Description | Texts | Objectives | Classroom Method & Daily Expectations
Requirements and Grading | Reading Schedule |pdf version of syllabus
At about the same time that some other Greeks were inventing politics, written language, history, and money, Plato arguably invented philosophy, in part to help people figure out how to cope with these other new inventions. His student Aristotle transformed philosophy into a professional study with its own technical vocabulary. The rest of the Western philosophical tradition has, in many ways, responded to those innovations. Through an intensive reading of some works of Plato and Aristotle, we will hope to gain some familiarity with the beginnings of the Western philosophical tradition.
Our main objective will be to become conversant with the Socratic, Platonic
and Aristotelian ways of thinking that have shaped Western thought to the
present day. We will learn how to read Platonic Dialogues (although each text
has to be approached, to some degree, on its own term, as a unique work of art
and thought). Still, there are some constants: Socratic questioning and “care of
the soul,” a concern for the unity and coherence of the highest truths, irony as
a stimulus to self-examination; a value place on truth and what is essential
over mere appearances and opinions. For Aristotle, systematic thought and
clarity of vocabulary and method. For Plato and Socrates, concern not only for
truth, but also for beauty. We will also try to gain appreciation of the
enigmatic insights into perennial problems that are offered by the
Pre-Socratics, and creative appropriation of classical Greek philosophy of
Epictetus as a representative of the Pre-Socratics. We will also seek to gain an
appreciation of that peculiar and propitious culture that was ancient Greece, to
gain an appreciation of the context which gave birth to and nurtured these
unparalleled giants of human thought—these giants of human being. Our overall
goal will be double: 1) to help lay for ourselves a solid foundation for further
philosophical study, since Plato and Aristotle are essential for such a
foundation; 2) to grasp and to be inspired by the enduring insights that Plato
and Aristotle offer to thinkers of all times and places.
As in all my upper-level philosophy classes, we will practice the skill of what
the philosopher Nietzsche has called “slow reading”: “This art does not so
easily get anything done, it teaches to read well, that is to say, to read
slowly, deeply, looking cautiously before and aft, with reservations, with doors
left open, with delicate eyes and fingers...” (F. Nietzsche, Preface to
Daybreak). We will learn to read slowly, think carefully, and question deeply.
The above remarks on slow reading are apropos of the methods we will employ
in the classroom. Nietzsche is right on both counts: slow reading does not get
much done yet it teaches to read well. There is no formula or
clinical procedure for doing such close reading: one simply begins and works at
it. Such study requires a spirit of generosity, both towards the writer
and towards the reader—one has to assume that the thinker saw deeply into a
problem and tried to illuminate it, and one has to assume that this insight is
accessible to the reader with an active and open mind, even if the reader also
glimpses new problems and pursues new solutions.
Plato and Aristotle are each difficult writers, and their difficulties are
different.: Plato is sometimes deceptively simple on the surface, but the
dialogue form means that one has to ask always, what is really going on below
the surface? What does Plato think about the opinions being expressed, both by
Socrates and by his “interlocutors.” On top of this, one has constantly to
resist the temptation to simplify “what Plato thinks” to a set of formulas, as
if the dialogues are some kind of clever technique to simultaneously encode and
disguise some set of static truths, At the same time, though interpretation is
both necessary and problematic, the notion that “everything is open to
interpretation and thus depends on opinion” is the most unSocratic, unPlatonic
conclusion one could entertain. Aristotle, by contrast, tempts one to despair by
both the systematic, encyclopedic methodology he employs and the enigmatic,
sometimes impenetrably elliptical nature of his writing. Thus both thinkers
require the reader to exercise vigilance and motivate him or herself to connect
with the problems under discussion—otherwise the writings can remain abstract
and alien. I will expect to find evidence of your engagement with the problems
broached by the texts in our class work and discussion.
I will also expect you to be able to communicate by e-mail and by keeping
abreast of the web schedule, as I will send out various clarifications, study
questions, exam reviews, etc., this way. The schedule of readings and daily
assignments will be kept on the web, linked from our class “jump page”:
Assignment Schedule
The section on daily expectations outlines one part of the requirements. I should add that one is expected to demonstrate the required preparation by active participation in class. The attendance policy is strict: I allow no freebies, will begin to harass you after the second unexcused absence, will drop your participation grade to a “D” at the 3rd, and remove you from the class roster at the 4th. Absences may be excused if you contact me ahead of time, but only for illness or family emergencies. Doctor’s appointments are unexcused unless for emergencies. All absences, whether excused or not, should be communicated to me ASAP, ideally before the absence; failure to communicate makes the absence count double. Missing an exam results in an automatic grade of F/zero.
Grading will be based as follows. You must pass each of the graded parts to pass the course.
NB: We may revisit this plan once we can assess our progress and ability to stay on course.