Course name: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY I (PHIL 241) = 3 CREDITS
Instructor's name: István Aranyosi. E-MAIL: aranyosi@bilkent.edu.tr (use only this email if you are a Bilkent student)
Office location: FA 113A MIDTERM EXAM LOCATION: B 107 (17 OCTOBER, 2007, 10:40-12:40)
COURSE SCHEDULE FOR SECTION 04: MON 10:40-11:40
WED 10:40-12:40
PLACE: FA 121
OFFICE HOURS: FRIDAY 10:30-12:20
OBJECTIVE: To introduce students to the social and political thought of some of the Ancient and Medieval philosophers.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: (a) attendance, (b) participation in class, (c) a midterm, 2h long, open book essay writing exercise which will also constutute the first draft of the first essay (see description below), and (d) a short, 1500-2000 word, final essay on a topic of the student's choice from the set of topics and questions proposed by the instructor).
GRADING: final essay - 35%
midterm exam + essay - 35%
participation - 20%
attendance - 10%
PARTICIPATION: by "participation" I mean asking questions, commenting on the texts, and also a short 10-15 min. presentation of a fragment of the required readings. By default student presentation will take place during the 2-hour slot of the class (but this might change from time to time).
TEXTBOOKS: we will use the following books:
-Plato, The Republic, translated by G.M.A. Grube, revised by C.D.C. Reeve, 2nd edition, Hackett (1992)
-Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, translated and introduced by D. Ross, Oxford University Press (1998)
-Cicero, On Duties, edited and translated by M. Griffin, edited by M. Atkins, Cambridge University Press (1991)
-Aquinas, Political Writings, edited and translated by R.W. Dyson, Cambridge University Press (2002)
-Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings, Hackett (1994)
READING AND ACTIVITY SCHEDULE ("p" means page, "pp" means pages, all other numbers and letters mean sections, paragraphs, chapters, etc.). The texts to read are divided according to start and endpoints of arguments that the authors give and discuss.
PLATO - THE REPUBLIC
WEEK 1 (17/9): p5/ 331c - p11/ 335e (handout)
p14/ 338c - p 31/ 354c
WEEK 2 (24/9): p33/ 357a - p51/ 376c (handout)
p89/ 412c - p93/ 417b
p102/ 427d - p121/445e
WEEK 3 (1/10): p146/ 471c - p156/ 480
p157/484 - 176/ 502c
WEEK 4 (8/10) p186/ 514 - 206/ 534e
WEEK 5 (15/10): 1-hour discussion and review of potential exam questions and procedures. 2-hour open book exam.
Description of the exam: think of it as writing a normal 700-1000 word essay in two hours with all the required texts available. I will ask students to look at some passage from The Republic and try to explain what the argument/ debate is about and to analyze the solutions that are proposed, formalize the arguments (putting them into the form of premises and conclusion) and to critically asses the way the characters are arguing. I will show you a model before the exam.
The product of your writtren exam will constitute the first draft for a 1500-2000 word essay, your first term essay.
ARISTOTLE - NICOMACHEAN ETHICS
WEEK 6 (22/10): Book I (pp. 1 - 27).
WEEK 7 (29/10): Book VII (pp. 159 - 191) (No class on Mon 29/10). On Tuesday
I'll have extended office hours from 13 to 18, for further, verbal feedback on the first drafts of the first essays.
WEEK 8 (5/11): Book X (pp. 245 - 276)
CICERO - ON DUTIES
WEEK 9 (12/11): Book III, sections 7 - 39, 40 - 96, 116 - 120. (First essay is due on 16 Nov.)
AQUINAS - POLITICAL WRITINGS
WEEK 10 (19/11): pp. 76 - 113
WEEK 11 (26/11): pp. 114 - 136, 158 - 191
WEEK 12 (3/12): pp. 267 - 278 + MACHIAVELLI - THE PRINCE, pp. 5-30.
MACHIAVELLI - THE PRINCE
WEEK 13 (10/12): pp. 31 - 37, 47 - 76. (First draft of second essay due on 14 Dec.)
MACHIAVELLI - DISCOURSES
WEEK 14 (17/12): Book I, chapters 16, 17, 18, 26. (No class on Wed 19 Dec. and Thu 20 Dec. On Friday I'll have extended office hours for further, verbal feedback on the first drafts of the second essays.)
WEEK 15 (24/12): Book III, chapters 1, 3, 7, 9, 22, 29, 30. (Final draft of second essay due on 4 Jan. 2008)