PHI 340 Aristotle
Stephen Makin
Autumn Semester 2013-2014
Course Information
Reading
Essay topics
2
Contents
Plagiarism and unfair means
p.3
Course Information
p.5
Timetable
p.6
Course outline
p.6
Course Text
p7
Translations of Aristotle
p.7
Introductory Reading
p.9
Reading
p.10
Library Resources
p.11
E-offprint Pack
p.12
Articles in electronic form
p.13
Collections and Anthologies
p.16
Some further reading
p.16
Assessment
p.19
Essay/Exam with Essay Topics
p.20
Long Essay
p.23
3
Plagiarism and unfair means
It is extremely important that you are aware of what counts as Unfair Means
(Plagiarism) in assessed work, and that you are aware of the serious consequences of
using unfair means in your work. The University and Department take a strong stand
against plagiarism, since we believe that it is unfair and disadvantages honest students
(the overwhelming majority).
The following four examples of unfair means are serious academic offences and may
result in penalties that could have a lasting effect on your career, both at University
and beyond.
Plagiarism (either intentional or unintentional) is the stealing of ideas or work of
another person (including experts and fellow or former students) and is considered
dishonest and unprofessional. Plagiarism may take the form of cutting and pasting,
taking or closely paraphrasing ideas, passages, sections, sentences, paragraphs,
drawings, graphs and other graphical material from books, articles, internet sites or
any other source and submitting them for assessment without appropriate
acknowledgement
Submitting bought or commissioned work (for example from internet sites, essay
“banks” or “mills”) is an extremely serious form of plagiarism. This may take the
form of buying or commissioning either the whole assignment or part of it and implies
a clear intention to deceive the examiners. The University also takes an extremely
serious view of any student who sells, offers to sell, or passes on their own
assignments to other students.
Double submission (or self plagiarism) is resubmitting previously submitted work on
one or more occasions (without proper acknowledgement). This may take the form of
copying either the whole assignment or part of it. Normally credit will already have
been given for this work.
Collusion is where two or more people work together to produce a piece of work, all
or part of which is then submitted by each of them as their own individual work. This
includes passing on work in any format to another student. Collusion does not occur
where students involved in group work are encouraged to work together to produce a
single piece of work as part of the assessment process.
In any essay or exam answer submitted for assessment, all passages taken from other
people's work, either word for word, or with small changes, must be placed within
quotation marks, with specific reference to author, title and page. No excuse can be
accepted for any failure to do so, nor will inclusion of the source in a bibliography be
considered an adequate acknowledgement.
If the marker decides that plagiarism has occurred, it becomes a matter of report to a
University Committee. The student may be judged to have failed the essay and/or
exam and/or module (depending on the degree of severity). The plagiarism will also
be recorded on the student's record.
4
The use of handouts
There has in the past been some scope for confusion on this issue, since many staff
offer the advice that ideas deriving from the lecturer do not need to be cited when
used. But the department has agreed that a distinction needs to be drawn between use
of ideas or arguments expounded in lectures, on the one hand (which is legitimate
without citation), and verbatim or near-verbatim reproduction of material from lecture
handouts or lecture notes/transcripts, on the other hand (which is not). Any essay that
is judged to rely too heavily on course handouts — even when it is considered to fall
short of plagiarism — will be penalised.
A University tutorial on what counts as plagiarism and how to avoid
it is available here
https://librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/shef-only/info_skills/plagiarism.html
If you are in any doubt about what counts as fair and unfair use of
other people's work, ask your tutor or lecturer for advice.
5
Course
Information
6
Timetable
There will be two lectures each week at the following times
Wednesday
Friday
1.00-1.50
11.00-11.50
Hicks LT B
Hicks LT B
Please note that all lectures start on the hour, and finish at ten minutes to the hour
From week 3 onwards there will also be a weekly discussion class, with two alternate
hours booked for discussion. Details of discussion classes will be given once
registration for the module has stabilized.
The two alternate discussion slots are
Friday
Friday
12.00-12.50
1.00-1.50
Hicks SR F 30
Hicks SR F 41
Writing week: Week 7 of the Autumn Semester (11-15 November 2013) is a reading
week. There will be no lectures or discussion seminars in the department that week.
Office Hours: My office hours for Spring semester are Mondays 12.00-2.00. I am
often available at other times also. If you want to arrange a meeting your best plan is
to send an email, and I will reply quickly.
