Unit name | Philosophical Texts: Plato |
---|---|
Unit code | PHIL10024 |
Credit points | 10 |
Level of study | C/4 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Pearson |
Open unit status | Open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Philosophy |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The course will consider some early/early middle period dialogues of Plato, in particular, Apology, Crito, Euthyphro, Meno, and (parts of) the Phaedo. These are classic philosophical texts in which we discover Plato’s Socrates, and witness him attempt to defend himself in court from the charges of impiety and corrupting the young, see him (having been convicted to death) in jail defending the idea that he shouldn’t escape, witness him as a philosophical 'gadfly' probing those who claim to know the most important things, and ultimately drink the hemlock and die.
Philosophical themes covered include: the nature of virtue and happiness, the nature of justice and the state, what piety is, the relation between virtue and knowledge and whether virtue can be taught, and the doctrine that learning is recollection. We will examine the texts carefully and assess the philosophical merits of the arguments that are there developed and advanced.
Aims:
Students taking this unit will:
x10 weekly lectures, student participation to be encouraged.
Summative: one two-hour examination answering two questions. (No coursework)
Required:
Additional: