Conducted in terms: 2021/22L, 2022/23L, 2023/24L, 2024/25L

ISCED code: 0223

ECTS credits: 3

Language: English

Organized by: Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences (for: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń)

Introduction to Ancient Philosophy 2400-OG-EN-IAP

https://moodle.umk.pl/course/view.php?id=995 (term 2021/22L)

This course is an introduction to ancient Greek philosophy open to all the students interested in humanities, especially in the history and development of European tradition. It is focused on some selected problems of philosophy of the so-called Presocratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Stoics, Epicureans, and Sceptics (LO W1, W2). The acquired knowledge is based on the reading and interpretation of the selected literature (fragments of Presocratics, excerpts from Plato, Aristotle, and Hellenistic philosophers) and secondary literature prepared by the lecturer and made available on the Moodle platform to every participant (LO U1, U2). Each unit contains a list of the most essential philosophical terms related to a given philosopher or philosophical school (LO U3). The course's emphasis is on developing the ability to understand the ancient philosophical texts, reconstruct the historical context, and reveal the importance of literary genre for text interpretation (LO U4). Review of the main philosophical ideas, their comparison, and showing actuality of the ancient philosophical ideas allows the student to analyze and evaluate the presented beliefs and increases awareness of the importance of tradition in the development of European culture (LO K1, K2, K3).

The course will start with the class concerned with introductory information related to course program, topics to be discussed, unit structure, e-resources, requirements, etc. (UNIT 1).

The next class will be concerned with a short overview of Greek Philosophy. Based on the general overview, the students will be asked to select the most exciting philosopher or school of thought and justify their selection (UNIT 2).

Next classes will be devoted to the presentation of Greek philosophy in chronological order. We will start with the origins of philosophy and the main questions asked by the so-called Pre-socratic philosophers. During the subsequent classes, there will be discussed various answers to the question about the nature of reality (first principles, the problem of change and rest) and the conception of Heraclitus' "harmony of the opposites" (The Ionian School of Philosophy and Heraclitus - UNIT 3), the Pythagorean dualism of body and soul, Parmenides' doctrine of being, Empedocles' idea of Love and Strife ("The Italian School of Philosophy - UNIT 4).

The Sophists and Socrates mark the beginning of the new "humanistic" period in philosophy. Under discussion, there will be some selected ideas of the representatives of the so-called "sophistic movement", such as Protagoras' man-measure doctrine and the sophistic opposition of nature and convention. The next topic is the life and thought of Socrates. During the class, it will be attempted to reconstruct Socrates's biography and understand the reasons for his being sentenced to death. Then it will be discussed Socrates' philosophical heritage: a method of questioning, the notion of virtue, and the Socratic paradox "Virtue is knowledge" (UNIT 5).

The scrutiny of Plato's thought will commence with a general overview of Plato's literary heritage and then, with the most famous philosophical theory, i.e., the theory of forms (Platonic love and allegory of the cave) (UNIT 6). During the next class on Plato, we will attempt to reconstruct and assess Plato's utopia of the ideal society (philosophers - kings) (UNIT 7).

The presentation of the philosophy of Aristotle will commence with his metaphysical vocabulary (the basic metaphysical concepts such as substance, essence, accident, potentiality, actuality, matter, form, the "first mover"), followed by a discussion of the Aristotelian ethics (the concepts of three types of life, of virtue and of the golden mean) (UNIT 8).

The discussion of the philosophy of the Hellenistic period will include a description of the main ideas of the Stoic school (Marcus Aurelius), Epicurus' way of life, and the sceptical suspension of judgment (Pyrrho, Sextus Empiricus) (UNIT 9).

During the last class, the final test will be carried out (UNIT 10).

Term 2021/22L:

None

Term 2022/23L:

This course introduces ancient Greek philosophy and focuses on some selected problems of the philosophy of Presocratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Stoics, Epicureans, and Sceptics.
Our first goal in this course will be to understand the main questions asked by so-called Presocratic philosophers. We will discuss various answers to the question about the nature of reality (first principles, the problem of change or rest). We will interiorize the conceptions of Heraclitus' "harmony of the opposites", the Pythagorean dualism of body and soul, Empedocles' doctrine of Love and Strife, Parmenides' concept of being and sophistic opposition of nature and convention.
We will then examine the life and thought of Socrates. We will try to reconstruct the biography of Socrates and the reasons for his being sentenced to death. Then we will discuss his philosophical heritage: method of questioning, the notion of virtue, and the Socratic paradox "Virtue is knowledge."
We will begin the scrutiny of Plato's thought by discussing the opposition of practical and theoretical life. After that, we will reconstruct Plato's conception of the soul (eschatological myths), the theory of the ideas (allegory of the cave), and Plato's utopia of ideal state (philosophers kings).
We will start the presentation of the philosophy of Aristotle with the issue of Aristotelian metaphysics (the basic metaphysical concepts such as substance, essence, accident, potentiality, actuality, matter, form, the "first mover"), followed by a discussion of the Aristotelian ethics (the concepts of three types of life, of virtue and of the golden mean).
Discussion of the philosophy of the Hellenistic period includes a description of the main objectives of the Stoic school (Marcus Aurelius), Epicureans, and skeptics (Pyrrho, Sextus Empiricus).

