PLATO

Catalog description

The course begins with consideration of the characteristics of ‘Platonism’ as a set of philosophical theses espoused by various authors, and of the history of Platonism. It proceeds to a study of Socratic ethics and of Plato’s own assertions and arguments, via close reading of the dialogues. Topics include soul and body, truth and knowledge, the relation between religion and ethics, the relation between metaphysics and ethics, education, moral psychology, theories of love and motivation. Comparisons and con trasts with other authors from the history of philosophy, as well as developments (Plato’s developments of earlier authors, and later authors’ developments of Plato), will be pointed out and discussed along the way. Prerequisites: PHIL 205, PHIL 206, PHIL 302.