Course Outline
This module will examine some major themes in Aristotle’s metaphysics. There will
be an introduction to, and a sustained discussion of, such central Aristotelian notions
as nature, form, matter, substance, actuality and potentiality. Students will read
selected material extracted from a range of Aristotelian works: Categories; Physics
books 1, 2 and 3; Generation and Corruption books 1, 2; de Anima (On the Soul)
book 2; Metaphysics books Δ, Z, H and Θ. The aim of the module is to encourage
students to read important yet difficult Aristotelian texts, to engage critically with the
ideas and arguments contained therein, and to provide some appreciation of
Aristotle’s place in the ancient philosophical world and his contribution to
contemporary metaphysical debate.
7
Course Text
There will be a photocopied Text Pack for the course containing the following
Aristotelian material
Categories
chapters 1-5
Physics
Book I chapters 7-9
Book II chapters 1-3, 7
Book III chapters 1-3
Generation and
Corruption Book I chapters 3-4, 7, 10
Book II chapters 1-4, 7
de Anima (On
the Soul)
Book II chapter 5
Metaphysics Book V (Δ) chapters 7-8
Book VII (Z) chapters 1-3, 7-9, 12, 17
Book VII (H) chapter 6
Book IX (Θ) chapters 1-2, 5-7
Translations of Aristotle
The Revised Oxford Translation (ROT)
The best and most easily accessible edition of the Complete Works of Aristotle in
translation is
Barnes J
Ross W.D
The Complete Works of Aristotle: the Revised Oxford Translation
(Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, 1984).
This is a two volume revision by Jonathan Barnes of the various translations in the
earlier (1908-1954) twelve volume Oxford Complete Works, which was edited by
W.D.Ross. Barnes explains in the preface to Volume 1 the sort of revisions which
have been undertaken.
The translations in the Text Pack will all be taken from Barnes’ ROT.
In addition the University Library has an electronic (and searchable) version of this
translation (as part of the PastMasters eCollection): you can access the complete Past
Masters eCollection via the Library at
http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/cdfiles/pastmasters.html
8
The Clarendon Aristotle Series
In addition to the ROT Complete Works above, there are separate translations (with
commentaries) of a number of the texts we will discuss in the ongoing series of
translations of and commentaries on Aristotelian texts published by Oxford University
Press in their Clarendon Aristotle Series
Categories
Physics I, II
Physics III, IV
Generation
and Corruption
de Anima
Metaphysics Γ,Δ, Ε
Metaphysics Z, H
Metaphysics Θ
(with de Interpretatione, translation and commentary John
Ackrill)
translation and commentary William Charlton
translation and commentary Edward Hussey
translation and commentary Christopher Williams
translation and commentary David Hamlyn
translation and commentary Christopher Kirwan
translation and commentary David Bostock
translation and commentary Stephen Makin
These volumes are helpful for more detailed comment on particular passages. But
students might find the lack of consistency in translation across different books of the
Metaphysics confusing.
Further alternatives
There is a wide variety of other translations available of one or more of the texts we
will be studying. Students are advised however to make use of the ROT if possible.
Variation in translation can be confusing, and students will not be in a position to
compare the merits of different translations.
The Bekker numbers
There is a standard way of referencing Aristotle’s works. The ‘Bekker numbering’
gives a unique reference for every Aristotelian sentence, based on the page, column
and line numbering in a 19th century edition of Aristotle’s works edited by Immanuel
Bekker.
These numbers will be printed in the margin of any scholarly translation of Aristotle.
The Physics for example starts at 184a10; Metaphysics book H runs from 1042a3 to
1045b24. You should avoid any translation of Aristotle which does not include the
Bekker numbering; absence of the Bekker numbers will make it practically
impossible to refer to and to locate particular passages.