Term 2023/24L:

Term 2024/25L:

Total student workload

Contact hours with teacher: np. - participation in lectures - 20 hrs - consultations- 10 hrs Self-study hours: np. - preparation for lectures - 20 hrs - reading literature – 10 hrs - writing essays/ papers/ projects- 20 hrs - preparation for test- 20 hrs Altogether: 100 hrs ( 4 ECTS)

Learning outcomes - knowledge

W1: The student knows the ideas and arguments of the ancient philosophers based on primary sources and secondary literature. W2: He/she is aware of relationship between the ideas contained in the texts, and can indicate the similarities and differences between them.

Learning outcomes - skills

U1: The student is able to read and interpret the philosophical texts from Greek tradition in their specific historical and cultural context and in relation to earlier and later philosophical tradition. U2: He/she can point to the philosophical elements of the text, which are determined by the specificity of the history and culture of the ancient world. U3: He/she can show examples of the differences and similarities between their ancient and the modern meaning. U4: He/she can indicate the importance of literary form of the text for its interpretation and he/she can use basic forms (speech, eulogy, dialogue).

Learning outcomes - social competencies

K1: Student is open to new ideas and willing to change opinion in the light of the available data and arguments. K2: He/she analyzes any beliefs, indicates their source and nature, recognizes and lists strengths and weaknesses. K3: As a result, he/she evaluates and makes a critical choice of ideas.

Teaching methods

Observation/demonstration teaching methods: - description - informative (conventional) lecture - narration Exploratory teaching methods: - biographical - brainstorming - case study - practical - presentation of a paper

Observation/demonstration teaching methods

- display
- staging

Expository teaching methods

- narration
- description
- programmed material

Exploratory teaching methods

- project work
- practical
- classic problem-solving
- biographical
- seminar
- brainstorming

Online teaching methods

- content-presentation-oriented methods
- methods developing reflexive thinking
- exchange and discussion methods

Type of course

elective course

Prerequisites

As a preparation for the course it is advisable to recall the basic information on the history, literature and art of ancient Greece.

Course coordinators

Zbigniew Nerczuk

Assessment criteria

Students will be required to complete and pass the final test.

Students will also be required to read outside of class, participate meaningfully and respectfully in online discussions, maintain good attendance, have a respectful and positive attitude!

Methodology

A combination of lecture, class discussion, presentations, videos, cooperative learning, and problem-based learning will be used in this course. Grades will be determined by the satisfactory and timely completion of assignments. The grade of each assignment is based on the prerequisite given for each assignment.

The student work is assessed in several ways, which are all closely connected with the tructure of the course and the implemented activities.

• IN THE PRESENTATION SECTION – the presentation prepared by the students is assessed not only by the lecturer, but also by other students by means of Choice activity.
• IN THE QUIZ SECTION: a test checking the comprehension of the material presented in the historical section.
• IN THE PRACTICAL SECTION Glossary activity helps to assess student's grasp of the main ideas of the topic and of the terms discussed, his/her activity, and the ability to build definitions.
• IN THE ASSIGNMEN/HOMEWORK SECTION - the Assignment/Homework activity allows to evaluate the student's work
• IN THE ASSESMENT OF THE STUDENT PRESENTATION SECTION - mutual assessment of homework by students takes place.
• IN THE DISCUSSION FORUM SECTION - the Forum allows to assess student's activity by giving insight into the Discussion Forum entries.
• THE FINAL TEST – the online Quiz activity – the test is composed of 45 questions concerning each course unit randomly selected from the Question Bank. The prerequisite of admission to the Final Test is the completion of the all the components of the course such as quizzes, posts, presentations and assignments.

Students will also be required to read outside of class, participate meaningfully and respectfully in online discussions, maintain good attendance, have a respectful and positive attitude!

Methodology

Final course score and final grade equivalent

Insufficient (2) - (0-60%)

Sufficient (3) - (60-68%)

Satisfactory (3+) - (68-76%)

Good (4) - (76-84%)

Very Good (4+) - (84-92%)

Excellent (5) - (92-100%)

Practical placement

not applicable

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2400-OG-EN-IAP in USOSweb