Ancient and Medieval Western Philosophy (PHIL 316)
Reading and Essay Schedule
Required Texts
• Cohen, Curd, and Reeve, eds., Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Thales to Aristotle, 4th ed. (Hackett, 2011). [ISBN: 978-1-60384-462-8] (NB: Earlier editions are OK, but the 4th edition has updated material on the Presocratics.)
• Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, Book One: God, transl. by Anton Pegis (Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 1975). [ISBN: 0-268-01678-X]
• Selections (available with the links below) from the works of Epicurus, Epictetus, Plotinus, Augustine, Anselm, Abelard, Ibn-Sina, Ibn-Rushd, William of Ockham, and Pico della Mirandola, as well as some current secondary literature.
Please print these out and bring to class!
Wed, Aug 28
Introduction to the class.
Presocratics and Plato
Fri, Aug 30
The Milesians.
Reading: AGP (selections from/about the Milesians)[text]; Patricia Curd, “Presocratic Philosophy” (SEP) [text].
Essay: What is plausible, and what is implausible, about Thales’ claim that “all is water”?
Additional Material
Text: Greek Glossary [text].
Mon, Sep 2
Heraclitus and Xenophanes
Reading: AGP (selections from Heraclitus and Xenophanes)[text #1] [text #2].
Essay: Describe and discuss Heraclitus’s account of the logos.
Additional Material
Text: Daniel Graham, “Heraclitus” (SEP) [web].
Text: James Lesher, “Xenophanes” (SEP) [web].
Podcast: Melvyn Bragg (host), “Heraclitus” In Our Times (BBC), with Angie Hobbs (Associate Professor of Philosophy and Senior Fellow in the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Warwick), Peter Adamson (Professor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at King's College London), James Warren (Senior Lecturer in Classics and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge). [web].
Wed, Sep 4
(Camp Mack Day)
Fri, Sep 6
Pythagoras
Reading: AGP (selections from the Pythagoreans, including Philolaus)[text]; Carl Huffman, “Pythagoras” (SEP) [web].
Essay: What might the Pythagoreans mean by “the limited” (peras) and “the unlimited” (apeiron)?
Discussion Forum #1: “Reality” (post due tonight at midnight; responses due Monday, Sep 9) [assignment][rubric]
Additional Material
Text: Carl Huffman, “Philolaus” (SEP) [web].
Text: Carl Huffman, “Archytas” (SEP) [web].
Podcast: Melvyn Bragg (host), “Pythagoras” In Our Times (BBC), with Serafina Cuomo (Reader in Roman History at Birkbeck College, University of London), John O'Connor (Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Saint Andrews), Ian Stewart (Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick). [web].
Mon, Sep 9
Parmenides
Reading: AGP (selections from Parmenides)[text].
Essay: What does Parmenides mean by the "way of seeming" and the "way of truth"? Describe each of these.
Discussion Forum #1 comments (due tonight at midnight) [rubric]
Additional Material
Text: John Palmer, “Parmenides” (SEP) [web].
Audio: Raymond Tallis on Parmenides (Philosophy Bites) (15m 14s) [audio].
Wed, Sep 11
Zeno of Elea
Reading: AGP (selections from Zeno)[text].
Essay: Choose one of Zeno of Elea’s paradoxes of motion, and describe and criticize it as carefully as the time and space permits.
Additional Material
Text: John Palmer, “Zeno of Elea” (SEP) [web].
Fri, Sep 13
The Pluralists and Atomists
Reading: AGP (selections from Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Leucippus, and Democritus)[text #1][text #2].
Essay: Briefly describe the difference between the pluralists and the atomists.
Additional Material
Text: Patricia Curd, “Anaxagoras” (SEP) [web].
Text: Richard Parry, “Empedocles” (SEP) [web].
Text: Sylvia Berryman, “Leucippus” (SEP) [web].
Text: Sylvia Berryman, “Democritus” (SEP) [web].
