Unit information: Ancient Philosophy in 2014/15

Unit name	Ancient Philosophy
Unit code	PHIL30092
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Pearson
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Philosophy
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This course will consider aspects of Aristotle’s philosophy of mind and metaphysics. We will attempt to gain a detailed understanding of Aristotle’s views, assess their coherence, and relate some of them to current views.

The relation of Aristotle's philosophy of mind (as found especially in his De anima) to contemporary work in the philosophy of mind is highly controversial. Hilary Putnam thought that Aristotle was the first to develop a version of Putnam's own hugely influential approach to the philosophy of mind; namely, functionalism. Others have contested this.

Either way, Aristotle's 'hylomorphic' account of the soul warrants careful consideration since he too developed his theory in response to prevailing materialist and dualist views. We will also take seriously the idea that Aristotle's view might genuinely be of its own kind, and not ultimately reducible to any current position.

Aristotle also provides individual accounts of perception, imagination (phantasia), memory, thought, and the role of desire in locomotion. And we will look at his views on these topics as well.

Aristotle's metaphysics is found in a number of his works. He provides discussions of e.g. fatalism, being, essence, truth, form, matter, nature, causation, time, and chance. We will examine his views on some of these topics.

Aims:

(1) To provide detailed examination of certain topics in Aristotle's philosophy of mind and metaphysics.

(2) To encourage the students' ability to engage critically with Aristotle's views on these matters.

(3) To encourage the students' ability to engage critically with various secondary literature on Aristotle's views.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On completion of this course, students should:

• have a thorough knowledge of selected texts of Aristotle

• be familiar with some key secondary literature on these texts, and be able to engage critically with it

• be able to engage critically with the positions and arguments in these texts

• be in a position to relate some of the ideas in these texts to modern philosophical debates where appropriate

Teaching Information

10 x 1 hour lecture plus 10 x 1 hour seminar

Assessment Information

Summative: one 3-hour written exam

Reading and References

• Ackrill J., A New Aristotle Reader, Clarendon Press, Oxford (first edition 1987, on any later reprint).

• M. Nussbaum and A.Rorty, Essays on Aristotle's De Anima, Clarendon, orig. 1992, but the 1997 paperback reprint contains an additional article by Burnyeat.

• G., Anagnostopoulos, A Companion to Aristotle, Blackwell, 2009