Dr. Michael Coulter
PHIL 334: Plato and Aristotle
Spring 2007
HAL 317 MWF 3pm
Office: HAL 300E, Social Science Suite
Office Phone: x3796 Campus Box #3073
Home Phone: 724-458-4448 E-mail: mlcoulter@gcc.edu
Office Hours
MWF 8-9 am,10 – 11:30 am; 1-2 pm; TR 1:30-2:30 pm; 3:45-5 pm; Also by appointment
Course Description:
"A survey of Western Philosophy from the early Greeks through Aristotle. Specialized attention will be given
to the philosophies of Aristotle and Plato. Primary sources are used." (from the 2006—2007 catalog)
Texts:
1. Aristotle: Selections translated by T. Irwin and G. Fine (Hackett Publishing; ISBN 0-915145-67-7)
2. Philosophy and the Ancient World by James Arieti (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; ISBN 0742533298)
3. Plato: Complete Dialogues, edited by John Coopter (Hackett Publishing; ISBN 0-87220-349-2)
Course Goals:
1) To examine the rise of philosophy and the work of the pre-Socratic philosophers
2) To examine important Platonic dialogues and consider key ideas in those works
3) To examine important texts in the corpus of Aristotle
4) To be introduced to the secondary literature on Plato and Aristotle
Course Outcomes:
Students will demonstrate:
1) knowledge of key ideas of Plato and Aristotle (Department Objective 2, 6)
 Assessed by Means of Mid-Term and Final Exams
2) the ability to write a thoughtful philosophical essay examining Plato and Aristotle while making use of
secondary literature (Dept. Objective 4, 6, 8)
 Assessed by Means of Paper Assignments (one on Plato and another on Aristotle)
3) the ability to evaluate the ideas of Plato and Aristotle from the perspective of traditional Christian doctrine
(Dept. Objective 1)
Department of Philosophy Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
Demonstrate the ability to understand and evaluate philosophical questions from a Christian theistic framework. This will
require the student to see the relationship between faith and learning and how such a perspective applies to the critical and
analytical questions posed by humans in the great search for wisdom.
Demonstrate ability to read, comprehend, and evaluate the thought of great philosophers of the past and present in terms of
the presuppositions and historical contexts of their claims about the philosophical task as well as the implications of such
thought in terms of ethical and social practice. This will require observation of and interaction with primary source texts that
approach the great questions and concerns that philosophers have been asking for many millennia.
Demonstrate ability to comprehend the major issues in philosophy from the aforementioned Christian theistic perspective as
well as the ability to interact with the concerns and perspectives of other philosophies, religions, and worldviews in order to
develop the skills necessary to think through what one believes and why. This will require the development of skills
necessary to evaluate an argument or a belief critically in terms of strengths and weaknesses.
Demonstrate basic and maturing research skills. This will include the ability to state theses, show those theses through
analysis of primary texts, discuss the possible weaknesses of one’s own analysis, and test those theses against the best
scholarship.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Articulate a worldview that integrates knowledge of philosophy with other disciplines in order to see the consequences of a
consistent Christian theistic worldview. Students will recognize the tensions in this integration process rather than accepting
simplistic answers and thus will be helped to grow into mature and thoughtful persons.
Demonstrate basic research and writing skills. This ability will be assessed through the evaluation of the assigned paper,
both in draft and completed versions.
Demonstrate basic knowledge of philosophical concepts.
Demonstrate ability to research, write, and speak in the content area of Philosophy.
Be competitive and prepared for graduate school and seminary opportunities, as assessed by placement data and alumni
surveys.
Course Requirements:
1. Read all assignments before they are discussed in class so that you can actively and intelligently participate
in classroom discussion. This will be conducted as a seminar; thus it is expected that you will participate.
Participation will count as 10% of your final grade.
2. Mid Term and Final Exam. These exams will be primarily essay. (50% total; 25% each)
3. For this course you will write a 10 page essay on something related to Plato. You must submit a written
proposal of your topic by March 6. A penultimate draft of your paper is due before you leave for Easter Recess.
YOU SHOULD TREAT THIS DUE DATE AS THE DUE DATE FOR YOUR FINAL PAPER. If this due is
not taken seriously, i.e., no draft is submitted or only a partial draft is submitted, then 20 points will be taken off
the final grade of your paper. The final draft of your paper is due on or before April 13. Your paper should
focus on a text or texts that we have read this semester. This is worth 25% of your final grade.
4. Aristotle Paper – due Study Day - on a theme or idea in Aristotle – 5-6 pages – (10 percent of your final
grade)
5. Discussion of Journal articles/chapters from books. (5%) Twice during the semester you are expected to find
a journal article of at least 10 pages or a chapter in a book that relates to a reading we are examining in class.
You are to type a summary of no less than one-half page and no more than an entire page (single-spaced) and
attach it to a copy of the article/chapter and submit it to the instructor one day before that class meets.
