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 pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Stoics, and Epicureans. Students will be introduced to the historical period, and to topics such as nature, being, life and death, soul, freedom, immortality, the state, art, and God.

Prerequisites

none

Requirements

3 hours per week

Assessment

Bibliography

• Ackrill, John L. Aristotle the Philosopher. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.
• Annas, Julia. The Morality of Happiness. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
• Barnes, Jonathan, ed. The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
• Hamilton, Edith, and Huntington Cairns, eds. Plato: The Collected Dialogues of Plato including the Letters. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1961.
• Irwin, Terence. Aristotle’s First Principles. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
• ———. Classical Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
• Kenny, Anthony. A Brief History of Western Philosophy. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1998.
• Meyer, Susan. Ancient Ethics: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge, 2008.
• Nussbaum, Martha C. 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.
• Prior, William J. Virtue and Knowledge: An Introduction to Greek Ethics. London: Routledge, 1991.