Ancient philosophy

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

This course will acquaint the student with some of the ancient Greek contributions to the Western philosophical and scientific tradition. We will examine a broad range of central philosophical themes concerning: nature, law, justice, knowledge, virtue, happiness, and death. There will be a strong emphasis on analyses of arguments found in the texts.

Weekly reading assignments will range from about 30-100 pages per week. It is essential that students read these assignments in preparation for class meetings. Attendance in class is required. A significant portion of the final grade will depend on active class participation.

There will be three 5-7 page papers due during the term. Paper topics will be distributed in advance. Papers must be on one of the listed topics unless an alternative topic is approved.

Students must participate in a "text analysis presentation" [TAP] twice during the term. In a TAP, pairs of students are assigned a paragraph of text and are responsible for presenting an interpretation of the passage to the class, together with several follow-up discussion questions. Normally TAPs will occur on Wednesdays, though Mondays may be added to accommodate everyone. Sign-up for TAPs will begin during the first class.

There is no final exam for this course.

The student's final grade will be based on written work, class participation, and improvement over the term. Each essay will count approximately 25% of the final grade; the remaining 25% will depend on TAP presentations and class participation. Late papers will be graded down unless an extension is granted in advance of the due date (except, of course, in case of medical emergency).

Don't show me this again

This is one of over 2,200 courses on OCW. Find materials for this course in the pages linked along the left.

MIT OpenCourseWare is a free & open publication of material from thousands of MIT courses, covering the entire MIT curriculum.

No enrollment or registration. Freely browse and use OCW materials at your own pace. There's no signup, and no start or end dates.

Knowledge is your reward. Use OCW to guide your own life-long learning, or to teach others. We don't offer credit or certification for using OCW.

Made for sharing. Download files for later. Send to friends and colleagues. Modify, remix, and reuse (just remember to cite OCW as the source.)

Learn more at Get Started with MIT OpenCourseWare