Mon, Sep 16
Plato’s Apology
Reading: AGP (editor introduction + Apology, 17a-42a).
Essay: Describe Socrates’s account of the proper role of the philosopher.
Additional Material
Text: Debra Nails, “Socrates” (SEP) [web].
Text: “Plato: Stephanus Pagination” [wikipedia].
Text: I. F. Stone on the execution of Socrates (a journalistic scoop) [text].
Text: Doug Linder, “The Trial of Socrates” (2002) [web].
Text: Enid Bloch, “Hemlock Poisoning and the Death of Socrates: Did Plato Tell the Truth?” [text].
Website: The Last Days of Socrates (Clark University): Plato’s dialogues with images and many helps for the beginning student. [web]
Podcast: Melvyn Bragg (host), “Socrates” In Our Times (BBC), with Angie Hobbs (Associate Professor of Philosophy at Warwick University), David Sedley (Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Cambridge University), Paul Millett (Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Cambridge). [web].
Wed, Sep 18
Plato’s Euthyphro
Reading: AGP (Euthyphro, 2a-16a)
Essay: Compare Socrates and Euthyphro regarding their knowledge claims about the gods.
Additional Material
Videos: Myles Burnyeat on Plato (interviewed by Brian Magee [1987]) [Part One (9m 23s)] [Part Two (10m 12s)] [Part Three (9m 24s)] [Part Four (10m 44s)] [Part Five (3m 47s)].
Website: The Last Days of Socrates (Clark University): Plato’s dialogues with images and many helps for the beginning student. [web]
Fri, Sep 20
Plato’s Meno
Reading: AGP (Meno, 70a-86c).
Essay: What is Plato trying to demonstrate with his middle passage in the Meno about the geometric figure.
Mon, Sep 23
Plato’s Meno
Reading: AGP (Meno, 86c-100b).
Essay: How does Socrates distinguish knowledge from true belief? Does his explanation make sense to you?
Wed, Sep 25
Plato’s Gorgias
Reading: AGP (Gorgias, 462a-481b).
Essay: “Both orators and tyrants have the least power in their cities": What does Socrates mean by this? Do you agree with him? Or Polus? Or some third position?
Additional Material
Text: Rachel Barney, “Callicles and Thrasymachus” (SEP) [web].
Fri, Sep 27
Plato’s Republic, Bk. 1
Reading: AGP (Republic, Bk. 1).
Essay: Briefly paraphrase Thrasymachus’s definitions of justice, and the problem Socrates found with each of these.
Discussion Forum #2: “Knowledge and Belief” (post due tonight at midnight; responses due Monday, Sep 30) [assignment][rubric]
Additional Material
Text: Rachel Barney, “Callicles and Thrasymachus” (SEP) [web].
Mon, Sep 30
Plato’s Republic, Bk. 2
Reading: AGP (Republic, 357a-362c, 368c-376e)
Essay: What is the point of Glaucon’s story at the beginning of Bk. 2? How would you respond to Glaucon?
Discussion Forum #2 comments (due tonight at midnight) [rubric]
Wed, Oct 2
Plato’s Republic, Bks. 3-4
Reading: AGP (Republic, 412b-417b, 427d-445e).
Essay: Why does Plato/Socrates discuss an “ideal city”? Do you agree with his strategy?
Fri, Oct 4
Plato’s Republic, Bk. 5
Reading: AGP (Republic), 473a-480a
Essay: “If philosophers love knowledge, then they must love all of it.” What is Plato getting at here, and do you agree with him?
Mon, Oct 7 — Fall Break
Wed, Oct 9
Plato’s Republic, Bk. 6
Reading: AGP (Republic, Bk. 6).
Essay: Explain what Plato means with his “Allegory of the Cave.” Of what is it an allegory?
Additional Material
Text: “Platonic Solids” [wikipedia].
Audio: Simon Blackburn on Plato's Cave (Philosophy Bites) (13m 42s) [audio].
