MODULE OUTLINE
Modern Liberal Arts
University of Winchester
Semester 1 2015
LA 1002 First Principles
Friday 9:00-11:00 MB2
Rebekah Howes
Module Learning Outcomes
a) Demonstrate engagement with texts and ideas relevant to the notion of first
principles.
b) Demonstrate reflection on experiences and the wider contexts in which they take
place
c) Communicate experiences of texts and ideas as appropriate
d) Show knowledge and understanding of specialist terminology
e) Demonstrate requisite research skills in gathering, summarizing and presenting
evidence including proficiency in referencing and academic conventions
Introduction
This module looks at the first principle of harmony in ancient and medieval liberal arts as it
was seen to condition and structure the ethical and metaphysical properties of the universe.
We will think about this idea of harmony, explored in various ways across modules in year
one, in relation to music, astronomy, maths, rhetoric and philosophy as well in the related
areas of theology and politics. We will see why music was deemed so dangerous in Plato’s
Republic and Laws, why it was so fundamentally related to maths in the teachings of
Pythagoras and the influence of these ideas on Plato in his Timeaus, the central text upon
which discussions of creation focused up until the Renaissance. We will discuss whether we
can hold to such principles of harmony today in our social, political and religious experience
of disharmony. Discussions will form part of an introduction to the Quadrivium and Trivium
subjects of Liberal Arts upon which we can begin to think the nature of a modern liberal arts
education.
Week 1 We are all connected
Week 2 The Sound of Music (1)
Reading
Plato, (1997) Republic in Plato Complete Works, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company
Plato (1997) The Laws in Plato Complete Works, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company
Aristotle, Politics, in (1984) The Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume Two, Book VIII chapters
5-7 New Jersey, Princeton University Press
Wider reading
Augustine (2005) Confessions, London: Penguin Classics Book X
Boethius (1989) Fundamentals of Music, London: Yale University Press
Augustine, St Augustine De Musica, London: The orthological Institute pp 107-20, 122-4
Pelosi, F. (2010) Plato on Music, Soul and Body, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Jaeger, W. (1986) Paideia, The Ideals of Greek Culture, Volume II, Oxford: Oxford University
Press pp211-230
Lippman, E. (1992) A History of Western Musical Aesthetics, Nebraska, University of
Nebraska Press,
Luchte, J. (2011) Pythagoras and the Doctrine of Transmigration: Wandering Souls, London:
Continuum
McClain, E.G. (1990) Myth of Invariance: The Origin of the Gods, Mathematics and Music
from the Rig Veda to Plato, MA: Hays (Nicolas) Ltd
McClain, E.G. (1990) Pythagorean Plato: Prelude to the Song Itself, MA: Hays (Nicolas) Ltd
Week 3 The Sound of Music (2)
Reading
Bloom, A. (1987) The Closing of the American Mind, New York, Simon and Shuster
Paperbackspp68-88
Nietzsche, F. (2000) The Birth of Tragedy, New York, Oxford University Press, pp19-25, 86 –
90
Wider Reading
Barenboim, D. (2009) Everything is Connected, London, Phoenix
Bowie, A. (2007) Music, Philosophy, and Modernity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Came, D. (2014) Nietzsche on Art and Life, Oxford: Oxfrod Uni Press
Liebert, G. (2004) Nietzsche and Music, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Nietzsche, F. (2007) Twilight of the Idols, Hertfordshire, Wordsworth Editions Limited, pp5354
Week 4 Plato’s Timeaus (1)
Reading
Brisson, L &Meyerstein, F.W. (1995) Inventing the Universe, Albany: State University of New
York Press
Guthrie, W.K.C. (1978) A History of Greek Philosophy V. The Later Plato and the Academy,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Lindberg, D.C. (2007) The Beginnings of Western Science, Chicago: University of Chicago
Press
Lippman, E. (1992) A History of Western Musical Aesthetics Nebraska: University Press
Plato, (2008) Timeaus and Critias, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Wider reading
Broadie, S. (2014) Nature and Divinity in Plato's Timaeus, Cambridge: Cambridge Uni Press
Diop, C. A. (1991) Civilization or Barbarism, New York: Lawrence Hill
Godwin, J. (1993) The Harmony of the Spheres, Rochester, Inner Traditions International, pp.
60-63
Mohr, R.D. (2006) God and Forms in Plato: And Other Essays in Plato's Metaphysics, Nevada:
Parmenides
Oliver, S. (2013) Philosophy, God and Motion, London: Routledge
Sattler, B.M. (2010) One book, the whole universe: Plato's Timaeus today, Nevad,
Parmenides Press
Sorabji, R. (1983) Time, Creation and the Continuum. Theories in Antiquity and the Early
Middle Ages, Chicago: Chicago University Press
Wright, M.R. (1995) Cosmology in Antiquity, New York: Routledge, pp. 3-6, 56-7.
Week 5 Timeaus (2)
Week 6 ‘All things known have number'
Reading
Ferguson, K. (2008) Pythagoras, His Lives and the Legacy of the Universe, New York: Walker
Publishing Company, Inc.
