PPR.

201
HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

COURSE HANDBOOK
MICHAELMAS TERM
2013-14
Daniel R. DeNicola

CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY
(ANCIENT GREEK & ROMAN)

PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Classical (Ancient Greek & Roman) Philosophy

General Information
Lectures: Thursdays, 16:00-17:30 -- Faraday SR3
Seminars:
Fridays, 9:00 (Faraday SR4), or 15:00 (County Main SR5)
Course Tutors: Daniel DeNicola, Thomas Wolstenholme
Course Overview:
This section of the History of Philosophy module addresses, broadly, the
development of philosophical thought in the classical cultures of ancient
Greece and Rome, its influence and contemporary relevance. The lectures
will draw selectively upon material from the Presocratic philosophers,
Socrates and Plato, Aristotle, and Hellenistic schools (the Cynics, Skeptics,
Epicureans, Stoics and Neo-Platonists), exemplifying the many literary forms
in which early philosophy is undertaken. There is, however, a primary focal
topic or theme: descriptive and normative conceptions of the soul (psych); a
secondary them is the splendid diversity of modes of philosophizing found in
the Classical worldconversations, dialogues, treatises, poems, lectures,
epigrams, letters, meditations, handbooks, etc.

Course Components and Assessment:

The schedule includes one lecture (1.5 hours) and one discussion seminar (1
hour) each week. Each lecture will typically be given in two parts with a
break between.
Required readings, usually drawn from primary sources (translations of
ancient texts), are listed in the conspectus below, and should be studied prior
to the seminar for which they are listed. In addition, a short list of
supplementary reading is provided (usually drawn from recent scholarly
works). You would find them helpful in development your understanding of
the primary sources, and you should draw on them when preparing your
assignments.
The section of the course requires an essay to be submitted near the end of
term (see below) and completion of a three-hour June examination, which will
also be on the material to be covered in the Lent term section.

Contact Information: Prof. DeNicolas Office: B-80, County South

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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Office Hour: Thursday: 2:30 3:30 PM

PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

The Essay
Specifications:
The essays are intended to assess your ability to synthesize a philosophically
and historically sound interpretation of course material. They should display
knowledge of primary sources and at least some relevant secondary
literature. (Essays must cite translations of relevant ancient texts as well as
secondary sources, using standard citation methods.) They should engage in
philosophical critique, not simply offer a rehearsal of the ideas of the text.
They are to be written to one of the topics listed below and must include a
bibliography.
For advice on writing essays and details of departmental rules concerning the
late submission of coursework see the Department's Undergraduate
Handbook. (See also p. 13 below.) You may also consult with your tutor or
seminar leader. The essay should be between 2500-3000 words, not
including the bibliography. It should be submitted in a standard 12-point
font. Any standard style sheet may be used, but all sources must be
properly cited. Plagiarism is an unforgiveable violation of academic integrity
and will not be tolerated.
You must submit two copies of your essay. One should be printed and
posted in the essay submission box in the Department. The other should be
submitted electronically via Moodle. Instructions for electronic submission
can be found in the Undergraduate Handbook. Be aware that your essay will
be considered late if you do not submit both paper and electronic copy by the
deadline. By recent action of the University Senate, there is no grace period
for late submissions. The deadline is 12:00 PM (noon) on Wednesday,
December 11, 2013.

Essay Topics:
You may choose any one of the topics below:
1. Did Plato successfully resolve the dilemma of Change vs. the Changeless
framed by Heraclitus and Parmenides?
2. What is at stake in the conflict between Socrates and the Sophists and
does it have contemporary relevance?
3. Plato famously asserts a dualism of appearance and reality, yet he divides
the soul (psych) into three parts. What is the significance of the middle,
spirited, part of the soul in Platos thought?
4. Evaluate Aristotles claims on the relationship between the life of practical
wisdom (phronesis) and the life of theoretical wisdom (Sophia).
5. Evaluate this claim: Although Aristotle speaks of three types or levels of
soul (psych), in the end, he offers a conception of the soul that is both
unified as a single, coherent entity, and also integrated with the body.
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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

