Classroom CM 222
Office: CM 374 Office Phone: 323-3356: Leave Message & Call-back Office Hours:
Wednesday 1:45 - 2:45 PM , Tuesday, 10:15-11:15 PM.and Friday 2:30 -3:30 PM. Virtual Office Hours by E-mail. Thelogos@aol.com
Summer Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 10:40-11:20 PM
General Syllabus For All Classes
Examination Schedule
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Course Purpose and Objectives:
Purpose: To aid the students in understanding and appreciating the importance of philosophy
for their education and their lives. We will study the life, times, and philosophy of Socrates whose philosophy
became the paradigm for Western philosophy.
Objectives: The student will learn how to interpret philosophical texts, how to recognize
philosophical arguments, how to understand philosophical theories and locate them in terms of a methodic approach
to philosophy, and will be able to evaluate intelligently
the significance of Socrates for the foundation of Western Philosophy and the importance of that foundation for
our way of life today
a)Brief Introduction to the themes of the course.
b) The Basic Anti-Philosophical Attitude in our Culture. Quest For Self Knowledge
(QSK) Introduction, Chapter 1 Insight, Chapter 2 Heuristic Structures,and Chapter 3 Common Sense , pp. 3-31-94
Those interested in the History of Science cf. Michael Fowler
UVa Physics Department: Galileo
& Einstein Lectures
The Elegant Universe: Nova Links: Brian Greene and String
Theory:
Notice in the Conversation with Brian Greene's how he fails to understand the difference between UNDERSTANDING
based on the unlimited questions that emerge from WONDER and the human brain on the analogy of the brain of any
other animal like the cat who will never understand physics! Hence the need for a good philosophy course. Cf. Lonergan on Things. Also on Mechanism.
(Week 1-2) (Summer Week 1)
The ARCHE: Henri Frankfort
Philosophy: The Greek Pursuit of Knowledge
Burnet On Early Greek Philosophy (1920): A
Classic Resource for Pre-Socratic Thought
Marc Cohen's Lecture Notes on Ancient
Philosophy
Cohen's Links
Aristotle On Self-Love
Socrates On Anaxagoras From Plato's Phaedo
Lonergan Web Site With Links to Others.
Unit II: Philosophy and Your Own Education To Freedom
a) The Philosophical Conversation that We Are and the Structure of Authentic Selfhood:
Dialectics and the Fundamental Attitudes of the Human Person.
b) Philosophical Analysis of Education
c) What is Dialectics? The Structure of Historic Truth in the Human Reality:
Position, Counter-Position, False Compromise, and Higher Viewpoint
Reading: Prof. E. J. Piscitelli; Foundations
of Philosophy
Lonergan's Brief Account of Method from Method In Theology Chapter I
(Week 3-4) (Summer Week 2)
Lonergan Glossary
Interesting Article by Robert Wright on Evolutionist
Versus Creationist Theories in Biology
Unit III: The Foundations of Philosophy in Dialectics
a) Openness To Understanding That Intends Meaning. Naivete / Skepticism, Security/Meaning,
and Intellectual/Aesthetic Conversion.
Do Humans have Instincts?
Lonergan On Philosophy As Self-Appropriation
Story of Golden Crown:
Reference To Archimedes
Drexel University Reference to
Archimedes
b) Openness To Knowing That intends the Truth, Dogmatism/Relativism, Certainty/Truth,
and Rhetorical/Philosophical Conversion.
Lonergan on Cognitional Structure
From Professor Piscitelli's Dissertation: An
Account of Insight as Metaphysics
Socrates as Midwife: From Plato's THEAETETUS
c) Hope For the Meaningful and True Human Good. Optimism/Pessimism, Success/Achievement,
and Moral Conversion.
Reading: Prof. E. J. Piscitelli, Foundations
of Philosophy
QSK Chapter 5, Self-Affirming Knower, Chapter 6, Metaphysics, Chapter 7, Ethics, pp.
120-230.
(Week 5-8) (Summer Week 3-4)
Eric Voegelin: On Reason The Classic Experience
Unit IV: Socrates: Does Philosophy Undermine the Polis?
a) Tribal Society and Civil Society: Historical Presuppositions. Was
Iphegenia sacrificed by Agamemnon? See Also: Mortal
Women of the Trojan War
Achilles----->Pericles
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Pericles Funeral Oration
Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War
The Difference Between Philosophy and Mythic Consciousness: What
Difference Did Philosophy Make?
Why Did Philosophy Begin With the Greeks?