9
Introductory Reading
There are two sorts of introduction which you might find useful before starting a
module on Aristotle’s metaphysics. One aims to provide a general introduction to
Aristotle’s philosophy as a whole. If you are going to find time to read one of these,
then you probably want to pick a short one. A good short choice is
Barnes J
Aristotle (Past Masters Series: Oxford University Press, 1981):
Other reliable introductions include
Ackrill J.L
Allen D.J
Guthrie W
Aristotle the Philosopher (Oxford University Press, 1981)
The Philosophy of Aristotle (Oxford University Press, 1952)
A History of Greek Philosophy Vol.6: An Encounter with Aristotle
(Cambridge University Press, 1981)
Lear J
Aristotle: the Desire to Understand (Cambridge University Press,
1988)
Lloyd G.E.R Aristotle: the Growth and Structure of his Thought (Cambridge
University Press, 1968)
Ross W.D
Aristotle (Methuen, London, 5th Edition 1949)
Shields C
Aristotle (Routledge 2007)
The second type of introduction which you might want, and which will probably be
more useful to you, is an introduction to Aristotle’s metaphysics in particular (for this
module you won’t need to know, for example, about Aristotle’s logic, ethics, political
philosophy, or aesthetics, which would usually be covered in a general introduction to
Aristotle’s philosophy). Any general introduction to Aristotle’s philosophy (either the
books mentioned above, or an encyclopedia article) will include a chapter or section
on Aristotle’s metaphysics; and you could limit your introductory reading to those
chapters/sections. There is also an excellent section on Aristotle’s metaphysics by
Jonathan Barnes in
Barnes J
The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle (Cambridge University Press,
1995)
and there is a copy of this is the E-offprint pack for the module.
There are also a number of useful entries in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(http://plato.stanford.edu/) and the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (available
electronically via the University Library). See in particular Terry Irwin’s entry on
Aristotle in the Routledge Encyclopedia, and the following from the Stanford
Encyclopedia
Aristotle’s Categories (Paul Studtman)
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-categories/
Aristotle on Causality (Andrea Falcon)
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-causality/
Aristotle’s Metaphysics (S. Marc Cohen)
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-metaphysics/
Aristotle’s Natural Philosophy (Istvan Bodnar)
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-natphil/
Aristotle’s Biology (James Lennox)
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-biology/
10
Reading
11
Library Resources
The Library has considerable electronic resources.
For a general overview of the Library’s eResources see
http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/intro/
For a summary of the Philosophy resources available via the Library and online see
http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/subjects/subphil.html
You will find the following particularly useful
The PastMasters eCollection (including the Complete Works of Aristotle)
http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/cdfiles/pastmasters.html
The Library StarPlus catalogue and the FindIt@Sheffield system which gives you
access to the Library’s ejournals are available via MUSE
http://find.shef.ac.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=1&dstmp=137994
1007456&vid=SFD_VU2&fromLogin=true
The Philosophy Department website also has a resources page
http://www.shef.ac.uk/philosophy/resources/additional_links.html
This gives a link detailing philosophers who have posted online papers, which
includes a section on ancient philosophy
http://consc.net/people.html
The Library also holds a wide range of printed material. If you are wanting to
borrow books for this module, please note that the Library runs a variable loan status
system. The loan period for a book becomes shorter whenever an item has multiple
reservations, but revert back to standard loan when the level of demand falls. So, if
there are books relevant to this module which you want to borrow from the library,
make sure to reserve them if they are on loan. The Library will continue to provide
reference only copies of key texts as appropriate
For full details of the Library’s borrowing arrangements see
http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/services/lending.html
You may find it helpful, for easy and repeated access, to collect all these links in a
bookmark folder in your web browser.
12
E-offprint pack
There is an electronic coursepack for this module containing the essential reading.
You can access this via the reading list on the module MOLE site
The E-offprint pack contains the following items
Jonathan Barnes
‘Metaphysics’ from The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle ed.
