Ave Maria University Department of Classics & Early Christian Literature Fall 2012

LATN 415.01
Meeting Times: T - Th, 3:40PM - 5:20PM Location: Henkels 1030 Instructor: Dr. Joseph Yarbrough Email: joseph.yarbrough@avemaria.edu Twitter: @jwy80 Phone: 239-280-1627 Office: Henkels 2051

(4 credits)

Office Hours: M - W, 2:30PM - 3:30PM or by appointment Website: josephyarbrough.net/latn-415-cicero-de-finibus Description While Cicero was not a great philosopher in his own right, his philosophical writings are an extremely important source in the study of various schools of Hellenistic philosophy. In reading Ciceros De finibus bonorum et malorum (On Ethical Ends), this course will focus on Books I-IV which present the Epicurean and the Stoic conceptions of ethics followed by rebuttals of each. Classes will involve reading and translating selected passages, commenting on their grammatical components and special vocabulary, explicating the philosophical ideas presented, and evaluating the strength of the arguments given. A number of outside, contemporary texts about Cicero qua philosophical writer, Epicurean ethics, and Stoic ethics will also be read to give the students context against which to evaluate the De finibus.

Required Texts (1) Cicero, Marcus Tullius. Cicero: On Moral Ends. Trans. Raphael Woolf with introduction by Julia Annas. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN: 978-052-166-061-7. (2) Cicero, Marcus Tullius. De finibus bonorum et malorum libri quinque. Text revised and explained by James S. Reid. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1925. Volume I only. (3) Cicero, Marcus Tullius. De finibus bonorum et malorum libri quinque. Introduction and commentary by W.M.L. Hutchinson. London: Edward Arnold, 1909. Optional Texts (1) Brennan, Tad. The Stoic Life: Emotions, Duties, and Fate. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN: 019-921-705-X. (2) Mitsis, Phillip. Epicurus Ethical Theory: the Pleasures of Invulnerability. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1989. (3) Powell, J.G.F., ed. Cicero the Philosopher. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN: 019-815-273-6. Requirements (1) Regular class attendance and cheerful, clever participation. (2) Completion of assigned readings in English and Latin. (3) Weekly, short translation quizzes of previously seen material to be completed outside of class. (4) A paper in two drafts of not more than 4000 words consisting of a commentary on a passage selected at the students discretion together with an explication of the philosophical ideas therein. The paper will include (1) a highly polished translation of the selected passage; (2) an elucidation of any grammatical difficulties or technical terms; (3) a clear reconstruction of the argument presented in the passage; (4) an assessment of the argument: why should we find it convincing? why should we find it unconvincing?
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(5) A final examination consisting of an extended translation passage involving seen and unseen material along with some short answer essays about the content of the passage. Grading Attendance & Participation Weekly Translation Quizzes Paper (in two drafts) Final Examination Learning Accommodations Any students with disabilities, whatever their nature, are to be ensured full participation and equal educational opportunity. Please go to Sharon OReilly in the Career Services in the Student Activities Center or contact her at ext. 1654. Set up an appointment to make a formal request for accommodations. To give accommodations for disabilities, we can only respond to Miss OReillys requests. This helps ensure that sufficient, appropriate and consistent accommodations are provided for all students with disabilities. Honor Code By virtue of enrollment, the student is held to the Honor Code. The Honor Pledge is stated as follows: On my honor, I will not lie, cheat, or steal. I will encourage others not to lie, cheat, or steal, and I will not be party to others lying, cheating, or stealing. Students are hold to one another accountable to the Honor Code. 10% 30% 30% 30%

Course Schedule

Week 1
(1) August 28 - De finibus I.1-3, 6, 8-9, 11; Introduction by Julia Annas in Cicero: On Moral Ends. (2) August 30 - De finibus I.13-16, 28-30

Week 2
(3) September 4 - De finibus I.32-33, 37-38, 40-42; Ciceros Philosophical Works and their Background by J.G.F. Powell in Cicero the Philosopher. (4) September 6 - De finibus I.45-51

Week 3
(5) September 11 - De finibus I.53-54, 65-70; Epicurus: Psychology and Ethics at SEP (David Konstan, 2009); Epicurus Letter to Menoeceus. (6) September 13 - De finibus I.65-70; reading of Book I in English due.

Week 4
(7) September 18 - De finibus II.4-11; Epicurus: Virtue, Pleasure, and Time in Julia Annas The Morality of Happiness (Oxford, 1993). (8) September 20 - De finibus II.13, 16, 18, 20-23

Week 5
(9) September 25 - De finibus II.26, 28-29, 31-32, 36-38; p. 382-388 in The Greeks on Pleasure by J.C.B. Gosling & C.C.W. Taylor (Oxford, 1982). (10) September 27 - De finibus II.44-47, 49-50

Week 6
(11) October 2 - De finibus II.53, 59-61, 63-65; Cicero on Epicurean Pleasures by Michael Stokes in Cicero the Philosopher. (12) October 4 - De finibus II.69-70, 74, 78

Week 7
(13) October 9 - De finibus II.84-89, 92-93; Friendship and Altruism: Friendship, Happiness, and Invulnerability in Phillip Mitsis Epicurus Ethical Theory (1988). (14) October 11 - De finibus II.96-98, 100-102, 104

Week 8
(15) October 16 - De finibus II.107-109, 118-119; reading of Book II in English due; Epicurus on the telos by Jeffrey Purinton (Phronesis 38: 281-320, 1993). October 18 - Fall Break

Week 9
(16) October 23 - De finibus III.7, 10, 15-17; Why be a Stoic?, The Ancient Stoics: People and Sources, An Overview of Stoic Ethics in The Stoic Life. (17) October 25 - De finibus III.20-29

Week 10
(18) October 30 - De finibus III.33-36, 38 November 1 - All Saints

Week 11
(19) November 6 - De finibus III.41-48; Following Nature: A Study in Stoic Ethics by Gisela Striker (Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 1991). (20) November 8 - De finibus III.51-56

Week 12
(21) November 13 - De finibus III.58-61, 64, 72-73; Goods and Indifferents in Brennans The Stoic Life. (22) November 15 - De finibus III.75-76 (reading of Book III in English due); paper topics due.

Week 13
(23) November 20 - De finibus IV.6-7, 11-12, 16-18, 20; Final Ends in The Stoic Life. November 22 - Thanksgiving Break; first draft of paper due.

Week 14
(24) November 27 - De finibus IV.24-28, 34-37; Stoic Autonomy by John Cooper in Knowledge, Nature and the Good (2004). (25) November 29 - De finibus IV.58-60

Week 15
(26) December 4 - De finibus IV.74-80; reading of Book IV in English due. (27) December 6 - De finibus V.1-5; reading of Book V in English due; J. Barnes Antiochus of Ascalon in Philosophia Togata; final draft of paper due. Final Exam Date: Wednesday, December 12, 2:00PM - 5:00PM; location TBA.
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