Ficino, M (1996) Meditations on the Soul, Rochester: Inner Traditions International
Hegel, G.W.F. (2004) Hegel's Philosophy of History Oxford: Oxford University Press
Hegel, G.W.F. (1974) Hegel's Aesthetics Oxford: Clarendon Press
Wider reading
Fine, G. (1999) Plato 2: ethics, politics, religion and the soul, Oxford: Oxford Uni Press
Fauvel, J. Flood, R. and Wilson, R. (2003) Music and Mathematics, Oxford: Oxford University
Press
Heller-roazen, Daniel, (2011) The Fifth Hammer-Pythagoras and the Disharmony of the
world,Massachusetts: MIT Press
Joost-Gaugier, C.L. (2007) Measuring Heaven: Pythagoras and His Influence on Thought and
Art in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, New York: Cornell University Press
McClain, E.G. (1990) Myth of Invariance: The Origin of the Gods, Mathematics and Music
from the Rig Veda to Plato, MA: Hays (Nicolas) Ltd
McClain, E.G. (1990) Pythagorean Plato: Prelude to the Song Itself, MA: Hays (Nicolas) Ltd
Mohr, R.D. (2006) God and Forms in Plato: And Other Essays in Plato's Metaphysics, Nevada:
Parmenides
Weil, S. (1998) Intimations of Christianity Among the Greeks, London: Routledge, chapter XI
Week 7 Harmony of the Spheres
Reading
Macrobius (1952) Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, New York: Columbia University Press
Plato (1987) The Republic London: Penguin
Wider reading
Fine, G. (1999) Plato 2: ethics, politics, religion and the soul, Oxford: Oxford Uni Press
Jamie, J. (1994) The music of the spheres: music, science and the natural order of the
universe, London: Abacus
Godwin, J. (1999) The Harmony of the Spheres Rochester: Inner Traditions International
Macrobius (1952) Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, New York: Columbia University Press
pp69-75, pp189-200
Milton, J. (1998) John Milton: The Complete Works London: Penguin
Mohr, R.D. (2006) God and Forms in Plato: And Other Essays in Plato's Metaphysics, Nevada:
Parmenides
Shakespeare (1993) The Merchant of Venice, Oxford: University Press
Stephenson, B. (2014) The Music of the Heavens: Kepler's Harmonic Astronomy, Princeton
University Press
Vlastos, G. (2006) Plato’s Universe, Nevada: Parmenides Press
Week 8 Philosophy and the Fear of Death
Reading
Lucretius. 1975. On the Nature of Things. Translated by W.H.D Rouse. Harvard University
Press.
Wider Reading
Diogenes Laertius. 1925. Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Volume 2. Translated by R.D. Hicks.
Harvard University Press. Bk 10: Epicurus
Greenblatt, Stephen. 2012. The Swerve: How the World Became Modern. Vintage.
Jones, Howard. 1992. The Epicurean Tradition. Routledge.
Nussbaum, Martha. 2009. The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics.
Princeton University Press.
Pullman, Bernard. 1998. The Atom in the History of Human Thought. Oxford University
Press.
Santayana, George. 2013. Three Philosophical Poets: Lucretius, Dante, and Goethe.
HardPress Publishing.
Week 9 Gods, Atoms and the Swerve
Reading
Lucretius. 1975. On the Nature of Things. Translated by W.H.D Rouse. Harvard University
Press.
Week 10 Pleasure, Love and Tranquillity
Reading
Lucretius. 1975. On the Nature of Things. Translated by W.H.D Rouse. Harvard University
Press.
Week 11 Modern rhetoric
Reading
Jaeger, W. (1945) Paideia Volume 1, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Wider reading
Whittaker, A. Speeches That Shaped the Modern World
Assessment
Assessment 1: (50%)
1. Examine your own tastes in music with reference to Plato, Nietzsche and Bloom’
(1750-2000 words; deadline: Friday 16th October Week 4 given to Catherine in the Office by
3.30pm).
Assessment 2: (50%)
1. Describe the relation between maths and music in the idea of harmony in the
ancient world.
(1750-2000 words; deadline: Friday 11th December Week 12 given to Catherine in the Office
by 3.30pm).
Use Harvard Referencing
We attempt always to return work within 3 working weeks (15 days working days).
MODERN LIBERAL ARTS MARK SCHEME
We want you to be very clear about how we will mark your work and that means you must know with each
assessment what you are expected to do. We hope that this does not mean you will feel that you have to write
to a formula. We are trying to build in considerable freedom to your assessments; but as the term ‘liberal arts’
conveys, in every freedom there is a discipline, and in every discipline there is a freedom; together, we hope,
they constitute the struggle of learning.
