Ancient Philosophy - PHI00098M
- Department: Philosophy
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: M
- Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
Module summary
In this module, we shall focus on a work by an ancient philosopher—for instance, one by Plato or Aristotle—in English translation and aim to provide a close reading of it to discern its argument and structure.
Module will run
Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Semester 2 2023-24 |
Module aims
Content
- To understand the claims and arguments made by the author in the work (or, in the case of a Platonic dialogues, to understand those Plato has his characters put forward and their dialectical structure).
- To deepen the students’ understanding of how to interpret a philosophical text, both paying attention to the details of that text but making appeal to philosophical virtues in choosing between different possible interpretations of it.
- To deepen the students’ appreciation of the historical tradition of whatever area of philosophy the text is concerned with.
Skills
- To develop students’ ability to provide convincing and justified readings of philosophical texts
- To expand students’ knowledge of the history of the subject
- To develop students’ skills in writing
- To develop students’ philosophical skills in seeing how they are involved in making sense of philosophical texts.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of this module students should be able to:
- Develop and defend interpretations of ancient philosophical texts.
- Critically engage with secondary literature concerning ancient philosophy.
- Evaluate the philosophical claims made by ancient philosophers, and defend informed opinions about which, if any, ancient philosophical theses should still be accepted today.
- Identify the appropriate ways to approach an ancient text, depending on its form (e.g. dialogue).
Indicative assessment
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
All feedback will be returned in line with current University and Departmental policy.
Indicative reading
To be confirmed.