6. Evaluate the claim by Gilbert Murray that Hellenistic philosophy
represents a failure of nerve.
7. Compare, contrast, and evaluate the proposals of any two schools of
Hellenistic philosophy regarding what should be done regarding human
desire(s).
8. Develop a thesis regarding one of the following (based on a your own
selection of relevant Classical philosophers):
a. The task of philosophywhat philosophy offers us
b. The relation of myth and philosophy
c. The role of the philosopher in relation to the world
d. The modes or genres of philosophizing (poetry, letters, myths,
tracts, lectures, conversations, dialogues, meditations, etc.)
9. Develop a thesis regarding one of the following aspects of the soul
(psych) in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy (based on a your own
selection of relevant philosophers):
a. Animation
b. Awareness (Sensation, Perception, Consciousness)
c. Desire
d. Memory
e. Reason
f. Virtue
g. Salvation
h. Speech
10.Develop a thesis regarding one of the following themes in ancient Greek
and Roman philosophy (based on a your own selection of relevant
philosophers):
a. The One and the Many
b. Logos
c. Mechanism vs. teleology
d. Divided vs. integrated self
e. The status of the body
f. Moderation (sophrosyne) vs. ecstasy (enthuousiasmos)
g. Eudaimonia vs. ataraxia
A successful essay will argue for a philosophical thesis, based on an interpretation
of relevant Classical texts, documented with citations of both primary and
secondary sources. It will display qualities valued in philosophical writing: clarity,
concision, a sense of relevance, depth, and precision, soundness of explication, and
incisiveness of argument. Given the brevity of the essay, you should not waste
space with tangential matters. Write for an implied reader who is intelligent but
unfamiliar with the lectures and readings. Be sure to announce your topic clearly.
The last three clusters of topics listed above not only require you to select one of
the alternative topics given, but also to select relevant classical philosophers to
consider, and to define your thesis about the topic. As an example: someone who
chooses the status of the body as a theme, might decide to compare and contrast
Plato and the Cynics on this issue, arguing that the Cynics provide an important
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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

corrective to Plato, especially in regard to the politics of the body. There is no
prescribed number of philosophers to consider: even just one is possible if the
treatment is sufficiently rich, and the desire for depth suggests that there is a
practical limit with three or four.
You are encouraged to discuss the essay and your choice of topics with the lecturer
if you have any questions or concerns. (See also the section on Reading Week
below.)

PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Selected Bibliography
Works on Ancient Greek & Roman Philosophy:

Frederick Copleston, A History of Western Philosophy, Vol. I: Greece and

Rome from the Pre-Socratics to Plotinus (1962; New York: Doubleday, reprint
ed., 1993).
W. K. C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, 6 vols. (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1962).
A. P. D. Mourelatos, ed., The Pre-Socratics: A Collection of Critical Essays (New
York: Doubleday, 1974).
David Sedley, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman
Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013).
B. Snell, The Discovery of Mind in Greek Philosophy and Literature (1953;
New York: Dover, 1982).
C. C. W. Taylor (ed., vol. I) and David Furley (ed. vol. II), Routledge History of
Philosophy, 10 vols. (London: Routledge, 1997), esp. vols. I and II.

Works on the Soul (Psych):

Jan Bremmer, The Early Greek Concept of the Soul, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1987).
Michael Davis, The Soul of the Greeks: An Inquiry (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2011).
Oliver Letwin, Ethics, Emotion and the Unity of the Self (London: Routledge,
1987).
R. S. Peters, ed., Bretts History of Psychology (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press,
1965).

Web Resources:
Virtually all ancient philosophical fragments and texts written in Greek or Latin
are available in English translations on-line and without cost. Three standard
collections are:
MITs Internet Classics Archive: http://classics.mit.edu/
Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/
Perseus Digital Library: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/
These digitized versions (and others) have the great advantages of being
searchable and free; however, they are usually older translations that are in the
public domain, and they usually lack pagination and other standard reference
markers (such as Stephanus numbers for Plato, Bekker numbers for Aristotle,
etc.). [N.B.: Your essays must include appropriate standard citations for
the texts you reference.]

PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

A wide selection of recent scholarly articles on ancient philosophy may be found
at PhilPapers: http://philpapers.org/. A general list of Web resources for
philosophy (good, though not kept current) is EpistemeLinks:
http://epistemelinks.com/ .
In addition, please review the Web resources for philosophy recommended in the
Departments Handbook.

PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Week 1
The Origins of Philosophy and the Philosophy of Origins
Content:

Overviewthemes: the concept of psyche and the forms of

philosophizingcraft vs. ritualmythopoeic vs. philosophical
explanationstwo traditions: the Ionian and the Western
Mediterranean (Greco-Italian)the soul as a philosophical problem
speculation and the role of the philosopher.

Required Reading:

Robin Waterfield, The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and the

Sophists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), Introduction, pp. xixxxiii.

