, Stoic Boy Wonder" from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
• MIT has an English translation of Epictetus' Discourses online.

Videos on Stoicism

• VIDEO on Epictetus.
• VIDEO on Roman Stoicism, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius.

Requirements and Grade Weights

* The first draft of the paper you opt to rewrite counts for 15% of the course grade.   The paper you do not rewrite counts for 20%.

Requests for extensions should be made at least three days before the indicated due date.  Late papers will be penalized half a letter grade per weekday late.  All course requirements must be met to pass the course.  So, if I do not receive a student's paper that conforms to the assigned guidelines within seven weekdays after the due date (or authorized extension date), the student will receive an F for the course (unless a serious medical justification can be demonstrated).  The penalty for plagiarism is an F for the course.  The University's Policy on Academic Honesty applies to all students (see Creighton University Bulletin Undergraduate Issue 2001–2002, p.86–87).

Grading Criteria

Each of the three papers will be a thesis defense paper.  In the thesis defense papers students will take a stand on a philosophical issue relevant to the course.  Students must clearly explain what their positions are.  That is, students must explicitly state their thesis in the form of an assertion.  Students must then justify their thesis by presenting arguments to support it, appealing to textual evidence where appropriate, raising intelligent objections to the thesis, and defending the thesis against those objections.  For more detailed guidelines on the thesis defense paper, see W. O. Stephens, How to Write Philosophy Papers, available at the Philosophy Dept. for $3.

The papers will be graded on the following five criteria (20 pts. each x 5 criteria = 100 pts. per paper):

• Originality.  A fresh insight, a new perspective on the topic, an original argument, a creative analysis–these things will distinguish your paper as special and memorable.
• Clarity.  Make your meaning as plain as you can.  Choose words carefully, spell them correctly, and arrange them in graceful, grammatical, properly punctuated, complete sentences.
• Coherence and Conciseness.  Make your ideas hang together so that each one leads smoothly and logically to the next.  A well reasoned thesis defense paper is well organized, paragraph by paragraph, and to the point.   Trim out excess verbiage.  Make every word count.
• Rigor.  Be logical.  Construct direct, valid arguments.   Avoid all informal fallacies like the plague.  Carry the burden of proof in advancing your arguments.
• Evenhandedness.  Include plausible criticisms of and objections to your thesis.  How might a clever opponent challenge your position?   Respond to these challenges thoughtfully.  Apply the principle of charity.

Jan. 16 Introduction: read Edmund Kern, "Harry Potter, Stoic Boy Wonder" from The Chronicle of Higher Education
                Begin work on identifications of persons, places, and things in A Man in Full

Jan. 21 Wolfe, A Man in Full: prologue and Chapters I–III (3–95)

Jan. 23 Wolfe, Chs. IV–VI (96–167)

Jan. 28 Wolfe, VII–X (168–263)

Jan. 30 Wolfe, XI–XIV (264–362)

Feb. 4 Wolfe, XV–XVII (363–444) and Epictetus, Discourses Book 1, Chapters 1, 2, and 24

Feb. 6 Wolfe, XVIII–XXI (445–545) and Epict. Disc. Bk. 1, Ch. 6, and Bk. 3, Chs. 24 and 26, and Bk. 2, Ch. 16

Feb. 11 Wolfe, XXII–XXIV (546–628)

Feb. 13 Wolfe, XXV–XXIX (629–708) and Disc. Bk. 3, Ch. 22
              identifications of persons, places, and things in A Man in Full DUE

Feb. 18 Wolfe, XXX–XXXII and epilogue (709–787) and Disc. Bk. 3, Ch. 26, Bk. 2, Chs. 22, 18, and 8, and Bk. 1, Ch. 2
    Feb. 19:  Paper on A Man in Full DUE

Feb. 20 Epictetus, introduction, Arrian’s letter to L. Gellius, Discourses Book 1, Chapters 1–10 (xvii–28)

Feb. 25 Epictetus, Book 1, Chs. 11–20 (28–50) and W. O. Stephens, "Epictetus on How the Stoic Sage Loves" (photocopy)

Feb. 27 Epictetus, 1. 21–30 and 2.1 (50–79)

Mar. 4 Epict., 2. 2–13 (79–106)

Mar. 6 Epict., 2. 14–26 (106–146)

Mar. 18 Epict., 3. 1–13 (149–178)

Mar. 20 Epict., 3. 14–26 (178–223)

Mar. 25 Epict., 4. 1–7 (227–267)

Mar. 27 Epict., 4. 8–13 and the Handbook (267–306)

Easter Weekend

    April 2:  Paper on Epictetus DUE

Apr. 3 Seneca, Moral and Political Essays: General introduction, Synopsis of On Anger, Introduction to On Anger (xi–xxxv, 3–16)

Apr. 8 On Anger Book I, sections 1–19 (17–38)

Apr. 10 On Anger Book I, sections 20–21, Book II, sections 1–17 (38–56)

Apr. 15 On Anger Book II, sections 18–36 (57–75); Cagniart article distributed

Apr. 17 On Anger Book III, sections 1–21 (76–98) and discuss Pierre Cagniart, "The Philosopher and the Gladiator," Classical World 93.6 (2000): 607–618.

Apr. 22 Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2 hrs. 35 mins.)

Apr. 24 class cancelled (Dr Stephens at a conference)

Apr. 29 On Anger Book III, sections 22–42 (98–116); discuss Gladiator

May 1 last class: continue discussion of On Anger

May 6: Paper on Seneca & Gladiator DUE

Copyright © 2003, William O. Stephens