Content

What has Jerusalem to do with Athens? This unit introduces the student to ancient philosophy from the Pre-Socratics through the Platonic and Stoic traditions. It explores the interaction between philosophy and ancient Christian thought through themes such as the nature of God, the soul, the good life, truth, and metaphysics. Students will be introduced to the nature of philosophical inquiry, to key ancient philosophical and theological texts, and to the ways in which the development of Christian beliefs emerged from complex ways of engaging philosophical reflection.

Unit code: CT9100A

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Systematic Theology

Delivery Mode: Blended

Proposing College: St Athanasius College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Demonstrate a critical understanding of Greek and Latin philosophical traditions.

2.

Evaluate and communicate the influence and engagement of ancient Christian theology with philosophy.

3.

Demonstrate advanced analysis of how philosophical approaches are a tool for theological thinking.

4.

Convey philosophically sharpened skills in reasoning

5.

Demonstrate a capacity to research a specific topic in a critically rigorous, sustained and self-directed manner

Unit sequence

1x AP or CT unit

Pedagogy

Mixed/blended: Lectures & tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

Adamson, Peter. Classical Philosophy. A history of philosophy without any gaps, volume 1. Oxford University Press, 2014. Annas, J. The Morality of Happiness. Oxford University Press, 1993. Annas, J. Plato: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2003. Barnes, Jonathan (ed). The Complete Works of Aristotle, Volumes 1 & 2. Princeton University Press, 1984. Cooper, John M (ed). Plato: Complete Works. Hackett, 1997. Davison, Andrew. The Love of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy for Theologians. SCM Press, 2013. DeWeese, GJ. Doing Philosophy as a Christian. IVP Academic, 2011. Hard, Robin (trans). Epictetus. Discourses, Fragments, Handbook. Oxford University Press, 2014. Hill, J. The History of Christian Thought. Lion, 2003. Ierodiakonou, Katerina (ed.). Byzantine Philosophy and its Ancient Sources. Clarendon Press, 2002.
Karamanolis, George. The Philosophy of Early Christianity. Acumen Press, 2013. Long, A. A. Hellenistic Philosophy: Stoics, Epicureans, Skeptics. 2nd edition, Duckworth, 1986. Murray, Michael and Rea, Michael, “Philosophy and Christian Theology”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2015 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2015/entries/christiantheology-philosophy/. Reeve, CDC & Miller, Patrick Lee. Introductory Readings in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy. Hackett, 2006. Shields, C. Aristotle. Routledge, 2007. Stumpf, SE & Fieser, J. Socrates to Sartre: A History of Philosophy. 7th edition. McGraw-Hill, 2003. Tatakis, B.N. Christian Philosophy in the Patristic and Byzantine Tradition. Orthodox Research Institute, 2007. Vasiliou, I. Aiming at Virtue in Plato. Cambridge University Press, 2008. Vlastos, Gregory. Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher. Cornell University Press, 1991. Waterfield, Robin (trans). The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and Sophists. Oxford University Press, 2000.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay 1500 35.0
Essay 3000 65.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Maggie Kappelhoff on 5 Oct, 2020

Unit record last updated: 2023-09-06 13:46:15 +1000