There are (often but not always) two types of essays in MLA: the first assessment title in a module will most
often be set by the tutor and will be restricted to texts explored in the first weeks. The second assessment title
can be tutor-led, or chosen from a list of titles, or can be negotiated individually; this varies according to the
tutor and the module. This assignment can explore wider issues, employ wider reading, or explore a single
issue in depth. Students will bear some responsibility for the references consulted in the second essay,
increasing through years 1, 2 and 3.
Tutor-set assessments (disciplina)
Student/tutor-set assessments (libertas)
1st module essay
2nd module essay
Marks for
 depth of understanding specialist
terminology
 depth of understanding of set texts
 depth of understanding of ideas/concepts
 evidence by quotation
 answering the question
 correct referencing
 word limit
Marks for
 depth of understanding of texts
 depth of understanding and application of
ideas/concepts
 evidence-based critical arguments
 depth/breadth of reading (depending on
the question)
 answering your own question
 correct referencing
 word limit
Note the difference between essays 1 and 2: the first one is marked only on your understanding of texts; the
second one is marked on understanding, on your own reading, and your emerging critical voice. Be careful
here; being critical does not mean just giving your opinions. It means making a case based on evidence from
your reading, using ideas and concepts from texts. It does not mean you have to fight for one side of an
argument or another… ambivalence will be treated with great respect. But for every essay, remember this: if
we (and you) get the title right, then by answering the question you will be doing exactly what is required.
Over years 1, 2 and 3 the levels of your work are raised by using increasingly challenging texts, ideas, concepts
and writers, and by the way you are able to employ ideas, concepts and writers from other modules across the
degree in increasingly sophisticated ways.
For all essays, then
Depending on the question you will need to




Demonstrate reflection on module material and the wider contexts from across the degree which
might impact upon it
Communicate experiences of texts and ideas as appropriate
Show knowledge and understanding of specialist terminology
Demonstrate requisite research skills in gathering, summarizing and presenting evidence including
proficiency in referencing and academic conventions.
For essay 1
Depending on the question you will need to





Show careful reading of primary sources
Show a knowledge of theoretical perspectives and/or works
Show an understanding of abstract concepts and ideas within theoretical perspectives
Show an ability to work with theorists and their concepts in various forms of assessment as
appropriate
Show evidence of engagement with texts and ideas concerned with issues raised in the module.
For essay 2
Depending on the question you will need to




Show an ability to employ theorists critically in relation to issues
Show an ability to use concepts as critical tools in discussing issues and questions as appropriate
Show an ability to employ theoretical perspectives as critical tools
Therein, to develop a critical voice informed and deepened by appropriate use of theory as
critique.
 Sustain a critical relationship to ideas related to the module
It is often hard to explain in generic terms how any particular essay could have been improved. But, cautiously,
we can say the following:
In general,
a 3rd (40-49%) may have ignored the question, may have not given much evidence of reading, may have clumsy
sentence structure, but will still have made a bona fide attempt at the work.
a 2.2 (50-59%) will have provided evidence of reading, quotations where appropriate, clear sentence structure,
attended to the question or title, but not related the material in ways which synthesise more developed and
complex thinking.
a 2.1 (60-69%) will have evidence of reading through effective selection of quotation, being able to make
specific points, and to relate material together to make broader and/or deeper and more complex
observations. At the higher end, it may have been able to relate material from across modules, or across the
degree as a whole, to synthesise separate ideas and issues into more holistic comments, ideas and problems.
The questions addressed will be getting ever more difficult and important, including those that are asked
without being answered.
a 1st (70-100%) will make a little go a long way. Quotations may carry implications beyond their precise
content; sentences will be clear but able to refine complex ideas succinctly; most importantly, it will be able to
combine the microcosm of its subject matter with the macrocosm of its place in the wider context, and these
contexts will be drawn form the overall, experience of the degree, growing obviously from years 1 to 3. No
inaccuracies of grammar or sentence construction, and no referencing mistakes are expected here. The voice
of the essay will be in control of difficult material throughout. Above all the questions asked and addressed will
be compelling in their difficulty and import.
Module Evaluations (previous year)
The content of this module has not changed to any great extent from the previous year.
Attendance was good and students engaged really well with the content through
discussions and wider reading. The module was considered ‘challenging, rewarding, helpful’;
teaching ‘helpful’, ‘excellent’. The evaluations showed that students thought that resources
were good and diverse and that pastoral and academic care was also good. One commented
that ‘choice’ of essay for the second assignment was appreciated. It was also noted by one
student that it would be helpful to make a more explicit connection between the content
and aims of the module and another suggested that difficult concepts could be broken
down a bit more. There will be no significant changes to the content of the module but
these latter comments will be taken into consideration for next year.
Catalogue summary
This module explores the principal theme that has characterised ancient and medieval
Liberal Arts. The search for first principles – those principles which must be presupposed in
order to explain how anything exists at all – has been the holy grail of liberal arts. In this
module we will explore aspects of this search in all of the liberal arts; in literature,
philosophy, mathematics, geometry, astronomy and music, as well as in the related areas of
theology and politics. This will act as an introduction to work in these areas that will
followed up in future modules