School of Arts
& Humanities
Department of Philosophy
5AANB002 Greek Philosophy II:Aristotle
Syllabus – Academic year 2011/2
Basic information
Credits: 15
Module Tutor: Joachim Aufderheide
Office: room 706, Philosophy Building
Consultation time: Wednesday 1.30-2pm
Semester:2
Lecture time and venue*: Tuesdays, 10 am; Strand Building, GFSB2
*Please note that tutorial times and venues will be organised independently with your teaching tutor
Module description (plus teaching arrangements, aims and objectives)
This course is designed to introduce the students to Aristotle‟s wonderfully rich but intricate
philosophical writings by focusing on some of the most prominent topics in Aristotle‟s
philosophy. Students will learn how to read, how to criticise, and how to make sense of
Aristotle and will thus be in a position to benefit from the wealth of Aristotle‟s thought. In the
first five weeks we will study Aristotle‟s Epistemology and Psychology, as well as parts of the
Metaphysics and his Physics. The last five weeks are devoted to key topics in Aristotle‟s Ethics.
While the module will build on the Greek Philosophy I module for students who have taken it,
it does not presuppose that module and can be taken without prerequisite.
Assessment methods and deadlines


Formative assessment: 2 essays, each of 1000 words length
(Please note that formative assessment must be completed to pass the module)
Summative assessment: 2 essays, each of 1000 words length
NB Please note that for semester I-only Study Abroad students, assessment requirements may vary. In
particular, May exams will be replaced by summative essays to be submitted by the end of term (date TBC)
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Outline of lecture topics (plus readings)
Week One 17 Jan, Epistemology: Why and how do we inquire?
Reading:
primary (p): Aristotle Metaphysics I.1-4; 6-9; Posterior Analytics I.2-3; II.8; II.19;
secondary (s): J. Lear, Aristotle: the Desire to Understand, Ch. 1; C. Taylor „Aristotle‟s
Epistemology‟ (S. Everson (ed.) Epistemology);
further (f): M. Frede, „Aristotle‟s Rationalism‟ (M. Frede and G. Striker (eds.), Rationality in Greek
Thought).
Week Two 24 Jan, Metaphysics: Substance
Reading:
(p): Categories 1-5;
(s): M. Frede „Individuals in Aristotle‟ (in M. Frede Essays in Ancient Philosophy); J. Ackrill,
Aristotle Categories and De Interpretatione, pp. 71-91.
(f): Physics I.7-8, D. Bostock, „Aristotle on the Principles of Change in Physics I‟ (in D. Bostock,
Space, Time, Matter, and Form: Essays on Aristotle’s Physics).
Week Three 31 Jan, Natural Philosophy: Nature, Change, and Teleology
Reading:
(p): Physics II;
(s): J. Lear, Aristotle: the Desire to Understand, Ch. 2; D. Charles „Teleological Causation in the
Physics‟ (in L. Judson (ed.), Aristotle’s Physics: a Collection of Essays);
(f): Parts of Animals I.1; I.5; S. Waterlow, Nature, Change, and Agency in Aristotle’s Physics, Chs. 12; D. Bostock, „Aristotle on Teleology in Nature‟ (in D. Bostock, Space, Time, Matter, and Form:
Essays on Aristotle’s Physics).
Week Four 7 Feb, “Psychology”: the Soul
Reading:
(p): De Anima I.1, II.1-3, 5-12;
(s): J. Lear, Aristotle: the Desire to Understand, Ch. 4;
J. Ackrill, „Aristotle‟s Definition of psychê‟ (in J. Ackrill, Essays on Plato and Aristotle);
(f): De Anima III.3-5; L. A. Kosman, „What does the Maker Mind Make?‟; C. Kahn, „Aristotle on
Thinking‟ (both in M. Nussbaum & A.O. Rorty (eds.) Essays on Aristotle’s De Anima).
Week Five 14 Feb, Metaphysics: God
Reading:
(p): Physics VIII;
(s): C. Kahn, 'The Place of the Prime Mover in Aristotle's Teleology', (in A. Gotthelf (ed.)
Aristotle on Nature and Living Things);
(f): Metaphysics XII.6-7; A. Kosman, 'Divine Being and Divine Thinking', Boston Area Colloquium
in Ancient Philosophy (5); R. Norman, 'Aristotle's Philosopher-God', Phronesis 1969; A. Kosman,
„Divine Thought‟ (in D. Charles and M. Frede (eds.), Aristotle’s Metaphysics Book Lambda)
READING WEEK – NB FIRST FORMATIVE ESSAY DUE – FEBRUARY 27
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Outline of lecture topics (plus readings) – continued
Week Six 28 Feb, Ethics: the Human Good
Reading:
(p): Nicomachean Ethics I.1-12;
(s): D. Bostock, Aristotle’s Ethics, Ch. 1; G. Lawrence, „Human Good and Human Function‟ (in R.
Kraut (ed.), The Blackwell Guide to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics);
(f): S. Broadie, Ethics with Aristotle, Ch. 1; J. McDowell, „The Role of eudaimonia in Aristotle‟s
Ethics‟ (in A.O. Rorty (ed.) Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics).