Jonathan Barnes (Cambridge University Press, 1995) pp.66-108
W.D.Ross
Aristotle (Methuen, London, 5th edition 1949) pp.154-186
J.L.Ackrill
Aristotle’s Categories and De Interpretatione (Clarendon
Aristotle Series: Oxford University Press, 1963) pp.71-91
Michael Frede
‘Categories in Aristotle’ in Michael Frede, Essays In Ancient
Philosophy (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1987) pp.29-48
William Charlton
Aristotle’s Physics Books I and II with note on recent work and
revised bibliography (Clarendon Aristotle Series: Oxford
University Press, 1992) pp.70-87
Sarah Waterlow
Nature, Change and Agency in Aristotle’s Physics (Clarendon
Press, Oxford, 1982) chapter 1 pp. 1-47
Sean Kelsey
‘Aristotle’s Definition Of Nature’ Oxford Studies in Ancient
Philosophy 25 (2003) 59-87
Jonathan Lear
Aristotle: The Desire to Understand (Cambridge University
Press, 1988) Chapter 2 pp.15-54
Anna Marmodoro
‘The Union of Cause and Effect in Aristotle: Physics 3.3’
Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 32 (2007) pp.205-232
C.J.F.Williams
Aristotle’s De Generatione et Corruptione (Clarendon Aristotle
Series: Oxford University Press, 1982) pp.142-163
Richard Sorabji
Matter, Space and Motion (Duckworth, London, 1988) Chapter
5 pp.60-78
Kit Fine
‘The Problem of Mixture’ in Form, Matter and Mixture in
Aristotle (Blackwell, Oxford, 1997) eds F.Lewis and R.Bolton
pp.82-182
Alan Code
‘Potentiality in Aristotle’s Science and Metaphysics’ Pacific
Philosophical Quarterly 76 (1995) pp.405-418
Christopher Shields
Aristotle (Routledge 2007) Chapter 6, pp.232-269 with notes at
pp.436-438
13
Michael Frede
‘Substance in Aristotle’s Metaphysics’ in Aristotle on Nature
and Living Things ed. Allan Gotthelf (Mathesis, Pittsburgh,
1985) pp.17-26
Cynthia Freeland
‘Aristotle on Bodies, Matter and Potentiality’ in Philosophical
Issues in Aristotle’s Biology eds. Allan Gotthelf and James
Lennox (Cambridge University Press, 1987) pp.392-407
M.L.Gill
Aristotle on Substance (Princeton University Press, Princeton
NJ, 1989) chapter 5 pp.145-170
Michael Frede
‘Aristotle’s Notion of Potentiality in Metaphysics Ө’ from
Unity, Identity and Explanation in Aristotle’s Metaphysics eds.
T.Scaltsas, D.Charles, M.L.Gill (Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1994) pp.173-193.
J.L.Ackrill
'Aristotle's Distinction between Energeia and Kinesis’ from
New Essays on Plato and Aristotle ed R.Bambrough
(Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1965) pp.121-141
Terry Penner
‘Verbs and the Identity of Actions – A Philosophical Exercise
in the Interpretation of Aristotle’ from Ryle: A Collection of
Critical Essays eds. O.P.Wood, G.Pitcher (MacMillan, London,
1970) pp.393-453
Articles in electronic form
The following articles are available electronically via the Library’s FindIt@Sheffield
system, which is accessible via MUSE
http://find.shef.ac.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=1&dstmp=137994
1007456&vid=SFD_VU2&fromLogin=true
Beere J
‘Potentiality and the Matter of Composite Substance’ Phronesis 51
(2006) 303-329
Bogaard P
‘Heaps or Wholes: Aristotle’s Explanation of Compound Bodies’ Isis
70 (1979) 11-29
Bogen J
‘Moravcsik on Explanation’ Synthese 28 (1974) 19-25
Broadie S
‘Problems of Aristotle’s Concept of Form’ Journal of Philosophy 84
(1987) 679-681
Burnyeat M
‘De Anima II.5’ Phronesis 47 (2002) 28-90
14
Chappell V
‘Matter’ Journal of Philosophy 70 (1973) 679-696
Code A
‘The Persistence of Aristotelian Matter’ Philosopical Studies 29 (1976)
357-367
Code A
‘Monty Furth’s Aristotle: 10 Years Later’ Philosophical Studies 94
(1999) 69-80
Cohen S
‘Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Material Substrate’ Philosophical Review
93 (1984) 171-194
Dancy R
‘On Some of Aristotle’s First Thoughts
Philosophical Review 84 (1975) 338-373
Dancy R
‘On Some of Aristotle’s Second Thoughts about Substances: Matter’
Philosophical Review 87 (1978) 372-413
Fine K
‘Mixing Matters’ Ratio 11 (1998) 277-288
Franklin J
‘Aristotle on Species Variation’ Philosophy 61 (1986) 245-252
Franklin J
‘Species in Aristotle’ Philosophy 64 (1989) 107-108
Gill M
‘Aristotle's Theory of Causal Action in Physics III 3’ Phronesis 25 (1980)
about
Substances’
129-147
Gill M
‘Matter Against Substance’ Synthese 96 (1993) 379-397
Gill M
‘Aristotle’s Metaphysics Reconsidered’ Journal of the History of
Philosophy 43 (2005) 223-251
Granger H
‘The Scala Naturae and the Continuity of Kinds’ Phronesis 30 (1985)
181-200
Granger H
‘Aristotle and the Finitude of Natural Kinds’ Philosophy 62 (1987)
523-526
Halper E
‘A Solution to the Problem of Sensible Substance’ Journal of
Philosophy 84 (1987) 666-672
Harte V
‘Aristotle Metaphysics H6: A Dialogue with Platonism’ Phronesis 41
(1996) 276-304
Heinaman R ‘Knowledge of Substance in Aristotle’ The Journal of Hellenic Studies
101 (1981) 63-77
Jones B
‘Aristotle’s Introduction of Matter’ Philosophical Review 83 (1974)
474-500
15
Kosman L.A ‘Aristotelian Metaphysics and Biology: Furth’s Substance, Form and
Pysche’ Philosophical Studies 94 (1999) 57-68
Lear J
‘Aristotle’s Philosophy of Mathematics’ Philosophical Review 91
(1982) 161-192
Lloyd A.C.
