PHIL 789: HELLENISTIC PHILOSOPHY
Steven K. Strange, Spring 2005
(revised
12/19/04
)
Office hours: Tuesday 12-1, Wednesday 1-2 and by appointment
Requirements: a seminar paper, one seminar report on weekly reading, seminar participation.
Required Texts
Long and Sedley, The Hellenistic Philosophers, v.1 (Cambridge University Press)
Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, ed. Martin Ferguson Smith (Hackett)
Cicero, On Moral Ends, ed. Annas/Wolf (Cambridge Univ. Press)
Epictetus, Handbook, Discourses and Fragments, ed. Gill/Hard (Everyman’s Library)
Seneca, Moral and Political Writings, ed. Cooper/Procopé (Cambridge Univ. Press)
Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Scepticism (Outlines of Pyrrhonism), ed. Barnes/Annas, 2nd ed. (Cambridge Univ. Press)
Burnyeat/Frede, The Original Sceptics: A Controversy (Hackett)
Reserve Texts
Cicero, Academica
Fragments of Musonius Rufus, Cora E. Lutz's translation in Yale Classical Studies 10.1947
Sextus, Against the Learned (Adv. Math. VII-X), in vols. 2 & 3 of the Loeb Sextus Empiricus
Sextus, Against the Ethicists (= Adv. Math. XI), transl. R. Bett
Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, 2 vols.
Topics for the Seminar: we will generally follow the arrangement of Long and Sedley, and readings from that volume are not listed. You should also read the first part (Books I-V) of Diogenes Laertius, especially the Prologue (I.1-21).
1. Early Pyrrhonism: Diogenes Laertius IX (26 Jan.)
R. Bett "Pyrrho the non-sceptic" (ch.2 of his Pyrrho:his antecedents and his legacy), D. Sedley "The motivation of Greek skepticism" (in M. Burnyeat,ed., The skeptical tradition)
2. Epicurean physics: Lucretius I-II, Diogenes Laertius X (2 Feb.)
Sedley "Epicurus' refutation of determinism" (in SYZETESIS [Festschrift M. Gigante], J. T. O’Keefe, “Epicurus’ reductionist response to Democritean fatalism” (ch4 of his forthcoming Epicurus on Freedom)
3. Epicurean epistemology & psychology: Lucretius III-IV (9 Feb.)
G. Striker "Epicurus on the truth of sense-perceptions" (in her collected papers)
Sedley "On signs" (in J. Barnes, ed., Science and speculation)
4. Epicurean ethics: Cicero De finibus I-II, Lucretius V-VI (16 Feb.)
Striker, "Ataraxia" (in her collected papers)
J. Purinton "Epicurus on the telos" (Phronesis 38.1993)
5. Chrysippus' logic and metaphysics: Cynicism and the background of Stoicism (23 Feb.)
M. Papazian, "Stoic ontology and the reality of time" (Ancient Philosophy 19.1999)
A. A. Long, "Socrates in Hellenistic philosophy" (in his Stoic studies) and "Diogenes, Crates, and Hellenistic ethics" (in Branham and Goulet-Cazé, eds., The Cynic tradition)
6. Stoic physics: Cicero, Academica I, Epictetus Discourses I & III.1, Handbook, fragments (2 Mar.)
Sedley, "Chrysippus on psychophysical causality" (in Brunschwig and Nussbaum, eds., Passions and Perceptions)
Sedley, "The origins of the Stoic god" (in Laks et al.,ed. Traditions of Theology)
7. Stoic ethics: De finibus III-V, selections from Epictetus & Musonius Rufus (9 Mar.)
Striker "The role of oikeiôsis in Stoic ethics" (in her collected papers)
Frede "The Stoic conception of the good" (in K. Ierodiakonou, ed., Topics in Stoic philosophy)
16 March: Emory Spring Break
8. Stoic determinism: Cicero De fato, Alexander of Aphrodisias De fato (23 Mar.)
M. Frede "The original notion of cause" (in his collected papers)
S. Bobzien "Chrysippus' theory of causes" (in Ierodiakonou)
9. Stoic psychotherapy and the emotions: Cicero Tusculan Disputations IV; Seneca On Anger, etc. (30 Mar.)
M. Frede "The Stoic doctrine of the affections of the soul" (in Schofield and Striker, eds., The norms of nature)
J. Cooper "Posidonius on emotions" (in Sihvola and Engberg-Pedersen, also in his collected papers)
10. Stoic epistemology and Academic critique: Sextus Adv. Math. VII = Adv. Log. I (6 Apr.)
M. Frede, "Stoics and skeptics on clear and distinct impressions" (in Burnyeat, also in his collected papers)
Striker "Sceptical strategies" (in her collected papers)
11. Academic skepticism in general: Cicero Academica II, Diogenes Laertius IV (13 Apr.)
Sedley "The end of the Academy" (Phronesis 26.1981)
Striker "On the difference between the Pyrrhonists and the Academics" (in her collected papers)
12. Sextus Empiricus I: method, Outlines I-II (20 Apr.)
Frede/Burnyeat The Original Sceptics
13. Sextus Empiricus II: ethics, Outlines III, Adv. Math. XI (27 Apr.)
Bett, introd. to Sextus Empiricus: Against the Ethicists