Greek Sources of Western Thought (AP9720P)

Content

Western philosophy, as it provides context for later theological developments, has its roots in the Greece of the sixth through fourth centuries BCE, becoming most definitively cast in the work of Plato and his successor Aristotle. These two thinkers tower over fourth-century BCE Athens. In tandem or in tension, they shape the schools which will later in significant part interact with Christian theology at the points of its origin and development. This unit offers the student an opportunity to research, reflect, discuss and present at postgraduate level on the ways in which Plato and Aristotle give shape to the pre-Socratic philosophers upon whom they build, but also to our own thought, and to the art of reasoning itself.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

A previous unit of philosophy at any level

Pedagogy

Lectures and Tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

• Ackrill, A. Aristotle the Philosopher. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.
• Barnes, Jonathon, ed. The Complete Works of Aristotle. 2 Vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.
• Barnes, Jonathon. Early Greek Philosophy . Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1987.
• Biffle, Christopher. A Guided Tour of Five Works by Plato. 3rd ed. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Co., 2001.
• Herman, Arthur. The Cave and the Light: Plato versus Aristotle and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization. Trade Paperback Edition. NewYork: Random House, 2014.
• Kraut, Richard, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Plato. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
• Melchert, Norman. The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy. 4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001. (recommended for purchase)
• McKirahan, Richard D. Philosophy Before Socrates: An Introduction with Texts and Commentary. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co., 1994.
• Plato. The Collected Dialogues of Plato, including the Letters. Ed. Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns. Bollingen Series 71. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1961.
• Ring, Merrill. Beginning with the Pre-Socratics. 2nd ed. Mountain View: Mayfield, 2000.
• Taylor, A. E. Plato: The Man and His Work. Dover Books on Western Philosophy. New York: Dover Books, 2011. (recommended for purchase)
• Taylor, C.C.W., R.M. Hare and Jonathon Barnes. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. Past Masters. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Assessment