This module studies the origins and development of Greek and Roman philosophy from the earliest ‘pre-Socratic’ thinkers, in the 6^th century BCE, through to Roman thinkers of the first century CE. We cover the beginnings of Greek critical philosophical thinking, Socrates and Plato, Aristotle, and the great philosophical schools of the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

Throughout the module students will learn to read and critically engage with primary texts from this period, drawing on secondary scholarship to supplement their own interpretations. Areas explored will include (but are not limited to) metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, politics, and religion.

• demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of key themes in Ancient Philosophy.
• analyse and interpret ancient and modern sources, and communicate the resultant information in both written and oral form.
• participate actively and constructively in group discussion, both in person and online.
• Interpret ancient philosophical writings both critically and charitably.
• survey and analyse modern interpretations of ancient philosophical thinkers.
• demonstrate the ability to analyse concepts, evaluate arguments and justify interpretations and perspectives within ancient philosophy.
• independently evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of ancient contributions to philosophical thought.

Weekly lectures and seminars. Seminars will consist of group discussions led by the module leader, small group work, and oral presentations. Students are encouraged to prepare fully and contribute to seminars; developing your ideas and arguments in this forum can help to significantly improve the quality of your work.

Students will be expected to do one oral presentation during a seminar session.

The module will be taught using printed books, and a range of material available online, via Learning Central or from the library. Lecture slides will be available on Learning Central in advance of the lectures, and a list of additional reading will be supplied to supplement the core reading.

Images, diagrams, sound, video or other multimedia resources may all be used in this module.

Intellectual Skills:

• The ability to interpret texts and to understand texts in the context of a tradition of argumentation
• The ability to appraise and assess arguments
• The ability to reach conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of arguments and to justify these conclusions with sound reasoning and detailed interpretations of source material
• The ability to form a consistent position about questions raised in the module

Discipline Specific Skills:

• The ability to analyse and construct philosophical arguments
• The ability to interpret philosophical texts and to assess their historical and contemporary relevance
• The ability to deploy appropriate philosophical vocabulary
• The ability to use (and derive value from) pragmatist texts written since the late nineteenth century.

Transferable / Employability Skills:

It is worth bearing in mind that, even though the point of the module is to do philosophy, many of the skills you’ll be developing are also highly valued by graduate employers. These include:

• Critical Thinking: e.g. the ability to understand, structure and critically evaluate the key points and arguments made in written texts and discussions––achieved through e.g. reading, small group activities in lectures and seminars, plenary discussions in seminars, reflecting on lecture materials, essay and exam preparation and writing.
• Communication: the ability to formulate and articulate your critical thinking, both orally and on paper, in ways that others can grasp and engage with––achieved through e.g. small group work in seminars, seminar discussions, essay/exam writing.
• Organisation: the ability to organise and coordinate workloads––achieved through balancing e.g. reading, seminar preparation, essay/exam preparation.
• Working with others: e.g. co-constructing ideas, responding sensitively to others––achieved through e.g. small group work in seminars, group presentations.

The summative assessment for this module will take the form of one portfolio essay in combination with a take-home assessment. The two components of the assessment will carry equal weighting.

The portfolio essay will consist of one essay of a maximum of 2,000 words. This essay will be selected from the same list of titles as for the formative essays. The essay must be written especially for the portfolio, and must not be discussed with the module leader. It may, however, be based upon the formative essay, although the greater maximum length of essay indicates that a more thorough and detailed critical discussion of the chosen title is expected.

This module is assessed according to the Marking Criteria set out in the Philosophy Course Guide. There are no academic or competence standards which limit the availability of adjustments or alternative assessments for students with disabilities.

The following is indicative of the lecture topics to be addressed during the module:

1.  Pre-Socratic Thinkers

2. Socrates – the human turn in philosophy

3.  Plato – metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and politics

4.  Aristotle – metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and politics

5. Sophists and Sceptics

6.  Later Hellenistic philosophy, including Epicureanism and Stoicism.

7.  Roman interpretations of the Greek philosophical schools

Indicative Reading

Aristotle, The Politics, London: Penguin, 1992

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, London: Penguin, 2004

Guthrie, W. K. C., The Greek Philosophers, London: Methuen, 1972

Lucretius, On the Nature of the Universe, trans. R. Melville, Oxford: OUP, 1997

Plato, The Last Days of Socrates, London: Penguin, 2003)

Plato, The Republic, New York: Dover, 2000.

Seneca, Letters from a Stoic, London: Penguin, 2004

Waterfield, R., The First Philosophers, Oxford: OUP, 2000

Sedley, D. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Philosophy, Cambridge: CUP, 2003.

A full list of secondary reading will be made available to students at the beginning of the semester.