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Philosophy 301: Ancient Philosophy, Fall 2009

Professor. David Sanson, 372 University Hall, sanson.7@osu.edu. Office Hours: Tu 10:30-11:30, Th 4:30-5:30, or by appointment
Teaching Assistant. Scott Brown, 214 University Hall, brown.3387@osu.edu. Office Hours: Tu 1-2, W 1:30-2:30, or by appointment
Lecture. Hitchcock Hall 0031, TuTh 11:30-12:48.
Recitations. McPherson Lab 1041, W 11:30-12:18; McPherson Lab 1046, W 12:30-1:18
Course Webpage. http://davidsanson.com/phil301

Course Description

This course is an introduction to Ancient Greek Philosophy, from its traditional beginning in 585 BCE to the death of Arisotle in 322 BCE. We will cover several Presocratics, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Our primary focus will be on issues in natural philosophy and metaphysics, but issues in ethics, philosophy of mind, and theology will also come up.

Required Texts

  • McKirahan, R. D. (1994) Philosophy before Socrates: An Introduction with Texts and Commentary. Indianapolis: Hackett. ISBN: 0872201759
  • S. Marc Cohen, Patricia Curd, and C.D.C Reeve (eds.), Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Thales to Aristotle. Third Edition. Indianapolis: *Hackett Publishing, 2005. About other editions: the current edition of CCR is the third edition. If you buy a used copy, please buy this edition.

Requirements

Your grade will be based upon three papers: one short (1 page) paper (worth 20%) due the second week of class; one 3-4 page paper (worth 40%) due in week 5; and one 5 page paper (worth 40%) due finals week. There will be no final exam.

Although we will make no attempt to quantify this factor, regular substantive participation---especially in recitation discussion---can also improve your grade.

Academic Misconduct

You are strongly encouraged to discuss the course material with your peers--philosophical conversation is one of the best ways to get better at doing philosophy. But your papers must be your own work, and all sources must be cited. I will report offenders to the committee on academic misconduct. Academic misconduct can take on many forms: if you are confused, or need more guidance on this issue, ask. If you have not already, take a look at http://oaa.osu.edu/coam/faq

Disabilities

If you need (or may need) an accommodation based on the impact of a disability, you should contact me now to discuss your needs. I will work with the Office for Disability Services to coordinate reasonable accommodations for any student with a documented disability. Office for Disability Services, 150 Pomerene Hall, 292-3307.

Email

Email is the best way to reach me. However, I am not always online. Please allow me 48 hours to respond. If I have not responded in 48 hours please email me again, letting me know it is your second email (I won't take this as harassment). Always include "Philosophy 301" or "Phil301" in the subject line of your email.

GEC Categories

This course has been approved to fulfill both the Arts & Humanities Literature requirement and the the Arts & Humanities Diversity (International--Western) requirement. The expected learning outcomes associated with these requirements are reproduced below. This course aims to achieve these outcomes through intensive reading and analysis of the classic Ancient Greek Philosophical texts that form the backbone of western culture.

  • Arts and Humanities

    1. Students develop abilities to be informed observers of, or active participants in, the visual, spatial, performing, spoken, or literary arts.
    2. Students develop an understanding of the foundations of human beliefs, the nature of reality, and the norms that guide human behavior.
    3. Students examine and interpret how the human condition and human values are explored through works of art and humanistic writings.

    • Literature

      1. Students learn to analyze, appreciate, and interpret significant literary works.
      2. Through reading, discussing, and writing about literature, students learn to understand and evaluate the personal and social values of their own and other cultures.

    • Diversity

      1. Students exhibit an understanding of some combination of political, economic, cultural, physical, social, and philosophical differences in or among the world's nations, peoples and cultures outside the US.
      2. Students are able to describe, analyze and critically evaluate the roles of categories such as race, gender, class, ethnicity, national origin and religion as they relate to international/global institutions, issues, cultures and citizenship.
      3. Students recognize the role of national and international diversity in shaping their own attitudes and values as global citizens.

Reading List

We will work through the following texts in the following order.

Presocratic Philosophy

All readings in this section from Philosophy Before Socrates.

  • Background: chs 1,2
  • The Milesians, chs 3-8
  • Heraclitus, ch 10
  • The Eleatics:
    • ch 11: Parmenides
    • ch 12: Zeno
    • ch 15: Melissus
  • The Pluralists: chs 13,14
  • The Atomists: ch 16

Socrates and Plato

All readings in this section from Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy

  • Euthyphro
  • Apology
  • Phaedo
  • Timaeus, selections

Aristotle

All readings in this section from Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy

  • Categories, selections
  • Physics, selections
  • On Generation and Corruption, selections
  • Metaphysics, selections
  • De Anima, selections