Ancient Mediterranean Philosophy

Catalog description

This course is an examination of the origins of Western philosophical thought in ancient Greece and Rome, with a special focus on the views of Plato and Aristotle. Through their work, students will grapple with a range of pressing philosophical questions, including: Is happiness more than a subjective state of consciousness? Is death harmful? Do we have free will? Do we have obligations to others that override the pursuit of our own self-interest? What is the relation between the mind (or the soul) and the body? Since most of the philosophers that will be studied thought that philosophy must be systematic, we will also try to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of this kind of approach to philosophical questions.