PHIL 10 - History of Ancient Philosophy

Transfer Status

CSU/UC

Unit(s)

3.00

• Lecture: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)
• Total: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)

Course Description: This course addresses ancient philosophy with emphasis on the development of Greek philosophy from the Pre-Socratics through Aristotle and may also include Hellenistic, Roman, medieval or non-western thinkers. (C-ID PHIL 130).

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Employ critical philosophical skills.
2. Explicate philosophical texts of the ancient past.
3. Analyze primary theories and standpoints with special emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.
4. Critically analyze and evaluate arguments, assumptions, principles, and methods of the philosophers under consideration.

Topic Titles / Suggested Time Topic

Lecture

1. Discussion
2. Homework: Students are required to complete two hours of outside-of-class homework for each hour of lecture
3. Lecture
4. Multimedia Presentations
5. Problem-Solving Sessions
6. Reading Assignments
7. This course is part of the Transfer Model Curriculum for Philosophy.

1. Exams/Tests
2. Quizzes
3. Homework
4. Journal
5. Written Assignments
6. Short papers

Reading Assignments

1. Read Plato's Apology and chart the progress of the trial and its conclusion. Be prepared to discuss the evidence against Socrates and evaluate its weight.
2. Read Sextus Empiricus' account of skepticism, sketch out the argument in your own words, and be prepared to discuss his argument that "suspension of judgement" leads to "tranquility."

Writing Assignments

1. In a 750-word essay, define Aristotle's four causes and provide an example from (a) the natural world and (b) from human invention. Are all of the four causes needed to fully understand each of the examples? Explain and justify your answer.
2. In a 500-word essay, compare the reasons given for Parmenides' claim that change is unreal with Heraclitus' claim that all is change. What is one philosophical implication if Parmenides is correct? What is one philosophical implication if Heraclitus is correct?

Out-of-Class Assignments

1. Using Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics as guidance, choose a habit to eliminate or acquire in order to proceed toward virtue or "the golden mean." Keep a daily journal for two weeks, then write a 500-word summary essay on the experience.
2. Get together with a willing friend, take on the role of Socrates, and spend 30 minutes discussing the nature of happiness. Then, as carefully as possible, reconstruct the conversation in about 750 words in the form of a Platonic dialogue.

Baird, F. (2019). Philosophic Classics: Ancient Philosophy, Volume I. Routledge, 7th. 9781138235014.

Other Learning Materials

OER: Ancient Philosophy Reader 2018 (https://www.oercommons.org/courses/ancient-philosophy-reader-2018)

Original OER source materials, including the dialogues of Plato, works of Aristotle, etc.

Philosophy (Masters Required)