‘Review: Aristotle’s Categories Today’ Philosophical Quarterly 16
(1966) 258-267
Loux M.J
‘Form, Species and Predication in Metaphysics Z, H and Θ’ Mind 88
(1979) 1-23
Moravcsik J. ‘Aristotle on Adequate Explanations’ Synthese 28 (1974) 3-17
Mourelatos A ‘Aristotle’s Rationalist Account of Qualitative Interaction’ Phronesis
29 (1984) 1-16
Novak M
‘A Key to Aristotle’s ‘Substance’ Philosophy and Phenomenological
Research 24 (1963) 1-19
Novak M
‘Towards Understanding Aristotle’s Categories’ Philosophy and
Phenomenological Research 26 (1965) 117-123
Sharvy R
‘Aristotle on Mixtures’ The Journal of Philosophy 80 (1983) 439-457
Sokolowski R ‘Matter, Elements and Substance in Aristotle’ Journal of the History of
Philosophy 8 (1970) 263-288
Wardy R
‘The Mysterious Aristotelian Olive’ Science in Context 18 (2005) 6991
Wedin M.V
‘Nonsubstantial Individuals’ Phronesis 38 (1993) 137-165
Witt C
‘Hylomorphism in Aristotle’ Journal of Philosophy 84 (1987) 673-679
Wood R
Weisberg M
‘Interpreting Aristotle on mixture: problems about elemental
composition from Philoponus to Cooper", Studies in History and
Philosophy of Science 35 (2004) 681-706.
16
Collections and Anthologies
Barnes J
Schofield M
Sorabji R
Frede M
Frede M
Charles D
Gotthelf A
Lennox J.G
Articles on Aristotle Volume 1 Science (Duckworth, London, 1975)
hereafter [Barnes etc 1975]
Articles on Aristotle Volume 3 Metaphysics (Duckworth, London,
1979); hereafter [Barnes etc 1979]
Essays in Ancient Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 1987);
hereafter [Frede 1987]
Aristotle’s Metaphysics Lambda (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2000);
hereafter [Frede/Charles 2000]
Philosophical Issues in Aristotle’s Biology (Cambridge University
Press, 1987); herafter [Gotthelf/Lennox 1987]
Judson L
Aristotle's Physics: A Collection of Essays (Clarendon, Oxford, 1991):
hereafter [Judson 1991]
Moravcsik J
Aristotle: A Collection of Critical Essays (Macmillan, London, 1968);
herafter [Moravcsik 1968]
Nussbaum M
Rorty A
Essays on Aristotle's de Anima (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1992);
hereafter [Nussbaum/Rorty 1992]
Scaltsas T
Charles D
Gill M
Unity, Identity and Explanation in Aristotle’s Metaphysics (Clarendon
Press, Oxford, 1994); hereafter [Scaltsas/Charles/Gill 1994]
Schofield M
Nussbaum M Language and Logos: Studies in Ancient Greek Philosophy
(Cambridge University Press, 1982); hereafter [Schofield/Nussbaum
1982]
Some Further Reading
Anscombe G.E.M
‘The Principle of Individuation’ in Anscombe Collected Papers
Volume 1: From Parmenides to Wittgenstein (Basil Blackwell, Oxford,
17
1981) 57-65; also in [Barnes etc 1979] 88-95; originally Proceedings
of the Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume 27 (1953) 83-96.
Anscombe G.E.M
Geach P.T.
Three Philosophers: Aristotle, Aquinas, Frege (Basil Blackwell,
Oxford, 1973); pp.5-63 Anscombe on Aristotle.