Fri, Oct 11
Plato’s Republic, Bk. 7
Reading: AGP (Republic, Bk. 7).
Essay:
Mon, Oct 14
First Exam [study guide]
Aristotle and the Hellenists
Wed, Oct 16
Aristotle: On Things and Words
Reading: AGP (Categories, chs. 1-5; On Interpretation, chs. 1-4, 7, 9); Christopher Shields, “Aristotle” (SEP) [web].
Essay: Explain as carefully as you can what Aristotle means by ‘substance’, as well as the significance of his ten categories.
Additional Material
Text: “Corpus Aristotelicum” [wikipedia].
Text: Paul Studtmann, “Aristotle’s Categories” (SEP) [web].
Videos: Martha Nussbaum on Aristotle (interviewed by Brian Magee [1987]) — [Part One (9m 21s)] [Part Two (8m 40s)] [Part Three (8m 8s)] [Part Four (9m 42s)].
Videos: Mark Steel on Aristotle — [Part One (9m 51s)] [Part Two (9m 54s)] [Part Three (9m 20s)].
Fri, Oct 18
Aristotle: On Argumentation
Reading: AGP (Topics, Bk. 1, chs. 1-2, 5; Posterior Analytics, Bk. 1, chs. 1, 3; Bk. 2, ch. 19).
Essay: What is the role of self-evident truths when constructing a demonstration? What self-evident truths does Aristotle recognize?
Additional Material
Text: Aristotle on Science [pdf].
Mon, Oct 21
Aristotle: On Natural Objects
Reading: AGP (Physics, Bk. 1, chs. 1, 5-9; Bk. 2, chs. 1-3, 7-8; Bk. 3, ch. 1).
Essay: What does Aristotle mean by ‘cause’? What kinds of causes does he recognize?
Wed, Oct 23
Aristotle: On Change
Reading: AGP (Generation and Corruption, Bk. 1, chs. 1, 3-4; Bk. 2, chs. 3-5).
Essay: When a stone is warmed by the sun, or a human being grows, or a fox eats a rabbit, a kind of change is occurring; how does Aristotle understand these changes?
Fri, Oct 25
Aristotle: On the Nature of Reality
Reading: AGP (Metaphysics, Bk. 1; Bk. 4, ch. 1).
Essay: Describe and briefly assess Aristotle’s criticisms of Plato’s forms.
Additional Material
Text: Aristotle on the Heavens [pdf].
Mon, Oct 28
Aristotle: On Living Things
Reading: AGP (On the Soul, Bk. 2; Bk. 3, chs. 4, 5, 10).
Essay: Briefly describe what Aristotle means by 'soul', and then describe in your own words his distinction between perception and intellect (Bk. 3, ch. 4), and between passive and active reason (Bk. 3, ch. 5).
Discussion Forum #3: “Plato and Aristotle” (post due tonight at midnight; responses due Monday, Oct 28) [assignment][rubric]
Wed, Oct 30
Aristotle: On the Good
Reading: AGP (Nicomachean Ethics, Bk. 1).
Essay: What does Aristotle think is the function of human beings, and what is his support for this? Explain how he fits this talk of human function into his moral theory.
Discussion Forum #3 comments (due tonight at midnight) [rubric]
Additional Material
Text: Naragon, “Aristotelian Ethics” (from A Book is a Machine) [text] [slides]
Text: Richard Kraut, “Aristotle’s Ethics” (SEP) [web].
Audio: Myles Burnyeat on Aristotle on Happiness (Philosophy Bites)(12m 15s) [audio].
Audio: Terence Irwin on Aristotle’s Ethics (Philosophy Bites)(17m 28s) [audio].
Audio: Roger Crisp on Aristotle’s Ethics (Interviews with Philosophers)(20m 15s) [audio].
Fri, Nov 1
Aristotle: On Human Flourishing
Reading: AGP (Nicomachean Ethics, Bks. 2-3).
Essay: How do we become virtuous, according to Aristotle? How does he account for moral growth? (A complete answer will require material from both Bks. 2 and 3.)
