SAME AS PHIL-UA 122.
This is an introduction to central themes in ancient Greek philosophy and their literary background. We will discuss topics such as destiny, freedom, fatalism, contingency, necessity, the nature of human agency, and the nature of human knowledge. Authors to be discussed include Homer, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, and Chrysippus. This course will help you develop the skills needed to read ancient philosophers profitably on your own. We will spend at least some of our time lingering over fairly short passages, thinking about how to discern more clearly the questions being raised and the answers and arguments being given. We'll also practice standard philosophical skills such as clarifying concepts, noticing distinctions, and analyzing and evaluating arguments.
The origins of nonmythical speculation among the Greeks and the main patterns of philosophical thought, from Thales and other early speculators about the physical nature of the world through Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, the Epicureans, and the Neoplatonists.