Bolton R
‘Aristotle’s Method in Natural Science’ [Judson 1991] 1-29
Bostock D
‘Aristotle on the Principles of Change in Physics
[Schofield/Nussbaum 1982] 179-196; included in Bostock 2006
Bostock D
‘Aristotle on the Transmutation of the Elements in GC I: 1–4’, Oxford
Studies in Ancient Philosophy, (1995) 13: 217–29; included in Bostock
2006
Bostock D
‘Aristotle’s Theory of Matter’ included in Bostock 2006
Bostock D
Space, Time, Matter and Form (Oxford University Press, 2006)
Burnyeat M
'Is An Aristotelian Philosophy of Mind Still Credible' Nussbaum/Rorty
1992] 15-26
Burnyeat M
A Map of Metaphysics Zeta (Mathesis, Pittsburgh, 2001)
Charlton W
'Aristotelian Powers' Phronesis 32 (1987) 277-289
I’
Cohen S.Marc 'Hylomorphism and Functionalism' [Nussbaum/Rorty 1992] 57-73
Gill M
Aristotle on Substance (Princeton University Press, 1989)
Hamlyn D.W ‘Focal Meaning’ Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 98 (1977/78)
1-18
Hankinson R. Cause and Explanation in Ancient Greek Thought (Oxford University
Press, 1998) Chapters 4,5
Haslanger S
‘Parts, Compounds and Substantial Unity’ [Scaltsas/Charles/Gill 1994]
129-170
Hocutt M
‘Aristotle’s Four Becauses’ Philosophy 49 (1974) 385-399
Irwin T.H
‘Homonymy in Aristotle’ Review of Metaphysics 34 (1981) 523-544
Mansion S
‘The Ontological Composition of Sensible Substances’ [Barnes etc
1979] 80-87
Moravcsik J
‘Aristotle on Adequate Explanations’ Synthese 28 (1974) 3-17
‘What Makes Reality Intelligible: Reflections on Aristotle’s Theory of
18
Aitia’ [Judson 1991] 31-48
Nussbaum M ‘Saving Aristotle’s Appearances’ [Schofield/Nussbaum 1982] 267-294
Owen G.E.L ‘Logic and Metaphysics in Some Earlier Works of Aristotle’ in Owen
Logic, Science and Dialectic (Duckworth, London, 1986); also in
[Barnes etc 1979] 13-32
'Aristotle: Method, Physics and Cosmology' in Owen Logic Science
and Dialectic (Duckworth, London, 1986) 151-164
Smith R
‘Aristotle on the Uses of Dialectic’ Synthese 96 (1993) 335-358
Solmsen F
Aristotle's System of the Physical World (Cornell University Press,
Ithaca NY, 1960)
Wieland W
‘Aristotle’s Physics and the Problem of Inquiry into Principles’
[Barnes etc 1975] 127-140
Williams B
'Hylomorphism' Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 4 (1986) 191-99
19
Assessment
20
I:
Essay and (pre-released) exam
The standard method of assessment for this module a single essay (3000-4000 words)
and a two hour/two question examination at a time to be fixed in weeks 13-15. The
exam questions will be pre-released
The single essay of 3000-4000 word is assessed anonymously. Since the essay counts
for 50% of the module mark, you are strongly advised to submit a preliminary draft of
the essay to me. This will then be the subject of an advisory tutorial, and may also be
returned (if time allows) with written comments. I will publish available tutorial times
later in the semester.
The essay is due in by 4.00 on Thursday 12th December 2013
( = Thursday of week 11)
Essay topics: choose one from the following
1.
Aristotle Categories 1-5
Read carefully through Aristotle’s Categories chapters 1-5. Then write as thorough a
commentary as you can on Categories chapter 5. You should aim to explain the text
(terminology, arguments etc) as clearly as you can to someone who finds it hard to
understand.
For a model commentary on Aristotle’s Categories see the extract from Ackrill in the
E-offprint pack
Textpack
Aristotle Categories 1-5
E-offprint pack
Barnes ‘Metaphysics’
Ackrill Aristotle’s Categories and de Interpretatione
pp.71-91
Electronic Articles
Dancy 1975
Heinaman 1981
Lloyd 1966
Novak 1965
Wedin 1993
21
2.
Existential and non-existential change.
Does Aristotle succeed in differentiating existential change (‘coming to be without
qualification’) and non-existential change (alteration, ‘coming to be so-and-so’)?