Athenian Democracy: So you think We
live in a Democracy? Professor Kagan of Yale says think again!
b) The Historic place of Socrates in the Greek Tradition:
Homer, Homer
Web Page
The Cosmologists,
Presocratic Philosophers
TheTragedians:
Ian Johnston's Translations:
Aeschylus The Orestia:
Agamemnon
Libation Bearers
Eumenides
Martha Nussbaum On Ancient Ethics
and the Applications for today. ( Bill Moyers Interview in 1988) Streamimg Video
Sophocles
Oedipus Tyrannus
Antigone
Text of Oedipus Tyrannus: Perseus Project
Text of Antigone
General Introduction To Greek Philosophy
c) The Great Athenian Debate: Education The Traditionalists, The Sophists.
Text of Xenophon's Rememberances
of Socrates
Xenophon's Symposium
d) The Trial of Socrates for Treason: the Conscience of Philosophy.
Reading: The Clouds, Aristophanes;
Greek Comedy: British Classicists on Greek Comedy from
the BBC (about 42 minutes)
E-books Translation of The Clouds
Ian Johnson's Translation
of the Clouds of Aristophanes Excellent Translation
Ian Johnston's Interpretation of The Clouds
as Satire
Monarch Notes on the Clouds
e) The Apology & The Symposium of Plato
Reading, The Apology of Socrates, Plato
Extras:
1.
Listen to Nietzsche in The Twilight of the Idols rail against Socrates as the cause of the decline of Athens and
Western Civilization: Nietzche is arguing for Tribal life over Civil life which contradicts our argument
for Socrates! (Wait a few minutes for the file to load.)
2. Download
mp3 Reading of the Apology (One Hour & 15 minutes running time) LibraVox Public
Domain Recording Jowett Translation.
3. Apology At Clark University
Apology Text
Apology
At The Perseus Project (You can get the original Greek as well!)
MM MCCabe on Socratic
Method 13 minute discussion
Note: The Instructor does not necessarily agree with the selections but thinks it is
helpful in understanding Socrates to examine different interpretations even when they are flawed.
(Week 9-13) (Summer Week 5)
PBS Link: THE
GREEKS: Crucible of Civilization
Note: The presentations on this PBS Site often offer contraversial interpretations
of Greek History and Philosophy. The student should read this material critically in the light of other argued
out scholarly views.
Unit V: The Socratic Mission: Philosophy as a Political Act.
a) Politics and the Philosopher: Law versus Conscience.
Plato and Justice Essay by Christopher
Byrne
John B. Cobb on Socratic Existence as an Axial Development
b) The Existence of Transcendent Justice. Text
of the Euthyphro
Interpreting the Euthyphro
c) Socrates and Thoreau on Civil Disobedience
Reading: The Crito
Professor Smith Lectures at Yale On Political Philosophy
Text of the Crito
Was Socrates' Death an Easy Death and the Will of the
Gods?
From Plato To NATO: David Gress On the Grand Narrative and the Greeks and the "West".
Unit VI:
Plato's Socrates: Lover of Wisdom?
a) A Different View of Socrates: Xenophon.
b) Plato's Socrates in Symposium.
Read Plato's Symposium
Lecture on the Symposium
In
Praise of Love: A Conversation With Plato's Symposium
c) Plato's Socrates Socrates in The Republic
The Republic Books I-VII, Plato
1. Text of Republic
2. Text of Republic
3. Unbroken text of Republic
A Theory of the Republic
d). Reason: The Classic Experience
(Weeks 14-16) (Summer Week 6)
What is interesting about Kagan's lectures on Plato is his method of Dialoguing
with the Dialogue. That was what Plato wanted the reader to do. On that point BRAVO Professor Kagan. The lectures require a DSL or broadband connection.
1. Professor Shelly
Kagan's Lectures at Yale on Death and the Possibility of Life Beyond Death
2. Lecture of Professor Shelly Kagan (Yale) On His Criticism of Plato's Argument for the Immortality
of the Soul in Plato's Dialogue the Phaedo
3. Kagan's Next Lecture on the Phaedo
4. Kagan's Last Lecture on the Phaedo
Notice two points about Kagan's arguments:
1. He assumes only two alternative theories of the human mind:
a) Physicalist: Mind=Body
b) Dualist: Mind and Body are Two Different THINGS.
The fact is there is a third possibility: Aristotle's theory of Matter and Form which are
not two things but two principles of things.
2. His absolute presupposition to use Collingwood's language is Naive Realism. The real is
grasped by the senses, PERIOD. This puts him fundamenally at odds with Plato.
See the Schema of Things as Explanatory Notion
New Biology: Uniqueness
of the Human Brain
Texts:
"The Fundamental Attitudes of the Liberally Educated Person." Prof. E. J. Piscitelli Foundations
of Philosophy; Quest For Self-Knowledge, J. Flanagan; Four Texts
On Socrates West & West; In
Praise of Love: A Conversation With Plato's Symposium, Plato's Socrates,
Brickhouse & Smith; The Symposium and The Republic of Plato.
