Instructor: Prof. Cherubin
Office: Robinson B462
Office Hours: M 4:30-6:00, W 1:00-2:30; additional times available by appointment
Office Phone: 993-1332
E-Mail: rcherubi@gmu.edu
Course web site: www.gmu.edu/courses/phil/ancient/p4213.htm
Prof. Cherubin’s main web site (has links to materials useful in this course): www.gmu.edu/courses/phil/ancient/index.htm
Description
This course will study three works of Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics, On Poetics, and On the Soul (De Anima). These three works are connected through their explorations of the relationships between knowledge, purpose or end, and action. Taken together, they provide a reflection of humanity as always simultaneously natural and social, creative and rational, animal and political. This implies, as we will see, that any science or investigation that studies just one of these aspects will miss certain factors that contribute to human being - and thus will miss factors that affect what that science studies. For example, questions of purpose cannot be answered by describing what is; and questions of how something works cannot be answered by saying what the thing should do. Yet all of these are questions about the nature of things. Moreover, to answer questions of purpose we need some account of what is, and when we describe what is we use identifications developed for some purpose. Can we find a single standpoint that will enable us to account for human being? If not, how can we investigate what is and how best to live in it?
A guiding question will be that of why Aristotle wrote these three works: What did he think was important about these topics? What problems and questions did he explore regarding them? What if any conclusions or discoveries did he reach?
Aristotle is one of the best-known of philosophers, and one of the least-understood. He is poorly understood in part exactly because he has been so much studied - or more precisely because of the ways in which he has been so much studied. His writing style is dense, compact, and often complex; and this native difficulty has been exacerbated by the ways in which philosophers have approached his texts. I propose in this seminar to offer a new approach to reading Aristotle, one that has the advantage of reading what is actually in the texts without beginning from certain problematic presuppositions about what should be in the texts. These presuppositions include the assumption that Aristotle always intends in his work to present and espouse a doctrine; the assumption that his conclusions are for the most part unconditional and therefore are meant to be applicable across all contexts; and the assumption that Aristotle intends to provide a neutral and universal classification of all things.
As in all sections of PHIL 421, students are expected to have completed at least 9 credits in philosophy. Students with fewer than 9 credits in philosophy may be admitted to the course with permission of the instructor.
This course is
designated as a writing-intensive (WI) course.
Aims
The course aims to give students a background in Aristotle’s work on ethics,
politics, psychology, and the dramatic and literary arts. We will focus on
primary sources. Students will develop skill in reading ancient philosophical
texts closely and critically; in writing both analytically and constructively;
and in assessing secondary sources. Students will also investigate whether or
to what extent the questions, ideas, and ways of thinking developed by ancient
philosophers may be used to address issues of present-day significance; and
they will learn to assess, criticize constructively, and further develop these
ancient contributions.
Technology Skills
By the end of the semester students should be able to use e-mail; to use
on-line library catalogs and other library databases including but not limited
to Philosopher’s Index; to find reserve and non-reserve materials such
as books and journal articles; to use word-processing programs such as
WordPerfect or Word to format documents with correct margins and (if needed)
footnotes or endnotes; to be able to access documents on the course web site,
on other web sites, and on the GMU electronic reserve system.
Course Requirements
Required Texts
1. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics. Trans. Ostwald. Hackett.
2. Aristotle, On Poetics. Trans. Benardete and Davis. St. Augustine’s Press.
3. Aristotle, De Anima. Penguin.
All of these should be available in the GMU Bookstore. If you already own other translations, you may use them; please bring up in class any ways in which these translations differ from the ones ordered for the class, as these differences can be instructive.
4. Some additional short texts (original translations, supplements to lecture notes, etc.) will be made available on the course web site.
5. Further readings, some but not all of them required, will be placed on reserve, either in the Johnson Center Library or on electronic reserve.
6. Some
supplementary materials in the form of journal articles will be found either in
the Periodicals Section of Fenwick Library, or in on-line journal databases.
Please check our course web site at least once per week to
see new postings and links concerning supporting materials (recommended
readings, things you might find useful in your papers, etc.).
Classwork
Except where noted, class sessions begin at 4:30 PM. Students are expected to come to each class session having read the material assigned for that day, and prepared to discuss it or to ask thoughtful questions about it. Thoughtful class participation is expected. Please bring to class each day the text we will be discussing that day.
