Syllabus Showcase: Dawn of Western Thought, Robert Earle

I designed this historical (largely Greek) philosophy course round three models: the Presocratics by means of Socrates and the sophists, Plato and Aristotle, and Hellenistic thought. On this weblog entry, I’ll give attention to sharing the essay matter concepts I developed for models one and two in addition to the culminating class exercise which is a dramatic studying of Plato’s Symposium.

The primary unit of the course, encompassing 1/3 of the length of the semester, focuses on the emergence of Western thought. College students are assigned to learn choices from Homer and Hesiod after which the work of roughly ten Presocratic philosophers earlier than turning to Socrates’ concepts (by way of a few of Plato’s early dialogues) and a few brief choices from the sophists. Except for pop quizzes on the readings, college students are assessed by way of an essay response to the next immediate: “What does Thales’ prediction of a photo voltaic eclipse on Could 28, 585 b.c.e. symbolize by way of the developments of later philosophers?” What I’m searching for in pupil responses is a recognition of necessary adjustments between Homer (c. 8^th century b.c.e.) and, say, Parmenides, (early 5^th century). For the sooner poetic custom, I chosen passages through which the gods intervene in human affairs and through which the actions of the gods clarify pure phenomena. Relating to the Presocratics, I encourage college students to search out frequent themes amongst these distinct people and traditions, relatively than simply specializing in their clear variations. Likewise, I encourage college students to consider what Socrates and the sophists (usually offered as diametrically opposed) even have in frequent. As an illustration, the query of human values involves the fore within the 5^th century extra so than with the Presocratics, who tended to give attention to metaphysical and cosmological points. One key takeaway I hope this unit offers college students is that the research of philosophical concepts could be a approach of doing historical past and of explaining altering social situations.

Within the second unit of the course, college students will give attention to the systematic philosophies of Plato and Aristotle. Previously, I’ve assigned everything of The Republic, however I’ll probably reduce virtually all of that work sooner or later, in favor of brief choices mixed with a few of Plato’s later dialogues (e.g. Timaeus and Gorgias). The query college students are requested to reply to of their essays for this unit is, “Why does Raphael paint Plato as pointing up and Aristotle as pointing down in his fresco Faculty of Athens (c. 1510 c.e.)?” This broad query permits college students free reign to pick out from a variety of domains we mentioned at school for distinguishing Plato and Aristotle (e.g. whether or not it’s worthwhile to review the bodily world, whether or not investigations ought to start with or work as much as beliefs, accounts of the gods, and the universe, the chances of an afterlife). I ought to word, in growing the essay prompts for each these models, I’m indebted to William Lawhead’s Voyage of Discovery (my all-time favourite textbook).

The crown jewel of the course, a minimum of for me, is the ultimate dramatic studying from Plato’s Symposium. At my establishment, remaining examination occasions are 110 minutes lengthy. Including within the final common class session, I dedicate 160 minutes of sophistication time to this exercise, plus two roughly 10-minute lead-up periods through which I clarify the exercise and assign components. That’s proper… I assign character components to every pupil. The final time I taught the course, there have been fifteen enrolled college students; we ended up splitting the Apollodorus (narrator) and Aristophanes components in two and there have been three Socrateses and Diotemas. It took roughly 150 minutes to finish the studying; thus, we have been in a position to have a ten-minute break in the midst of the ultimate examination session (I supplied some meals and glowing grape juice) throughout which we had an off-the-cuff dialogue. Dialogue continued after the session for these college students who have been in a position to stick round.

I discover the exercise was very a lot worthwhile, and I imagine my college students would agree. Reasonably than analyzing historical texts, as we had been doing all semester, this culminating exercise allowed us to be emersed collectively inside a quintessential historical Greek philosophical expertise: the symposium. I definitely suppose there’s a lot in Plato’s Symposium price discussing and debating, nevertheless it additionally works as a stand-alone exercise to easily soak up (and produce to life!).

So far as prep work, organizing the exercise was relatively tedious the primary time by means of. The model of the textual content I assign (see the syllabus) doesn’t point out speaker adjustments. I had to offer a sheet indicating the web page numbers at which every pupil’s character speaks (I’m comfortable to share all my supplies with different instructors upon request); I made the scholars liable for marking the exact terminal factors of their strains. I additionally assigned the scholars focus sections from the introduction of the textual content in order that they might study extra concerning the folks/characters and themes most related to their assignments. One key bit of recommendation: you will need to select your Alcibiades correctly as a result of that character’s entrance is the capstone to the entire expertise. Decide a robust reader who has accomplished effectively within the course and has a flare for the dramatic.

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