Universität Wien

180019 VO-L History of Philosophy I (Antiquity) (2020S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

Language: German

Examination dates

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Wednesday 11.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 32 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
Wednesday 18.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 32 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
Wednesday 25.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 32 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
Wednesday 01.04. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 32 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
Wednesday 22.04. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 32 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
Wednesday 29.04. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 32 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
Wednesday 06.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 32 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
Wednesday 13.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 32 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
Wednesday 20.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 32 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The aim of these lectures is to review the history of Ancient Philosophy from its beginning with the so-called Presocratics and until the end of classical times that is down to Aristotle, but we will do so focusing on ancient cosmology and on ancient ethics. Ancient Philosophy indeed begins with theories about the nature of the world (kosmos) and they are the main concern of the Presocratics. These theories address questions such as how the world has come about, which are the principles accounting for the world and for the change that takes place in it, and what the world consists of. These questions were for the first time systematically treated by Plato in his dialogue Timaios. In this dialogue we are presented with the view that the world has been created by God, an intellect, portrayed as the creator of the universe. Aristotle disputes that view and he argues instead that nature alone is responsible for the structure, change and maintainance of the world and everything in it. Ancient cosmological theories imply ontological views, that is views about different kinds and ways of being such as substance and property. For this reason we will also deal with ancient ontology to the extent that this is necessary for understanding ancient cosmology. In the last three lectures we will discuss the main ethical theories of Plato and Aristotle. Central here are the questions of how we attain happiness (eudaimonia), how virtue (arete) contributes to it, and how we can achieve virtue.

Assessment and permitted materials

written Examination

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Main aim of the course is that students gain knowledge of ancient philosophy from the beginnings with the Presocratics and until Aristotle and that by the end of the course they have understood the main philosophical questions that preoccupied ancient philosophers of the archaic and the classical period.

Examination topics

-Reader (online and in Facultas) which contains an anthology of original texts and scholarly papers.
-Plato's Timaeus

Reading list

-C. Horn - C. Rapp (ed.), Wörterbuch der antiken Philosophie, Munich 2002
-M. Erler, Platon, Munich 2006
-T. Irwin, Classical Thought, Oxford 1989
-C. Rapp, Aristoteles zur Einführung, Munich 2012 (revised edition)
-D. Sedley, Creationism and its Critics in Antiquity, Berkeley 2007
-Reader (available in Facultas)

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Fr 12.05.2023 00:18