Supplementary Reading:

John Dewey, The Quest for Certainty, Vol. 4 of John Dewey: The Later
Works 1925-1953, Jo Ann Boydston, ed. (1929; Carbondale, IL:
Southern Illinois University Press, 1984), Chapter 1, Escape from
Peril, pp. 3-20.
G. S. Kirk, J. E. Raven, and R. M. Schofield, The Presocratic
Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts, 2nd ed.
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983).
Richard D. McKirahan , Philosophy Before Socrates: An Introduction
with Texts and Commentary (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing,
1994).
Catherine Osborne, Presocratic Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).
James Warren, Presocratics: Natural Philosophers Before Socrates
(Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007).
Robin Waterfield, The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and the
Sophists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009).

Standard Reference:

Kathleen Freeman, ed., Ancilla to Pre-Socratic Philosophers: A

Complete Translation of the Fragments in Diels, Fragmente der
Vorsokratiker (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983).

PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Week 2
Two Problems: The One and the Many, Change and the
Changeless
Content:

The search for the ultimate stuff of the world: physis and archfrom
monism to pluralismreductionism vs. holismHeraclitus Becoming
vs. Parmenides Beingthe Logos: dynamism and orderthe
strangeness of living things atomismthe ontology of the soul
descriptive vs. normative conceptions.

Required Reading:

Selected fragments of Heraclitus of Ephesus and Parmenides of Elea,

from P. Wheelwright, The Presocratics (New York: Odyssey Press, 1966)
pp. 64-79 and 90-100.
Silvia Berryman, Democritus, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/democritus/.

Supplementary Reading:

Jonathan Barnes, The Presocratic Philosophers, rev. ed. (London and

New York: Routledge, 1982).
Patricia Curd and Daniel W. Graham, eds., The Oxford Handbook of
Presocratic Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011).
David Furley, The Greek Cosmologists: Volume 1, The Formation of the
Atomic Theory and its Earliest Critics (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2006).
W. K. C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, Vol. II: The Presocratic
Tradition from Parmenides to Democritus (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1962).
John Peterman, On Ancient Philosophy (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth,
2008), Chapter 2, pp. 20-76.

Standard Reference:

Kathleen Freeman, ed., Ancilla to Pre-Socratic Philosophers: A

Complete Translation of the Fragments in Diels, Fragmente der
Vorsokratiker (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983).

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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Week 3
The Sophists and Socrates
Content:

Humanity as the focus of philosophythe diverse projects of the

Sophistseducating the virtuous soul--the Socratic problemthe
soul as moral and intellectual centreSocrates objections to the
Sophists: the conflict of rhetoric vs. dialectic; tuition vs. the value of
truthSocrates as the iconic philosopherphilosophy on trial.

Required Reading:

Plato, Apology.

Supplementary Reading:

W. K. C. Guthrie, The Sophists (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

1977).
Marcel Hnaff , The Price of Truth: Gift, Money, and Philosophy, JeanLouis Mehange, transl. (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2010),
Overtures and Chapter 1, pp. 1-58.
W. K. C. Guthrie, Socrates (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1972).
I. F. Stone, The Trial of Socrates (New York: Anchor Press, 1989).
C. C. W. Taylor, Socrates: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2001).
Gregory Vlastos, Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher (Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press, 1991).

Standard References:

Thomas C. Brickhouse and Nicholas D. Smith, eds.,The Trial and

Execution of Socrates: Sources and Controversies (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2001).

John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson, eds., Plato: Complete Works

(Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 1997). [Especially relevant to this
lecture are Platos Meno, Crito, and Phaedo.]

Debra Nails, The People of Plato: A Prosopography of Plato and Other

Socratics (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2002)
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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Week 4
Platos Dualities and Trinities
Content:

The dialogue as a philosophical genre and Platos projects

appearance vs. reality: the Divided Line and the Theory of Formsthe
unity of valuethe tripartite polisthe tripartite psychthe divided
self and the harmony of the virtuessoul and the creation of the
cosmos.

Required Reading:

Plato, Republic, Bk. IV, 435c-444e and Bk. VI, 507a-511e.

Supplementary Reading:

Rachel Barney, Tad Brennan, and Charles Brittain, eds., Plato and the
Divided Self (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
G. M. A. Grube, Platos Thought, 2nd ed. (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett
Publishing, 1981), esp. Chapter IV, The Nature of the Soul.
Terence Irwin, Platos Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995).
Richard Kraut, ed.,The Cambridge Companion to Plato (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1992).
Nancy Tuana, ed., Feminist Interpretations of Plato (University Park, PA:
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994).

Standard References:

John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson, eds., Plato: Complete Works

(Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1997). [Especially relevant to the
lecture are Platos Republic, Parmenides, and Timaeus.]

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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Week 5
Platos Ladders
Content:

Platos use of myth---the souls careernature and nurturethe Myth

of the Cavethe Myth of the CharioteerPlatos pharmakonEros:
loves plight and powerbody and soulgender and the soul
anamnesisthe Myth of Er.