Mon, Nov 4
Epicureanism
Reading: Epicurus, “Letter to Herodotus” [text] and “Letter to Menoeceus” [text].
Essay: Write on either of the following:
(1) In a few paragraphs, describe Epicurus’s atomism (as presented in his “Letter to Herodotus”), with a focus on his account of perception, and compare it with the modern understanding of perception; or,
(2) In a brief paragraph, describe Epicurus’s argument discounting the importance of death (as described in his “Letter to Menoeceus”), and then in the remainder of the essay, evaluate this argument.
Additional Material
Text: Epicurus, “Principle Doctrines” [text].
Text: Tim O’Keefe, “Epicurus” (IEP) [web].
Text: David Konstans, “Epicurus” (SEP) [web].
Podcast: Melvyn Bragg (host), “Epicureanism” In Our Times (BBC), with Angie Hobbs (Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield), David Sedley (Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge), James Warren (Reader in Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge). [web].
Wed, Nov 6
Stoicism
Reading: Epictetus, Handbook [text].
Essay: Briefly describe how Epictetus believes we ought to live (be sure to cite his Handbook, using section #s).
Additional Material
Text: Dirk Baltzly, “Stoicism” (SEP) [web]
Text: Margaret Graver, “Epictetus” (SEP) [web]
Text: Philip Hallie, “Stoicism” (Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Paul Edwards, 8:19-22)
Podcast: Melvyn Bragg (host), “Stoicism” In Our Times (BBC), with Angie Hobbs (Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Warwick), Jonathan Rée (philosopher and historian), David Sedley (Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy, University of Cambridge). [web].
Fri, Nov 8
"...and never cease chiseling your statue..."
Neo-Platonism — On the Real and Beauty
Reading: Gerson, “Plotinus” (SEP) [text]; Plotinus, “On Beauty” (a selection from the Enneads) [text].
Essay: In your own words, describe the ascent to beauty that Plotinus develops in this passage. This ascent is just one example of what more general ascent?
Additional Material
Text: Plotinus Handout [pdf].
Audio: Peter Adamson, “Plotinus on Evil” (Philosophy Bites) (14m 52s) [audio].
Podcast: Melvyn Bragg (host), “Neoplatonism” In Our Times (BBC), with Angie Hobbs (Associate Professor of Philosophy and Senior Fellow in the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Warwick), Peter Adamson (Professor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at King's College London), Anne Sheppard (Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London). [web].
Mon, Nov 11 - Wed, Nov 13
No Class
The Middle Ages
Fri, Nov 15
Ibn-Sina (Avicenna): On the Soul
Reading: Ibn-Sina, Concerning the Soul (selection) [text].
Reading: Alfred Ivry, “Arabic and Islamic Psychology and Philosophy of Mind” (SEP) [text].
Essay: Compare Ibn-Sina’s account of perception with that of Aristotle and Epicurus.
Additional Material
Text: “Transmission of Greek Thought to the West” [pdf].
Text: Dimitri Gutas, “Ibn Sina [Avicenna]” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [pdf].
Text: Sajjad H. Rizvi, “Avicenna (ibn-Sina)” (IEP) [web].
Text: Dag Nikolaus Hasse, “Influence of Arabic and Islamic Philosophy on the Latin West” (SEP) [web].
Audio: Peter Adamson, “Avicenna” (Philosophy Bites) (13m 4s) [audio].
Podcast: Melvyn Bragg (host), “The Translation Movement” In Our Times (BBC), with Peter Adamson (Reader in Philosophy at King’s College London), Amira Bennison (Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge), Peter Pormann (Wellcome Trust Assistant Professor in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick). [web].
Podcast: Melvyn Bragg (host), “Avicenna” In Our Times (BBC), with Peter Adamson (Reader in Philosophy at King's College London), Amira Bennison (Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge), Nader El-Bizri (Affiliated Lecturer in the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge). [web].
