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Ancient Philosophy PHL 200 Fall 2022

Tues 5:00 – 7:00 CC 1140

Instructor: James Allen (jv.allen@utoronto.ca). MN 6164; office hours Thurs. 1:30 – 3:00 and by appt.

Teaching assistants: Mark Gatten (m.gatten@mail.utoronto.ca)

Ismaël Kettani (ismael.kettani@mail.utoronto.ca)

Though philosophy had no single beginning in place or time, we use the Greek term, ‘philosophy’, meaning the
love of wisdom, because of the explosion of intellectual activity that began in the Greek-speaking world in the
6th century BCE and persisted for centuries thereafter. The terms ‘metaphysics’ ‘ethics’ and ‘logic’, which
remain part of the common language of philosophy, were first used by the ancient Greek philosophers at this
time. Our introduction to this flourishing and influential era in the history of philosophy will concentrate on
the ideas and arguments of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, which we will approach through the careful study of
selected readings from the writing of the latter two. (Because Plato had much to say about his teacher and
inspiration, Socrates, who wrote nothing himself, his books also serve to acquaint us with Socrates’ ideas, and
because these philosophers were engaged with the ideas of their predecessors, the so-called pre-Socratics, we
shall also pay some attention to the ideas of thinkers like Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Parmenides and
Democritus.)

The texts for the class (available through the campus book store):

G.M.A. Grube (trans.), Plato: Five Dialogues (Hackett)

S. Lombardo and K. Bell (trans.) Plato: Protagoras (Hackett)

T. Irwin and G. Fine (trans.) Aristotle: Introductory Readings (Hackett)

(Alternatively you may want to acquire the following volumes, which contain all the Plato and Aristotle in the
above and more. They come at a higher cost, but are a worthwhile investment.)

J. M. Cooper (ed.), Plato: Complete Works (Hackett)

T. Irwin and G. Fine (trans.) Aristotle: Selections (Hackett))

Evaluation: Students are required to write two short essays of 5-6 double-spaced pages each and take the
final exam (date TBA). Electronic copies are due through Quercus by the end the day on which they are due.
Each paper counts 30% toward your final mark as does the final exam. The remaining 10% of the final mark
will be for attendance and tutorial participation.

1st paper due Monday 3 October.; 2nd paper due Monday 7 November; Final exam TBA

Course schedule with readings by week (dates are for the lecture on Tues. lecture; tutorials meet on
Thursday and Friday):

September 13: Plato, Euthyphro, Protagoras beginning to 339a.

September 20: Plato, Protagoras 347a to end.

September 27: Plato, Phaedo beginning to 88c.

October 4: Plato, Phaedo 88d to end of dialogue. (1st paper due Monday 3 October)
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October 11: No meeting (Thanksgiving & Fall Reading Week).

October 18: Aristotle, Categories 1-5, Metaphysics A (I) 1-4, 6, 9; Physics bk. I, 1.

October 25: Aristotle, Physics bk. I 7-8; Generation and Corruption, I 4, 5; II 2-5.

November 1: Aristotle, Physics bk. II.

November 8: Aristotle, De anima (On the soul) bks I 1, II. (selections) (2nd paper due Monday 7 November).

November 15: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, bk. I, 1-10, 13

November 22: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, bk. II, 1-7.

November 29: Nicomachean Ethics, bk. III, 1-5.

December 6: Nicomachean Ethics bk. VII, 1, 2-3; X, 6-9.

Exam TBA

Accessibility. Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. In particular, if you
have a disability/health consideration that may require accommodations, please check the resources
available to you at The AccessAbility Resource Centre home website (www.utm.utoronto.ca/access) as soon
as possible, and please do feel encouraged to approach me and/or the AccessAbility Resource Centre for any
further help. The UTM AccessAbility  Resource Centre staff (located in Room 2037, Davis Building) are
available by appointment to assess specific needs, provide referrals and arrange appropriate
accommodations (905) 569-4699 or access.utm@utoronto.ca. The sooner you let us know your needs the
sooner we can assist you.

Lateness policy: Late assignments without authorized extensions (see below) will be penalized at the rate of
5% for each calendar date past the deadline. No assignment more than one week late will be accepted.

How to request an authorized extension or make-up: If a student must miss an assignment deadline or a
test for medical or other valid reasons and wishes to request an extension or a make-up test, he or she must
file a formal petition (see below) in advance of the deadline if possible, or as soon as possible afterward. 
Requests for special academic consideration that are not made in a prompt and timely manner will be denied.

This requirement applies to all students.  Students registered with the AccessAbility Resource Centre should
inform their advisors of this policy at the beginning of the relevant term and, in addition, must contact their
advisors in AccessAbility before filing a request for special consideration.  Such requests should be filed for
each assignment or test separately, as registration with the AccessAbility Centre does not generate automatic
extensions or make-ups.

For instructions on how to request an authorized extension or make-up test, see:

https://philosophy.utoronto.ca/utm/utm-philosophy-undergraduate/special-consideration-requests/

Academic integrity. Academic integrity is essential to the pursuit of learning and scholarship in a university,
and to ensuring that a degree from the University of Toronto Mississauga is a strong signal of each student’s
individual academic achievement. As a result, UTM treats cases of cheating and plagiarism very seriously.
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The University of Toronto’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters outlines behaviours that constitute
academic dishonesty and the process for addressing academic offences. Potential offences include, but are not
limited to:

In papers and assignments:

1.      Using someone else’s ideas or words without appropriate acknowledgement.

2.      Submitting your own work in more than one course without the permission of the instructor.
3.      Making up sources or facts.
4.      Obtaining or providing unauthorized assistance on any assignment.

For more information, see: http://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using-sources/how-not-to-plagiarize/.

Plagiarism detection tool. Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to the
University’s plagiarism detection tool for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In
doing so, students will allow their essays to be included as source documents in the tool’s reference database,
where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the
University’s use of this tool are described on the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation web site
(https://uoft.me/pdt-faq).