PHL
331 CS ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY FALL 2004
TTH 12:
Philosophy House 101
The
Philosophy House
is a small yellow house on corner of
(across from the
(o) 278-5697 (h) 584-4029 E-mail: sullivan@elon.edu
Homepage: http://www.elon.edu/sullivan Course Page
http:// www.elon.edu/sullivan/ancient.htm
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Office Hours: Tuesdays
and Thursdays
Mondays
–
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Background:
This course
will study the beginnings of Western philosophy in the Golden Age of
Greece. We shall look at Socrates, his predecessors,
and his two great successors, Plato and Aristotle.
The Greek achievement, especially in the three
centuries between
600-300 BCE, lies at the basis of Western civilization. This course is an attempt to enter into
the culture and consciousness of the Greeks during this formative period. To pass over to this period is an adventure
of the mind. It means entering into a
mentality -- a way of thinking, feeling and acting -- that is radically
different from our own. Philosophy is
one of the best ways to do this.
People
differ not only outwardly -- in types of body structure, types of
clothing,
food and housing, etc. People also
differ inwardly in the way they think about their life and their world,
the way
they imagine the good life, the way they are aware of their situated
selves,
etc. It is a mistake to imagine that the
Greeks are just like twentieth century Americans only dressed up in
different
costumes and on location in a different part of the world.
Again and again, you will see how alien the
Greeks are from us.
Some
advice: Be open to strangeness. Be
attentive to differences. Even when
behavior looks outwardly similar,
remember that it may issue from a totally different mentality. This may completely change its meaning. As a rule of thumb, never assume that the
Greeks meant by a word what we mean by it.
To the Greeks, "virtue," "freedom,"
"religion," "politics," "democracy," and even
"music" meant very different things than they mean to us.
Still,
there is continuity. It is said that the
Greeks "discovered mind."
Prior to the Greeks, there were no terms to speak of mental
functions as
we conceive them in the West. The Greeks also discovered theory,
formulated
logic, and paved the path for science.
They invented both drama and democracy; they gave us lyric
poetry and a
new sense of law. As Edith Hamilton put
it, "The Greeks came into being and the world, as we know it, began."
All this is
good reason to pass over to the ancient Greeks, spend time with three
of the
greatest thinkers who ever lived, and return to our own time with new
eyes and
a more expansive heart.
Practical Aims of the Course:
To aid you:
1) To develop critical/constructive thinking skills by engaging with the critical and constructive intellectual powers of Plato and Aristotle.
2) To deepen your ethical sensitivity by exposure to the ethical ideals of these great thinkers.
3) To gain
the ability (a) to cross over to another time/culture/point of
view,
(b) to inhabit that
point of view sympathetically but not uncritically, and
(c) to return to
your own time and place enriched. And in
all this,
4) To gain new
possibilities to live more widely and more deeply.
Required Reading:
Bryant, Dorothy, The Kin of Ata are
Waiting for You (New York: Random
House, 1977)
Plato, The Last Days of Socrates
(Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo), trans. Hugh Tredennick and
Harold Tarrant
(
Plato, Republic, rev. ed. trans.
Desmond Lee (
Plato, Symposium,
trans. Robin Warfield (Oxford: World Classics, 1994)
Aristotle, The
Nicomachean Ethics, trans. David
Ross. Revised by J. L. Ackrill and J. O. Urmson (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1998)
Grading:
Doing homework faithfully is a discipline. Homework questions are the basis for class discussion. The homework assignments will be collected at the end of each class. Each daily assignment is worth 3/4 point; each week's assignment, worth one and a half points. There are 20 assignments. 20 X .75 = 15 points. Except for when you have an excused absence, ASSIGNMENTS HANDED IN LATE WILL GAIN NO CREDIT.
The first
test will be given on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5TH.
The second test will be given on TUESDAY,
NOVEMBER 9TH.
This paper will be on some aspect of the Presocratics, the historical Socrates (insofar as scholars reconstruct his teaching) or Plato. Other topics on the Greeks can be done with permission. The topic with thesis statement and appropriate readings must be submitted for approval on Thursday, Sept. 30th. The completed paper is due on Thursday, Nov. 11th. Deadlines are serious; a ONE POINT penalty will be assessed for each late day on any of the above deadlines. Length is serious; one point will be deducted for every page less than the required 12 pages. For more on papers, see the section: “Notes on Writing Your Papers” below.
The
Calendar &
Grading System at a Glance
Paper: Approved
topic and focused sources
(due Thurs. Sept. 30)
First
Test (Tues. Oct. 5th)
21 points
Paper in
completed form (due Thurs. Nov. 11th)
22 points
Second
test (Tues. Nov. 9th)
21 points
Final
Examination (in the exam period)
21 points
TOTAL
100
POINTS
For absences to be excused, please report them to me within a day on either side of a missed class. Otherwise you will be penalized one point for each missed and unexcused class. You may phone me and leave message on my office phone 278-5697 or via my e-mail address: sullivan@elon.edu This is an elementary courtesy that adults are expected to show to each other when engaged in collaborative work.
Notes
on Writing
Your Papers
secondary philosophical literature.
(2)
The papers must show critical thinking skills -- presenting and
assessing arguments --- seeing not
only WHAT an author (say Plato) is saying but
also WHY he is
saying it -- what
his point and purpose
are.
(3)
The papers must also show sensitivity to value issues. Thoughtfulness concerning value issues in the
ancient AND in the modern world is
needed.
Otherwise, you
will import some
questionable value-judgments
into your critique that will be unfair to the ancients and to your
contemporaries.
(4)
Lastly, the papers must show awareness of interpretive skills --
that
authors must be interpreted according
to the meaning that they place on terms
or that they
accept from the cultural understanding
of their time.
Two main problems to be overcome:
(a) Shooting from the hip! That is,
evaluating before you have
diagnosed, before you have understood the WHAT and the
WHY. And (b) evaluating from an
unreflective
20th century point of view. “ I
don’t like this.” “This is silly.” “This could never work.” These
are not fruitful first reactions; they
are certainly not candidates for considered criticisms.
requirement is not met.
Quality: Minimum standards are those for any serious college-level paper: correct length and form, no spelling or grammatical errors, endnotes in proper form, paper revised and proofread. When you quote, reference the quote. If you are paraphrasing another author, let me know that is what you are doing. Basically, I want to be able to see what is another author’s comments, and what are your own wonderful remarks and insights.
A “B-level” paper shows above average work -- good writing, interesting writing, making points that are thoughtful, insightful -- that start to make the reader sit up and take notice. Such a paper focuses on the primary text, presents not only what is said, but why it is said -- (i.e. gives arguments), uses secondary sources judiciously and critically, and gives arguments or reasoning + evidence for one’s own views.
An
“A-level” paper does all of the above in a superior work
imaginative,
insightful, a paper the reader might want to share.
In finishing such a paper, the reader should
say: “This is really excellent -- well-organized and well-written,
exciting to
read, striking insights, and the whole paper hangs together with an
imaginative
beginning and a powerful ending. I want
my friends to have a look at this.”
Please use
Endnotes. Endnotes and Bibliography
should be handled in accordance with accepted practices for English or
humanities papers. See Troyka
Handbook. You can use content
endnotes. In Bibliography, use only
those works you have used in endnotes.
May
our journey together be an adventure of the mind
and
heart,
a
passing over to another time and a returning to our time enriched.
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