Ancient Philosophy


Course Information:


Office Hours and Contact Information:

  • Office: Fischer Hall 4.05 
  • Office hours: W 14.00-16.00 and by appointment
  • e-mail: CJIShields@nd.edu 
  • N.b. I prefer e-mail to telephone as a manner of student contact.  I make an effort to answer student e-mails promptly, but please be aware that I measure promptness in this domain in days rather than hours or minutes. 



Prospectus

  • Socrates poses a series of deceptively simple questions: What is justice?  What is holiness? What is virtue?  Strikingly, he contends that he is unable to answer these questions himself—and seems adept at showing that those who think they know the answers in fact do not.  Using his elenchtic method (the ‘Socratic method’), he is able to reduce his interlocutors to  embarrassing perplexity and outright contradiction.  One question from Socrates, then: do you think you can answer such questions?  Plato and Aristotle, who followed in his wake in the rich philosophical milieu of ancient Athens, seem to think that they can develop the epistemological and metaphysical sophistication required to answer them satisfactorily.  So, a second question from Socrates: are they right?


Required Text

  • Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy: from Thales to Aristotle, edd. P. Curd et al., Fourth Edition (Hackett Pubs.: 2011)


Assignments 

  • In addition to regular reading, you have a total of four assignments: two short papers (1000-1200 words), and two examinations, only preliminary and one final. The first paper is due on 10 June and the second on 22 June. Papers are to be submitted before 17.00 (GMT) in electronic form to CJIShields@nd.edu, in either Word or Pages, or as a .pdf document.   The preliminary examination takes place on 26 May, and the final on 24 June.  


Reading Schedule

You will find that in order to master the material, you will need to read assignments several times before lecture and then also to revisit them afterwards.  Moreover, due to the extreme compression of the summer semester, you will need to adhere closely to this schedule. You are advised to read ahead, especially where longer assignments are concerned.  I’ve marked some especially long or demanding readings with a plus sign (+), so that you can plan accordingly.  


Lecture Presentations 




© Christopher Shields 2014