In summary:
Participation
Mid Term
Final
Essays
Articles
Total
10%
25%
25%
35%
5%
100%
Class Policies:
1. Attendance: Standard college policy allows three hours of unexcused absences for a three credit course. N.B.: Each unexcused
absence over three reduces your final grade by 2%.
2. Late assignments: Papers are due at the beginning of class on the assigned due date. Papers not in when class are already one day
late. Each additional day lowers the grade by 3%.
3. Students who must miss an exam for an excused absence must arrange with me an alternative date.
4. Plagiarism and Academic Integrity: You must acknowledge your sources in endnotes or footnotes. This includes not only direct
quotations but also any reference to or paraphrase of an idea that you did not come up with on your own. Anyone caught giving or
receiving assistance on any class assignment shall be penalized and shall be reported to the Student Affairs Office for referral to the
Discipline Committee of the College. Please read the "Honesty in Learning" statement on page 45 of the 2004-2005 GCC catalog.
GCC Statement on Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a serious violation of moral and academic principles. It involves claiming as one’s own original work the ideas, phrasing,
or creative work of another person. As such, plagiarism is a direct violation of the biblical commandments against stealing, bearing false
witness, and covetousness; thus, the Grove City College policy. We encourage our students to think seriously about the demands of their
Christian faith in regards to this issue.
We remind students that plagiarism includes the following:
1) any direct quotation of another’s words, from simple phrasing to longer passages, without using quotation marks and
properly citing the source of those words;
2) any summary or paraphrase of another’s ideas without properly citing the source of those ideas;
3) any information that is not common knowledge —including facts, statistics, graphics, drawings—without proper citation of
sources;
4) any cutting and pasting of verbal or graphic materials from another source—including books, databases, web sites, journals,
5)
6)
7)
newspapers, etc.—without the proper citation for each of the sources of those materials; this includes any copyrighted
artwork, graphics, or photography downloaded from the Internet without proper citation;
any wholesale “borrowing,” theft, or purchasing of another’s work and presenting it as one’s own, whether from the Internet
or from another source;
any presentation of “ghost-written” papers—whether paid for or not—as one’s own original work;
making one’s work available for copying by others, as well as copying work posted on the Internet or otherwise made
available by another.
N.B.: This syllabus, including the schedule that follows, may be changed during the semester at the discretion of the instructor to
better meet the needs of this course.
Grading Scale: A= 93 - 100%
B- = 80 - 82%
D+ = 67 - 69%
A- = 90 - 92%
C+ = 77 - 79%
D = 63 - 66%
B+ = 87 - 89% B = 83 - 86%
C = 73 - 76%
C- = 70 - 72
D- = 60 - 62%
F= 60 and below
SCHEDULE FOR THE SEMESTER
January 22 – Introduction to the Course
January 24 – Presocratic Philosophy - Arieti, Chapter 1
January 26 – Presocratic Philosophy – Arieti, Chapters 2, 3 and 4
January 29 – Presocratic Philosophy – Arieti, Chapters 5, 6 and 7
January 31 – Presocratic Philosophy – Arieti, Chapters 8 and 9
February 2 – Plato: Euthyphro
February 5 – Plato: Apology
February 7 – Plato: Crito
February 9 – Plato’s Phaedo (57a-82a)
February 12 – Plato’s Phaedo (82a – end)
February 14 – Plato’s Symposium
February 16 – Plato’s Symposium
February 19 – Plato’s Symposium
February 21 – Plato’s Phaedrus
February 23 – Plato’s Phaedrus
February 26 – Plato’s Phaedrus
February 28 – Plato’s Republic – Book V
Spring Recess – 3/1-3/4
March 5 – Book V, cont.
March 7 – Book VI
March 9 – Book VI, cont.
March 12 – Book VII
March 14 – Book VII, cont.
March 16 – Mid-Term Exam
March 19 – Plato’s Gorgias
March 21 – Plato’s Gorgias
March 23 – Plato’s Gorgias
March 26 – Plato’s Meno
March 28 – Meno, cont.
Note: Readings from Aristotle are from Aristotle, Selections, unless otherwise noted.
March 30 – Aristotle on Logic (1-22)
Penultimate Draft of Plato Paper Due
Easter Recess – 3/31-4/9
April 11 – cont. (23-48)
April 13 – (105-126)
April 16 - (126-145)
April 18 – (169-193)
April 20 – (194-205)
April 23 - (206-217)
April 25 - Aristotle's Metaphysics (221-241)
April 27 - (241-262)
April 30 - (262-284)
May 2 - (284-304)
May 4 - (304-323)
May 7 – Aristotle’s Rhetoric (517-542)
May 9 - Poetics (543-557)
Study Day – Thursday, May 10
Final Exam – Wednesday, May 16 at 9 AM