Mon, Nov 18
Ibn-Rushd (Averroes): On Reading Scripture
Reading: Ibn-Rushd, The Decisive Treatise, determining the nature of the connection between religion and philosophy [text].
Essay: In your own words, describe and evaluate ibn-Rushd’s view of the proper relationship between demonstrative (i.e., scientific) truth and revealed truth (such as the various claims found in scripture).
Additional Material
Text: H. Chad Hillier, “Ibn-Rushd” (IEP) [web].
Podcast: Melvyn Bragg (host), “Averroes” In Our Times (BBC), with Amira Bennison (Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge), Peter Adamson (Reader in Philosophy at King's College London), Sir Anthony Kenny (philosopher and former Master of Balliol College, Oxford). [web].
Wed, Nov 20
Anselm: On God’s Existence
Reading: Anselm, Proslogion (selection) [text].
Essay: Describe and evaluate Anselm’s proof for God’s existence. The passage you read is normally understood to contain two different proofs or God’s existence; how do these two proofs differ?
Additional Material
Ppt: Anselm's arguments [pdf]
Text: Thomas Williams, “Anselm” (SEP) [web].
Podcast: Melvyn Bragg (host), “The Ontological Argument” In Our Times (BBC), with John Haldane (Professor of Philosophy at the University of St Andrews), Peter Millican (Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford), Clare Carlisle (Lecturer in Philosophy of Religion at King's College London). [web].
Fri, Nov 22
Peter Abelard: On Universals
Reading: Peter Abelard, On Universals (selection) [text].
Essay: What is a universal, and why is there a problem with universals? What kind of thing does Abelard think a universal is, and how does his view of universals compare with the views of Plato and Aristotle?
Discussion Forum #4: “Philosophy and Theism” (post due tonight at midnight; responses due Monday, Nov 25) [assignment][rubric]
Additional Material
Diagram: The Problem of Universals [text].
Text: Peter King, “Peter Abelard” (SEP) [pdf].
Mon, Nov 25
Aquinas: Faith and Reason
Reading: Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, Bk. I, chs. 1-9.
Essay: What does Aquinas mean by “Truths of Reason” and “Truths of Faith”? Briefly evaluate how he justifies each of these kinds of truth.
Discussion Forum #4 comments (due tonight at midnight) [rubric]
Additional Material
Text: McInerny and O'Callaghan, “Thomas Aquinas” (SEP) [web].
Podcast: Melvyn Bragg (host), “Aquinas” In Our Times (BBC), with Martin Palmer (Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture), John Haldane (Professor of Philosophy at the University of St Andrews), Annabel Brett (Lecturer in History at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge). [web].
— Thanksgiving —
Mon, Dec 2
Aquinas: On Proving God’s Existence
Reading: Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, Bk. I, chs. 10-13.
Essay: Describe and evaluate Aquinas’s argument for God’s existence as presented in his Summa Contra Gentiles, Bk. I, ch. 13, §§3-16.
Additional Material
Text: Aquinas’s “Five Ways” (a brief selection from his Summa Theologia) [text].
Video: Three Minute Philosophy (Aquinas) [video].
Wed, Dec 4
William of Ockham: On Divine Will
Reading: R. J. Snell, “Overcoming Omnipotence” [text].
Essay: In your own words, explain how Ockham’s emphasis on divine omnipotence causes problems for human knowledge, and for science in particular. How might this problem be best resolved?
Fri, Dec 6
Pico della Mirandola: On Human Beings
Reading: “Giovanni Pico della Mirandola,” in the Catholic Encyclopedia [web]; Pico, “Oration on Man” (selection) [text].
Essay: In what, according to Pico, lies the greatness of human beings? Do you agree?
Additional Material
Text: Walter Pater, “Pico della Mirandola” (1871) [text].
Tue, Dec 10, 3:30-5:20 p.m.
Second Exam [study guide]
Manchester University // Registrar // Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies // Last updated: 5 Nov 2019