If you don’t
have questions you haven’t done the reading.
Written Work
1. Four short papers (about 5 pages each).
Each week, I will assign either an exegesis (a passage of
text to explicate) or a question or both. Each week you should select a maximum
of one of these passages to explicate OR one question to
answer. Your response should be about 5 pages in length (6 maximum). Each paper
will be due in class the week after it is assigned. In other words, some weeks
you will explicate one passage, some weeks you will answer one question, and
some weeks you will do neither. Everyone, however, is to do the first week’s
writing assignment. (If you choose to do more than 4 short papers, I will
count the 4 highest grades.)
2. One longer
semester paper (about 15 pages). The final version of this paper will be
handed in on your final exam day, May 14. An outline of this paper will be due
March 19, and a rough draft will be due on April 16. (Note that these due dates have changed from
the ones in the printed syllabus, to reflect changes in the semester calendar
due to snow days.) There is no in-class final exam for this
course.
Grading
The short papers taken together will account for 60% of your grade. The longer semester paper will account for 40% of your grade. Regular and thoughtful class participation is helpful to your grade, especially in situations where your numerical average comes out in between two letter grades.
To get an A on a paper, you need to: answer the question(s) correctly (there may be several ways to do this); cover your topic thoroughly; follow all instructions; explain how you came to your conclusions if any; support your conclusions (if any) or explain why you have doubts; show your reasoning; make no factual errors. To get an A+ you must do all the things that would earn an A, in a way that shows a higher level of understanding and clarity (for example, presenting an especially comprehensive explanation or an especially detailed analysis or an especially nuanced conclusion).
A paper that gets a B is one that gets most parts of the question(s) right, but makes some noticeable and relevant factual error OR does not answer the question(s) completely (leaves out something fairly important) OR makes a relevant error in answering the question OR makes a relevant error in reasoning or in understanding of the point or text studied OR does not show the student's understanding or reasoning OR comes to unexplained conclusions.
A paper that gets a C is one that answers the question somewhat, but leaves out crucial points OR makes several significant factual errors OR includes little explanation or shows little reasoning OR combines several of the problems mentioned in the paragraph on "B" papers and exams OR is not written clearly enough to convey your understanding of certain important points.
A paper that gets a D shows minimal understanding of the texts OR covers little of the question(s) correctly OR makes major factual errors that undermine your answers OR is so unclear that I can only tell whether a few parts are right OR includes no explanations.
A paper will get an F if it covers less than 60% of the question(s) or topic correctly OR if it does not address the question(s) OR if it is so unclear that I cannot tell what you are saying.
Grades of A-, B+, B-, C+, etc. will also be given. An A- paper is between an A paper and a B paper but closer to an A paper; a B+ paper is between an A paper and a B paper but closer to a B paper, etc.
As required by University policy, a letter grade of A+ is equivalent to a numerical grade of 4.0; a grade of A is also equivalent to a numerical grade of 4.0; a grade of A- is equivalent to a 3.67; a B+ is equivalent to a 3.33; a B is equivalent to a 3.0; etc.
For a full listing of the University's policy for converting letter grades into numerical grades to compute your GPA (grade-point average), see the University Catalog online at http://www.gmu.edu/catalog/apolicies/examsgrades.html
Honor Code Policy
My Honor Code statement is here. My Honor
Code policy is in accordance with the University policy as outlined in the
online University Catalog at http://www.gmu.edu/catalog/apolicies/honor.html.
Schedule
Please note that this schedule may change slightly should
that become necessary. Any changes that occur will be announced as soon as the
instructor knows of them.
Jan. 22: Introduction; NE Book One
Jan. 29: Books Two and Three
Feb. 5: Books Three and Four
Feb. 12: Book Five
Please note that on Feb. 12 the class meeting will begin at 5:00 PM.
Feb. 26: Book Six
March 5: Book Seven
March 19: Books Eight and Nine
March 26: Book Ten
April 2: On Poetics
April 9: On Poetics
April 16: On Poetics; De Anima Book One
April 23: Books One and Two
April 30: Books Two and Three
May 7: Book Three
Important Dates this Semester
Last day to add classes: Feb. 4
Last day to drop classes with no tuition liability: Feb. 4
Last day to drop classes: Feb. 21
Spring Break: March 9 - 16
Last class meeting for this course: May 7
Last day of classes: May 7
Semester paper due date: May 14