Semester Assignments
Fall Assignments
Spring Assignments
Summer Assignments
Order of Reading For the Course:
Reading Philosophical Texts
1. Quest For Self-Knowledge, J. Flanagan
2. "The Fundamental Attitudes of the Liberally Educated Person. "Prof. E.
Piscitelli Foundations of Philosophy
3. Four Texts On Socrates West & West:
The Clouds: Aristophanes
E-books Translation of The Clouds
The Euthyphro: Plato
Apology: Plato
Apology II: Another Translation of the
Apology with Introduction
Harvard Classics: Apology
Commentary on the Apology: Grube Translation
The Crito: Plato
4. Plato's Socrates, Brickhouse & Smith
5. The Symposium:
Professor's Translation
6. In
Praise of Love: A Conversation with Plato's Symposium At Amazon or
At
Barnes & Noble
7. The Republic
Evaluation: Class Attendance is very important. 4 absences (2 in the evening class)
can result in a lower grade or a F grade. Late Assignments and Term papers are graded down one letter grade. No
W-Grades will be allowed after the Withdrawal Without Penalty Period. (NOTE ALL OUT OF CLASS ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE
TYPED DOUBLE SPACED. NO UNTYPED OUT OF CLASS ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED AS FULFILLMENT OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS!)
Please Read The General Syllabus For All Classes For General Rules: Click HERE! for General
Syllabus
1. Two take home writing assignments. if late, they do not count!
= 10 % (5 % each) Must be typed.
Time to Write to Discover What You Think!
The Following is a List of Possible Assignments. Actual Assignments
Will Differ from Semester to Semester.
See Semester Assignments:
Click Here
Writing Assignment: Gorgias
Writing Assignment: Ortega y Gasset
Writing Assignment: Democracy In 20th Century
Writing Assignment: Nietzsche
Writing Assignment:Cognitional Structure
Writing Assignment: Berlin's Concept of Liberty
Writing Assignment: The Weakness of Classical Liberalism
Writing Assignment:Eros and The Sexual Revolution
Writing Assignment: Paradoxes of Peter Singer
Writing Assignment: Aristophanes's The Clouds
Writing Assignment: On The Seductions of Socrates: O'Connor
Writing Assignment: From Plato To NATO: David Gress On the Grand Narrative and the Greeks
and the "West".
Writing Assignment: Iris Murdoch On the Soverignty of the G(o)od!
Writing Assignment: The Classical View of War and 911
Honors Assignments
Honors Assignment: Rousseau
Honors Assignment: Rouseau and the French Revolution
Honors Assignment: Aristotle
Honors Assignment: Lonergan: "The Notion of Objectivity"
Honors Assignmet: Lonergan on "Metaphysics As Horizon"
Honors Assignment: Gould On the Contemporary Love-Myth
Honors Assignment: Lonergan On Mechanism
Honors Assignment: The Future of the West among Global Civilizations in the Twenty-First
Century David Gress
2. In class Quiz on the reading assignments from Quest For Self-Knowledge, J.
Flanagan
= 5%, Cannot be made up.
(Quiz # 3 Take Home Quiz on Quest For Self-Knowledge, J. Flanagan NOT FOR GRADE)
3. A
take-home examination on the Lectures on Dialectics
= 15 %. Must be Typed.
4. In class objective test on reading the Apology of Plato
= 20 %. This tests your memory of significant details of Plato's Apology. THERE
ARE NO MAKE-UP TESTS.
5.A take-home examination on In Praise of Love:
A Conversation With Plato's Symposium, E. Piscitelli
=15%
6. An Expository Essay (10-15 pages typed double-spaced) using at least 3 chapters
from the book, Plato's Socrates by Brickhouse and Smith.
The Socrates Essay From 3 chapters of Brickhouse & Smith = 35% of final grade.
Read Reviews of Book:
Click Here to Find Out How To Write An Expository Essay and How To Write a Philosphy
Paper
How to write an argumentative and
interpretive essay: Ian Johnson
6. Extra Credit for Perfect Attendance: 10 points will be added to your Apology
Test score if you have perfect attendance. Perfect attendance CANNOT be made up: if you miss or are late for one
class for any reason, you do not qualify. Please Note: Honors Students
CANNOT earn any extra credit.
7. NOTE Class Attendance is required.
The student will be downgraded 1% for every missed class and .5% for every late arrival in class (5 minute tolerance)
up to minus 25% of the grade.
Some Interesting Web Sites On Philosophy For the Beginning
Student.
The Book
Barnes & Noble Books On Line
Direct From The
Publisher
Amazon Only Used Copies