Undergraduate Course: Ancient Philosophy (PHIL10181)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course will provide a systematic introduction to some central concepts and arguments developed by ancient philosophical schools. |
| Course description |
The course will provide a systematic introduction to some central concepts and arguments developed by ancient philosophical schools, starting from the early Greek thinkers, proceeding to the major figures of Plato and Aristotle, and devoting an appropriate amount of time to the main Hellenistic schools such as the Epicureans, Stoics, and Sceptics. The focus of the course will be on a major philosophical theme developed by these schools. A representative theme would be theories of the first principles and the nature of philosophy as a type of knowledge. The course will involve careful analytical reading of primary sources (in English) as well as a study of modern scholarly discussions of ancient texts and arguments.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Knowledge and Reality (PHIL08017) AND
Mind, Matter and Language (PHIL08014)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students who have not taken Knowledge and Reality (PHIL08017) and Mind, Matter and Language (PHIL08014) must gain permission from the Course Organiser before enrolling on this course.
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-requisites | Visiting 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. **Please note that 3rd year Philosophy courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.** 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
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 35 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 32,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
164 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Midterm Essay (1500 words): 30%
Final Essay (2500 words): 60%
Participation: 10% |
| Feedback |
(1) One-on-one sessions after the tests
(2) Discussing essay plans before the final |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the core concepts of ancient philosophy
- Demonstrate the ability to analyse and interpret ancient philosophical texts
- Demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of the main problems and approaches to solution in ancient philosophical discussions, using both the primary sources and the secondary literature
- Demonstrate the ability to construct an original philosophical argument on the basis of sound exegesis of primary texts and critical analysis of scholarly discussions of ancient texts and arguments
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
This course is an introduction to ancient philosophy via several famous themes in ancient metaphysics and epistemology. The students will learn about different approaches to philosophy developed by ancient Greek and Roman thinkers, will understand the differences between philosophical schools, and will critically examine some of the main ideas and arguments. Each week has its own set of readings which will be discussed in class and in the tutorial groups. The course will help to develop and perfect the students' analytical, presentation and writing skills. In particular, the work with ancient texts where the argument can often be reconstructed in several different ways, will help developing a clearer and more nuanced sense of the argument, which is useful as a background for future work in philosophy, but also has a great value as a transferable skill in many areas.
Core skills gained or developed on this course:
Being open to different perspectives; Challenging own perspectives and assumptions; Critical thinking; Critical analysis and evaluation; Formulating original arguments and justifying it; Independence; Oral communication (discussion, debating respectfully, influencing); Preparation, planning and organisation; Presentation skills ; Problem solving; Academic reading skills; Research skills; Resilience; Self-reflection; Taking initiative; Time management; Understanding broader perspectives; Workload management; Written communication; Writing clearly and concisely; Reading and analysing difficult and unfamiliar texts where some context or data can be missing: this takes the analytical skills to a new level and develops exegetical skills. |
| Keywords | First principles,elements,theory of forms,particulars,substance,form and matter,atoms |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Inna Kupreeva
Tel: (0131 6)50 3653
Email: inna.kupreeva@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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