Content

This unit is an introduction to Greek philosophical thought. The Greek tradition is the foundation of all other Western philosophy and its history has profoundly influenced Christian thought and practice. Authors and schools of thought to be studied include Greek Tragedy, selected Pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Stoics and the Neo-Platonists. Students will be introduced to the historical period and its varied sources and to topics such as nature, myth, tragedy, being, life and death, soul, freedom, immortality, the state, art and God.

Unit code: AP8100C

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Philosophy

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Situate and comprehend the topics studied within the wider framework of the western intellectual tradition

2.

Identify and describe the purpose, context and intention of selected philosophical texts, and rigorously assess their implications

3.

Situate and comprehend the topics studied within the wider framework of the western intellectual tradition

4.

Illustrate the significance of the topics studied for related areas in philosophical enquiry and offer critical evaluation of their relevance to the philosophical tradition

5.

Develop a topic of research in a critically rigorous, sustained and self-directed manner

Pedagogy

Lectures and in class exercises

Indicative Bibliography

  • Aristotle. The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation. 2 vols. Edited by Jonathan Barnes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.
  • Blackson, Thomas A. Ancient Greek Philosophy: from the Pre-Socratics to the Hellenistic Philosophers. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
  • Plato. The Collected Dialogues of Plato Including the Letters. Edited by Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963.
  • Meyer, Susan. Ancient Ethics: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge, 2008.
  • Nussbaum, Martha. The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994.
  • Pakaluk, Michael. Aristotle’s ‘Nichomachean Ethics’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
  • Plotinus. The Enneads. Translated by Stephan MacKenna. Burdett, N.Y.: Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation and Larson Publications, 1992.
  • Sharples, R. W. Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics: An Introduction to Hellenistic Philosophy. Oxford: Routledge, 1996.
  • Sophocles. The Theban plays: King Oedipus, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone. Translated by E.F. Watling. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1947.
  • Vernant, Jean-Pierre. The Origins of Greek Thought. New York: Cornell University Press, 1984.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Option 1: 6,000 word essay 100% Week 16 OR Option 2: 4,000 word essay 60% Essay: one of weeks 12–16, as set at semester start by lecturer and published in unit outline; 2-hour examination 40% Exam: week 16 OR Option 3: 4,000 word essay 60% For each essay: one of weeks 8–16, as set at semester start by lecturer and published in unit outline. 2,000 word essay 40%

0 100.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 1 Nov, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2022-04-15 08:22:28 +1000