Textpack
Aristotle Physics 1.7-9; Generation and Corruption 1.34
E-offprint pack
Barnes ‘Metaphysics’
Charlton Aristotle’s Physics Books I and II pp.70-87
Electronic articles
Broadie 1987
Code 1976
Jones 1974
Lear 1982
Additional Reading
Bostock 2006 chapters 2 and 3
3.
Nature
Does Aristotle’s account of what it is to have a nature provide a clear way of
distinguishing the natural and the non-natural?
Textpack
Aristotle Physics 2.1-2
E-offprint pack
Waterlow Nature, Change and Agency in Aristotle’s
Physics chapter 1 pp.1-47
Kelsey ‘Aristotle’s Definition of Nature’
Lear Aristotle: The Desire to Understand pp.15-26
Electronic articles
Wardy 2005
4.
Agency
“Hence there is a single actuality of both [mover and moved] alike, just as one to two
and two to one are the same interval, and the steep ascent and the steep descent are
one – for these are one and the same, although their definitions are not one. So it is
with the mover and the moved.”
Aristotle Physics 3.3, 202a18-21
22
Explain as clearly as you can, and by reference to the rest of Physics 3.3, what
Aristotle means in this passage
Textpack
Aristotle Physics 3.1-3
Coursepack
Lear Aristotle: The Desire To Understand pp.26-54
Marmodoro ‘The Union of Cause and Effect in
Aristotle: Physics 3.3’
Electronic articles
Burnyeat 2002
Gill 1980
5.
Combination (Mixis)
The world turns out to have an atomic structure. But does what Aristotle says about
combination (mixis) provide a logically coherent account of how, in a non-atomistic
world, complex stuffs nevertheless could have been made out of simpler stuffs.
Textpack
Aristotle Generation and Corruption 1.10, 2.1-4
E-offprint pack
Williams Aristotle’s De Generatione et Corruptione
pp.142-163
Sorabji Matter, Space and Motion chapter 5
Fine ‘The Problem of Mixture’
Code ‘Potentiality in Aristotle’s Science and
Metaphysics’ Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 76
(1995) 405-418
Electronic articles
Bogaard 1979
Fine 1998
Mourelatos 1984
Sharvy 1983
Sokolowski 1970
Wood, Weisberg 2004
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II: Long Essay
You can instead opt to be assessed entirely by a single long essay (4500-6000)
If you want to be assessed by long essay you need to submit a long essay plan This
should cover no more than one side of A4, giving a proposed title and a rough outline
of the material to be covered). This plan needs to be approved/signed by the module
lecturer, and given in by the student to the Departmental Office by Wednesday 20th
November 2013 (= Wednesday of week 8) in order that the module be assessed by
long essay.
You would be very well advised to consult with me when thinking about your long
essay plan, some time before the end of week 7, either in my Office Hours or by
arrangement
The long essay submission deadline is important Students who submit long essays
without having their outline signed by the course lecturer by the week 8 deadline
will be subject to a 15-point penalty.
Notification of Withdrawal
If for any reason you regret opting for assessment by long essay you can change your
mind, and return to the standard shorter-essay-plus-exam method of assessment so
long as you
•
do so by the short-essay submission deadline for the module (4.00 on
Thursday 12th December 2013 ( = Thursday of week 11)
and
•
notify the Departmental Office that you are no longer being assessed by
Long Essay for this module
Advisory tutorials
You should attend a one hour with me towards the end of the semester in order to
discuss a draft of your essay. The advice offered in this essay tutorials can have a very
significant (positive) impact on the mark attained; and the practice of producing a
draft before submission should also benefit your final essay. You are strongly urged
to make use of this essay tutorial.
Submission deadline
The deadline for submission of long essays is 4.00 on Wednesday 29th January
2014 (= Wednesday of week 14 = Wednesday of the second week of the examining
period). Penalties for late submission are the same as for coursework essays.
Format
Each long essay should be between 4500 and 6000 words in length (inclusive of
notes but exclusive of bibliography). Under-length essays may be assigned zero and
returned to the student to be resubmitted for a maximum mark of 40. Markers will
cease reading over length essays at the point at which they judge the essay to exceed
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the word limit. Long essays must be typed, double spaced, with margins on each side
of at least an inch. All long essays must be accompanied by an accurate word
count.
Essays of this length are considerably more difficult to structure and organize than are
standard-length coursework essays. You should consider using sections and section
headings. And you should ensure that the essay pursues an overall strategy which is
clear, well thought out and well signposted.