Ancient Greek Philosophy
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| PHIL2052 | Philosophy | 2 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- PHIL2052
- School
- Philosophy
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
This module explores some of the major thinkers, texts and themes of Ancient Greek philosophy. Ancient Greek philosophy stands at the beginning of the western philosophical tradition and western philosophy has been shaped by a sustained engagement with Ancient Greek thought in areas of philosophy, such as epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and political theory.
Topics and thinkers may include: Presocratic Philosophy; Heraclitus; Parmenides; the Sophistic movement; Plato and Platonism; Socrates and the Socratic Schools (Cynics, Cyrenaics and Megarics); Aristotle (ethics, political theory, natural philosophy, metaphysics); Epicurus and Epicureanism; Stoicism; Academic and Pyrrhonian Scepticism; Plotinus and Neoplatonism; Pythagoreansim.
No knowledge of the Ancient Greek language is required.
Target Students
Second year single honours and joint honours Philosophy students and exchange students. Also available to second year Liberal Arts students who have either done PHIL1012 or PHIL1013; or are doing PHIL1012 or PHIL1013 (co-requisite). Also available to single honours Philosophy and joint honours Music and Philosophy students in their final year taking 20 credits of Level 2 modules.
Co-requisites
Modules you must take in the same academic year, or have taken in a previous year, to enrol in this module:
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 10 weeks
- One 2-hour lecture each week for 10 weeks
Other Activity Information 34 hours total: 30 hours lectures and seminars, (plus activities scheduled for Directed Studies week, not tied to this module)
Assessment
- 50% Coursework: 2000 word essay
- 50% Exam (2-hour): Exam of 1.5 hours
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
This module aims to give students an understanding of some of the themes and developments of Ancient Greek Philosophy. By the end of the module, students will be able to understand how Ancient Greek philosophy developed, and explain how it relates to debates later in the Western tradition, contemporary analytic philosophy and other philosophical traditions.Learning Outcomes
A. Knowledge and Understanding. By the end of this module you should be able to understand, and demonstrate a clear grasp of, the main positions in the philosophical debates covered by the module.
B. Intellectual skills. By the end of this module you should be able to: B1. Identify the underlying issues in the debates discussed.
C. Practical Skills. By the end of this module you should be able to C1. Identify textually-based arguments and subject their structure and implications to rigorous assessment.
D. Transferable skills. By the end of this module you should be able to D1. Express views on (abstract) issues clearly and concisely in writing.
D2. Participate effectively and appropriately in constructive debate on relevant issues.
D3. Work autonomously and manage one’s own work to time limits.
D4. Marshal a complex body of information, construct cogent arguments in the evaluation of this material, and present a clear and well-structured assessment of relevant considerations.
D5. Think creatively, self-critically and independently about new and unfamiliar problems.
D6. Explain ideas and terms from other cultures in a clear, concise, and philosophically precise manner.
D7. Information Literacy: the ability to independently find and evaluate sources of information.
B2. Analyse the structure of complex and controversial problems, with an understanding of major strategies of reasoning designed to solve such problems.
B3. Read carefully and interpret texts drawn from a variety of traditions, with sensitivity to context.
B4. Abstract, analyse and construct logical arguments, employing techniques of formal and informal methods of reasoning as appropriate, together with an ability to recognise any relevant fallacies.
B5. Recognise and judge for yourself the strengths and weaknesses of arguments on both sides of each philosophical issue.
B6. Appreciate and articulate how cultural context shapes philosophical thought and practice.
B7. Understand how translation of terminology can affect philosophical understanding.
C2. Understand any relevant specialist philosophical terminology and be able to use it properly.
C3. Review unfamiliar ideas with an open mind and a willingness to change one’s mind when appropriate.
C4. Locate ideas and concerns within their historical and cultural context and explain this to others.