THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2020/2021

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences : Philosophy

Undergraduate Course: Aristotle (PHIL10130)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe course will introduce students to the main concepts and arguments of Aristotle's philosophy, and examine the links between Aristotelian and modern philosophy. It will commence with a survey of Aristotle's theories of truth and scientific method and proceed to the metaphysics of substance and some of its applications in philosophy of mind and ethics. The main texts to look at will include Physics, Posterior Analytics, Metaphysics, De anima, and selections from logical and the ethical corpus.
Course description Not entered
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Greats: From Plato to the Enlightenment (PHIL08016) AND ( Knowledge and Reality (PHIL08017) OR Mind, Matter and Language (PHIL08014))
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Students studying on MA Cognitive Science (Humanities) are permitted to take this course without having met the pre-requisites of Mind, Matter and Language and Knowledge and Reality. However, it is advisable that students discuss the suitability of the course with their PT and the course organiser before enrolling.
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have completed at least 3 Philosophy courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Applicants should note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission. These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2020/21, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  0
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 174 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) This course will be assessed by a shorter mid-term essay (approx. 1500 word) due roughly half way through the semester (40%), a final essay (approx. 2500 word) due around the end of semester (55%) and Participation (5%).
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Academic year 2020/21, Part-year visiting students only (VV1) Quota:  0
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 174 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) This course will be assessed by a shorter mid-term essay (approx. 1500 word) due roughly half way through the semester (40%), a final essay (approx. 2500 word) due around the end of semester (55%) and Participation (5%).
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course, students will be able to: - grasp and analyse some of the central concepts in Aristotle's logic, philosophy of language, metaphysics and philosophy of mind - state and discuss the main principles and arguments of Aristotle's theories of truth, method and explanation; hylomorphic metaphysics of substance and its applications in philosophy of mind - understand the nature and methods of ancient philosophical debates and their relevance to modern discussions of the same topics - situate Aristotle and Peripatetics within their own intellectual context - read ancient philosophical texts in a more expert way, using analytic and critical tools (with respect to both doctrinal and textual problems) Students will also acquire the following transferable skills: - written skills - analytical skills - oral communication skills - the ability to recognise and critically assess an argument - the ability to do literature searches for both primary and secondary sources
Reading List
Representative Readings:

Primary sources:

Full corpus in English:

J. Barnes (ed), The Complete Works of Aristotle, Volumes I and II, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984

Substantive selections covering most of the course material:

J. Ackrill, A New Aristotle Reader, OUP, 1979
T. Irwin and Fine, G., Aristotle: Selections, Translated with Introduction, Notes, and Glossary, Indianapolis: Hackett, 1995

Secondary sources:

General Introductions:

Ackrill, J., Aristotle the Philosopher, OUP, 1981.
Jaeger, W., Aristotle: Fundamentals of the History of his Development, OUP, 1934.
Lear, J., Aristotle: the Desire to Understand, CUP, 1988.Ross, W. D., Aristotle, London: Methuen and Co., 1923
Lloyd, G.E.R. Aristotle: The Growth and Structure of his Thought. Cambridge, 1968
Shields, C., Aristotle, London: Routledge, 2007.

Monographs and article collections:

J. Barnes (ed) The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle, CUP, 1995
J. Barnes, M. Schofield, R. Sorabji, Articles on Aristotle, vols 1 - 4, Duckworth, 1979
J. Beere, Doing and Being: an Interpretation of Aristotle Metaphysics IX, OUP, 2011
E. Berti (ed), Aristotle on Science, Padova: Antenore, 1981
D. Bostock, Space, Time, Matter and Form: Essays on Aristotle's Physics, OUP, 2006
D. Charles, Aristotle's Theory of Action, Cornell University Press, 1984
U. Coope, Time for Aristotle, OUP, 2005
P. Crivelli, Aristotle on Truth, CUP, 2004
M. Furth, Substance, Form and Psyche: An Aristotelian Metaphysics, CUP, 1988
M.L. Gill, Aristotle on Substance: The Paradox of Unity, Princeton, 1989
A. Gotthelf (ed) Aristotle on Nature and Living Things, Pittsburgh, 1985
A. Gotthelf and J. Lennox (eds) Philosophical Issues in Aristotle's Biology, CUP, 1987
P. Gregoric, Aristotle on Common Sense, OUP, 2006
R.J. Hankinson, Cause and Explanation in Ancient Greek Thought, OUP, 1998
E. Hartman, Substance, Body and Soul: Aristotelian Investigations, Princeton, 1977
T.H. Irwin, Aristotle's First Principles, OUP, 1988
T.H. Irwin, The Development of Ethics, vol. 1, OUP, 2007
V. Kal, On Intuition and Discursive Reasoning in Aristotle, Leiden: Brill, 1988
R.A.H. King, Aristotle on Life and Death, Duckworth, 2000
M.R. Johnson, Aristotle on Teleology, OUP, 2007
G. Lear, Happy Lives and the Highest Good: an Essay on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, OUP, 2004
J.G. Lennox, Aristotle's Philosophy of Biology, CUP, 2000
G.E.R. Lloyd (ed), Aristotle on Mind and the Senses, CUP, 1978
G.E.R. Lloyd, Aristotelian Explorations, Cambridge, 1996
H. Lorenz, The Brute Within, OUP, 2006
D. Modrak, Aristotle: the Power of Perception, Chicago, 1987
D. Modrak, Aristotle's Theory of Language and Meaning, CUP, 2000
M. Mohan (ed) Aristotle Today: Essays on Aristotle's Ideal of Science, Edmonton, AB, 1987
B. Morison, Aristotle on Location, OUP, 2003
M.C. Nussbaum, A.O. Rorty (eds) Essays on Aristotle's De anima, 2nd edition, OUP, 1992
P. Pellegrin, Aristotle's Classification of Animals, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1986
A.O. Rorty (ed) Essays on Aristotle's Ethics, Berkeley, Univesity of California Press, 1980
F. Solmsen, Aristotle's System of Physical World, Cornell University Press, 1961
R.R.K. Sorabji, Necessity, Cause, and Blame, Duckworth, 1980
R.R.K. Sorabji, Matter, Space, and Motion, Duckworth, 1988
S. Waterlow, Nature, Change, and Agency in Aristotle's Physics, OUP, 1982
M. Wedin, Mind and Imagination in Aristotle, Yale University Press, 1988
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Inna Kupreeva
Tel: (0131 6)50 3653
Email: inna.kupreeva@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Ann-Marie Cowe
Tel: (0131 6)50 3961
Email: Annmarie.Cowe@ed.ac.uk
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