Παρουσίαση/Προβολή

(PHS591) -  Georgia Sermamoglou-Soulmaidi

Περιγραφή Μαθήματος

General Description:

This seminar introduces students to Plato’s ethics, focusing on questions of virtue, pleasure, love, and their relationship to the good and happy life.

 

We will spend Weeks 1-3 studying a number of dialogues that articulate Socrates’ conception of eudaimonia. In Weeks 4-6, we will consider the nature of virtue. By the end of the first half of the semester, we will be in a position to evaluate Plato’s views on the relationship between virtue and eudaimonia.

 

In the second half of the semester (Weeks 7-12), we will turn to Plato’s mature works. We will spend two weeks on the late books of the Republic, in which many of the questions of the first half of the semester will be considered afresh. Finally, we will conclude the semester with a detailed study of Plato’s Phaedrus, exploring the role of love in the good life.

 

Course Requirements:

 

Students are expected to read the following dialogues in their entirety in advance of the corresponding class session. While the focus of each session will be more limited (and the main discussion topic is indicated below), familiarity with the dialogue as a whole will be expected.

 

Course requirements also include the following:

 

1. Two-page outlines of the basic structure of each dialogue will be due every week, in advance of each class session.
2. A 5-page midterm paper is due by the end of Week 6.
3. A 15-page final paper is due by the end of the semester.
4. Optional Extra Credit is available for students wishing to give oral reports on secondary literature. You may choose from the additional readings indicated in the weekly schedule below.
   
   

 

Weekly Schedule:

 

WEEK 1: Apology

This work is useful as a general introduction to Plato’s ethics. We will explore Socrates’ conception of the good and happy life, his views on the fear of death, and the role of the divine.

 

WEEK 2: Gorgias

This dialogue begins as an inquiry into the nature and power of rhetoric, but soon shifts into a discussion of the role of justice and temperance in the good life, as well as the techne that produces them. We will focus on the final part of the work, including the myth with which the dialogue is concluded.

 

*Additional Reading :
Annas, J. (1982) “Plato’s Myths of Judgement,” Phronesis 27: 119-143.

 

WEEK 3: Euthydemus

The Euthydemus is a discussion between Socrates and two brothers, Euthydemus and Dionysodorus, who practice a very aggressive type of sophistry called eristic. Our discussion will focus primarily on Socrates’ two protreptic speeches to philosophy, which constitute an important argument on the nature of, and preconditions for, the good life.

 

WEEK 4: Laches

In this dialogue, Socrates and his interlocutors, Laches and Nicias, explore the nature of courage and its relationship with the other virtues. We will examine closely the final argument, and the implications of Nicias’ view that courage is a form of knowledge, i.e. knowledge of all good and evil.

 

*Additional Reading:

Sermamoglou-Soulmaidi, G. (2022) “The Nature of Courage in Plato’s Laches,” Apeiron 56: 187-210.

 

WEEK 5: Protagoras

Is knowledge of the good sufficient to ensure action in accordance with it? Put another way: if I know what benefits me, will I consistently act on my knowledge? The Protagoras introduces the thorny topic of akrasia, or weakness of will, which will be the focus of our discussion in this session.

 

WEEK 6: Hippias Minor

We will discuss Socrates’ seemingly paradoxical view that an agent committing injustice voluntarily is better than one who does so involuntarily, and we will be concerned afresh with the question of the kind of knowledge required for virtuous action.

 

Midterm Paper due: max. 5 pages

 

 

WEEKS 7-8: Republic 8 & 9

Our study of Republic 8 and 9 will involve a similar set of questions as in the first half of the semester. We will be interested in determining whether Plato’s middle-period views appear consistent with those of his early period or whether they show signs of intellectual development.

 

*Additional Reading (for Week 8):
Erginel, M. M. (2011) “Inconsistency and Ambiguity in Republic IX,” The Classical Quarterly, New Series 61: 493-520.

 

WEEKS 9-12: Phaedrus

We will spend the final month of the semester on Plato’s Phaedrus – a puzzling but fascinating dialogue on love, logos, and the relationship between the two.

 

*Additional Reading (for Week 11):
Heath, M. (1989) “The Unity of Plato’s Phaedrus,” Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 7: 150-173.

 

 

Final Paper due: max. 15 pages

Ημερομηνία δημιουργίας

Τετάρτη 6 Σεπτεμβρίου 2023