School of Arts
& Humanities
Department of Philosophy
7AAN2027 Greek Philosophy II: Aristotle
Syllabus – Academic year 2012/3
Basic information
Credits: 20
Module Tutor: Dr. Raphael Woolf
Office: 712
Consultation time: TBA
Semester: 2
Lecture time and venue*: Th. 12-1
*Please note that tutorial times and venues will be organised independently with your teaching tutor
Module description (plus 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 early part of the course we will explore
some of the basic themes of Aristotle’s epistemology, metaphysics and philosophy of nature.
We will then focus on key topics from his psychology and ethics, perhaps of all his wideranging enquiries the areas that continue to provide the greatest stimulus for contemporary
thinkers.
.
Assessment methods and deadlines
Formative assessment: 2 essays, each of 1500-2000 words length, due by the end of the semester
Summative assessment: one two-hour examination
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Outline of lecture topics (plus suggested readings)
Week One (Jan 17), 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’ (in S. Everson (ed.) Epistemology);
further (f): M. Frede, ‘Aristotle’s Rationalism’ (in M. Frede and G. Striker (eds.), Rationality in Greek
Thought).
Week Two (Jan 24), 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 (Jan 31), 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 (Feb 7), Psychology: the Soul
Reading:
(p): De Anima I.1, II.1-3;
(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): J. Whiting, ‘Living Bodies’ (in M. Nussbaum and A Rorty (eds), Essays on Aristotle's de Anima).
Week Five (Feb 14), Psychology: Sense-Perception
Reading:
(p): De Anima Book II, chapters 5-6, 11-12;
(s): Burnyeat, M. 'Is an Aristotelian philosophy of mind still credible?' (in M. Nussbaum and A Rorty (eds),
Essays on Aristotle's de Anima).
Sorabji R. ‘Body and soul in Aristotle' Philosophy, 63-89. Reprinted in J. Barnes, M. Schofield and R.
Sorabji Articles on Aristotle iv (1979), 42-64.
Sorabji, R.‘Intentionality and physiological processes: Aristotle's theory of sense-perception.' in M.
Nussbaum and A. Rorty Essays on Aristotle's De Anima.
(f): De Anima Book III, chapters 1-2; Kosman, A. ‘Perceiving that we Perceive,’ The Philosophical Review,
84: 499–519.
READING WEEK
Week Six (Feb 28), Psychology: Imagination
(p): De Anima Book III, Chapter 3
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(s): Schofield, M. ‘Aristotle on the imagination', in M. Nussbaum and A Rorty, Essays on Aristotle's de
Anima
D. Frede, ‘The Cognitive Role of Phantasia in Aristotle’, in M. Nussbaum and A Rorty, Essays on
Aristotle's de Anima
(f). V. Caston, ‘Why Aristotle Needs Imagination’, Phronesis 41, (1996), pp. 20-55
Week Seven (March 7), Psychology: Thought
(p): De Anima Book III, Chapter 4-5
(s): Kahn, C.H. ‘Aristotle on thinking' ' in M.Nussbaum and A Rorty, Essays on Aristotle's de Anima.
L. Kosman, 'What does the maker mind make?' in Nussbaum and Rorty.
(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)
Week Eight (March 14), Ethics: Happiness and the Human Good
Reading:
(p): Nicomachean Ethics (= EN) I.1-10;
(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 Nine (March 21), Ethics: Virtues of Character
Reading:
(p): EN I.13; II.1-7;
(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 Ten (March 28), Ethics: Contemplation
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).
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Suggested essay questions
Does Aristotle offer a persuasive account of how knowledge can be acquired?
What are primary substances? Does Aristotle succeed in showing that they are primary?
Does Aristotle demonstrate that there is teleology in nature?
Explain and assess Aristotle’s account of the soul as the first actuality of a living body
What does Aristotle’s account of sense-perception tell us about his view of the relation between the soul and the
body?
Does Aristotle offer a coherent account of imagination?
Does Aristotle’s so-called function argument provide a persuasive account of the highest human good?
Is Aristotle right to say that virtue is a mean?
Can Aristotle’s account of contemplation be reconciled with his other views on happiness? Should it be?
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Suggested additional readings
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 I and II, and D.W. Hamlyn on De Anima)
J. Barnes, Cambridge Companion to Aristotle has some useful chapters on the various key areas of
Aritotle’s thought, and contains a very full annotated bibliography which forms an excellent starting point
for further research on pretty much any topic in Aristotle.
The translations in Ackrill's New Aristotle Reader are good. Most of the texts we cover are in Fine and
Irwin Aristotle: Introductory Readings which is an abridged version of their Aristotle: Selections.
Aristotle’s complete works are translated in J. Barnes (ed.), The Complete Works of Aristotle (2 vols)
S. Broadie and C. Rowe's translation and commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics is excellent and
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 is also useful.
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