Course info
PHIL0186: Advanced Topics in Plato's Philosophy (21/22)
In this course we will take a deep dive into a specific, widely-neglected
theme in Plato’s moral philosophy. We will be evaluating his
‘philosophical anthropology’ – the study of earlier human beings,
their nature, their political development, and what all this can teach us
about contemporary moral and political problems. In a number of places in
Plato’s dialogues, we find prominent appeals to earlier periods in human
history and speculations about how those periods progressed. Unfortunately,
it is not immediately clear what the purpose of those appeals and
discussions is. We will try to understand them better. Some questions we
will ask are: When making these appeals to earlier time periods, does Plato
really think he is describing history as it occurred in the past? If so, is
the purpose to gain insight into human nature unspoiled by culture or
something else? If not, is the purpose merely rhetorical? And regardless of
this, what do these appeals add to the moral and political teaching of the
dialogues? The focus throughout the course will be on Plato, but we will
also examine some of his predecessors and successors to get a better feel
for the general strategy of appealing to earlier times.
Course contacts
Tutor
VC
CC
FL
Course Administrator
JT
EW