Week Seven 6 Mar, Ethics: Virtues of Character
Reading:
(p): EN I.13; II; VI.13;
(s): D. Bostock, Aristotle’s Ethics, Ch. 2; R. Hursthouse, „The Central Doctrine of the Mean‟ (in R.
Kraut (ed.), The Blackwell Guide to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics);
(f): S. Broadie, Ethics with Aristotle, Ch. 2; G. Richardson-Lear, „Aristotle on Moral Virtue and the
Fine‟ (in R. Kraut (ed.), The Blackwell Guide to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics).
Week Eight 13 Mar, Ethics: Practical Wisdom
Reading:
(p): EN III.2-4; VI.1-2; 8-9; 12;
(s): D. Bostock, Aristotle’s Ethics, Ch. 4; A.D. Smith, „Character and Intellect in Aristotle‟s Ethics‟,
Phronesis (41);
(f): S. Broadie, Ethics with Aristotle, Ch. 4; M. Woods, „Intuition and Perception in Aristotle‟s
Ethics‟, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy (4).
NB: There are several interesting articles in J.P. Anton and A. Preus (eds.), Aristotle’s Ethics:
Essays in Greek Philosophy.
Week Nine 20 Mar, Ethics: Pleasure
Reading:
(p): EN VII.11-14; EN X.1-5;
(s): D. Bostock, Aristotle’s Ethics, Ch. 7; J. O. Urmson, „Aristotle on Pleasure‟ (in J. Moravcsik
(ed.), Aristotle);
(f): G.E.L. Owen, „Aristotelian Pleasures‟ (in G.E.L. Owen/M. Nussbaum, Logic, Science,
Dialectic); S. Broadie, Ethics with Aristotle, Ch. 6.
Week Ten 27 Mar, Ethics: perfect happiness
Reading:
(p): EN X.6-8;
(s): D. Bostock, Aristotle’s Ethics, Ch. 9; J. Cooper, „Contemplation and Happiness: a
Reconsideration‟ (in J. Cooper, Reason and Emotion);
(f): S. Broadie, Ethics with Aristotle, Ch. 7; R. Kraut, Aristotle on the Human Good, Ch.1 (although
the whole book is relevant).
NB SECOND FORMATIVE ESSAY DUE – APRIL 6
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Suggested essay questions
First formative essay: write a 1000 word essay on either a) or b):
a) Is Aristotle an empiricist? If so, in what sense?
or
b) Why does Aristotle have to posutulate a prime mover? What is the prime mover anyway and what does he do
if anything?
Second formative essay: write a 1000 word essay on either a) or b):
a) Aristotle's ethical philosophy is often summed up as 'the philosophy of the golden mean'. Is this an apt
characterisation? Explain and discuss.
or
b) Is it morally relevant whether you enjoy a virtuous action? Should it be relevant? Discuss.
Summative assessment: write a 1000 word essay on one topic from each section
Section 1:
a) ‘Whenever some end is apparent toward which a motion progresses if nothing impedes, we say that the
motion is for the end’. Aristotle, Parts of Animals I. 1, 641b 25 ff.
Explain and discuss Aristotle’s theory that natural processes and natural structures should be explained in terms of
their purposes, i.e. explained teleologically, or in terms of final causes
.
b) Does Aristotle give a successful account of the soul as 'form of a natural body that has life potentially' (DA
II.1.412a19-21)? Discuss the meaning and the philosophical merit of Aristotle's definition.
Section 2:
a) Explain Aristotle's conception of practical wisdom. Is the Grand End Theory plausible?
or
b) For Aristotle the best life centres on theoretical contemplation. Does this mean that a bad person can be happy,
given that she puts enough effort into thinking? Discuss.
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Suggested additional readings
Weeks 1-5
In general, the Clarendon Oxford Series contains very good translations of and commentaries on the texts we will
study. (Look out for J. Barnes on Posterior Analytics (2nd ed.), J. Ackrill on Categories, W. Charlton on Physics II,
D.W. Hamlyn on De Anima, and D. Graham on Physics Book VIII.)
J. Barnes, Cambridge Companion to Aristotle contains a very full (and commented) bibliography which should
forms an excellent starting point for further research on pretty much any topic in Aristotle.
The translations in Ackrill's Aristotle Reader are good. Most of the texts we cover are in Fine and Irwin Aristotle:
Introductory Readings which is an abridged version or their Aristotle: Selections.
Weeks 6-10
D. Bostock, Aristotle's Ethics contains a useful guide to further reading, appended to each chapter. Further, S.
Broadie and C. Rowe's translation and commentary on the EN contains a helpful select bibliography which is
divided into different topics. This book is worth having because it contains not only the best translation of the EN
available, but also because of the fine introductory essays. T. Irwin's translation may perhaps be more accessible
(as Irwin inserts headings and sections into the text), but it is not as faithful to Aristotle's Greek. However, Irwin's
book contains a very useful glossary.
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