Results for PHIL 107: Plato

We shall focus on Plato¿s early or Socratic dialogues (e.g. the Crito, the Gorgias, and the Protagoras). In these dialogues, Plato focuses on ethics and ethical psychology without explicitly drawing on epistemological and metaphysical claims. We¿ll try to determine whether the Socrates of these dialogues is a purely destructive critic or whether he has a positive ethical view that he advances.

In this course, we shall examine the views of some central Greek philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, the Epicureans, and the Stoics) on the irrational and non-rational aspects of human life. What makes something irrational and what roles (negative and perhaps positive as well) does the irrational play in our lives? We shall examine their views on anger, fear, madness, love, pleasure and pain, sexual desire and so on. We shall also consider more briefly some depictions of these psychic items in ancient Greek literature.