PHIL 250: History of Western Philosophy I

Content: We will study important works of some of the major philosophers of ancient and medieval Western philosophy, including Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas. We will consider what they have to say about the questions of the ultimate nature of reality and of the best way to live, and how these questions may be connected with one another.

Texts:

Cohen, Curd, & Reeve, eds., Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy, 2^nd ed.

Epictetus, Discourses, Handbook, Fragments, ed. Gill/Hard

Musonius Rufus, selected fragments, ed. Lutz (online)

Augustine, On Free Choice of the Will, ed. Williams

Selections from Anselm, Avicenna, Maimonides and Aquinas (online)

Particulars:

Two essays, an in-class quiz, a mid-term examination and a final examination.

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PHIL 779: Topics in Ancient Philosophy - Hellenistic Philosophy

Content: The seminar will be an overview of the philosophies of the most important Hellenistic philosophical schools, Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics (both Academics and Pyrrhonists), with particular attention to their relationship to the earlier classical and pre-classical Greek philosophers. While we will focus on their views about ethics, philosophical epistemology, and the nature of philosophy, we will also touch upon natural philosophy and metaphysics.

Texts:

Long and Sedley, The Hellenistic Philosophers, v.1

Lucretius, On the Nature of Things , ed. M. Smith

Cicero, On Moral Ends, ed. Annas/Wolf

Epictetus, Handbook, Discourses and Fragments

Seneca, Moral and Political Writings

Musonius Rufus, selected fragments (on reserve)

Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Scepticism, ed. Barnes/Annas

Burnyeat/Frede, The Original Sceptics: A Controversy

Particulars: Seminar participation and presentations, seminar essay