Required Reading:

Plato, Republic, Bk. VII, 514a-518d and Bk. X, 614b-621c.

Plato, Phaedrus, 245c-250c and 274c-276b.
Plato, Symposium, 201d-212c.

Supplementary Reading:

Jacques Derrida, Platos Pharmacy, in Dissemination, Barbara

Johnson, transl. (London: The Athlone Press, 1981), pp. 61-172.
Jill Gordon, Plato's Erotic World: From Cosmic Origins to Human Death
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
Eric A. Havelock, Preface to Plato (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press, 1982), Chapter XI, Psyche or the Separation
of the Knower from the Known, pp. 197-214.
Kathryn A. Morgan, Myth and Philosophy from the Presocratics to Plato
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007).
Martha C. Nussbaum, Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of
Emotions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), Part III,
Chapters 9 and 10, pp. 457-499.

Standard References:

John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson, eds., Plato: Complete Works

(Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1997). [Especially relevant to the
lecture are Platos Republic, Phaedrus, and Symposium.]

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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Week 6
Aristotle: Teleology and the Soul
Content:

The differing perspectives of Plato and Aristotlethe genre of

Aristotelian analysisthe doctrine of genus-differentia definitions
the doctrine of the Four Causessubstances and actualization
privationthe nested cosmos and the Unmoved Moverliving
things and the three forms of soul.

Required Reading:

Aristotle, Physics, Bk. II, 1-3.

Aristotle, De Anima, Bk. II, 1-5, and Bk. III, 4.

Supplementary Reading:

Thomas Kjeller Johansen, The Powers of Aristotles Soul (Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2012).
Mariska Leunissen, Explanation and Teleology in Aristotle's Science of
Nature (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
G. E. R. Lloyd, Aristotle: The Growth and Structure of His Thought
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968), especially Chapter 9,
Psychology, pp. 181-201.
Martha C. Nussbaum and Amlie Oksenberg Rorty, eds., Essays on
Aristotles De Anima (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992, 1999).
David Ross, Aristotle, 6th ed. (London: Routledge, 2004).

Standard References:

Jonathan Barnes, ed., Complete Works of Aristotle (Princeton, NJ:

Princeton University Press, 1984). [Especially relevant to the lecture
are Aristotles Physics, Metaphysics, De Anima (On the Soul) and Parva
Naturalia (a collection of seven Short Treatises on Nature).]

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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Week 7
Aristotle on Human Flourishing
Content:

The human soulthe Aristotelian conception of virtues and the

normative souleudaimonia: happiness as self-actualizationthe
achievement of virtuemoral vs. intellectual virtuespractical
reasoning and its wisdomtheoretical reasoning and its wisdomthe
criteria for a flourishing life.

Required Reading:

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Bk. X, 6-8.

Supplementary Reading:

William W. Fortenbaugh, Aristotle on Emotion, 2nd ed. (1975; London:

Bristol Classical Press, 2002).
Gabriel Richardson Lear, Happy Lives and the Highest Good: An Essay
on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press, 2005).
Martha C. Nussbaum, The Fragility of Goodness: Luck and Ethics in
Greek Tragedy and Philosophy, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001).
A. W. Price, Virtue and Reason in Plato and Aristotle (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2011).
Stephen G. Salkever, Finding the Mean: Theory and Practice in
Aristotelian Political Philosophy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press, 1994).
Nancy Sherman, The Fabric of Character: Aristotle's Theory of Virtue
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991).

Supplementary Reading:

Jonathan Barnes, ed., Complete Works of Aristotle (Princeton, NJ:

Princeton University Press, 1984). [Especially relevant to the lecture
are Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics and Eudemian Ethics.]

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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Week 8
READING WEEK
There are no lectures and seminars this week. Instead, students are
encouraged to work on the course-work assignment, which is an essay of
2,500-3,000 words. The submission deadline is 12.00pm, Wednesday the
11th of December. All information regarding course work submission can be
found on the undergraduate resources page at:
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/ppr/current/undergrad.htm .
Advice for researching and writing your essay:

Review the discussion of the essay assignment in the Undergraduate

Handbook, sections 6 and 10: (http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/ppr/docs/Handbooks/PPR
%20UG%20Handbook%202012-2013.pdf

Review the full list of essay topics on pp. 3-4. Consider each one; dont
select too quickly. The list offers a wide range of possibilities.
Review the discussion of what constitutes a successful essay on p. 4.
While there are definite criteria of evaluation, they permit varying
structures and diverse styles. There is no formula or template. The
assignment, however, is an essay. Though we will encounter other
genres (poetry, dialogues, letters, etc.), they are not appropriate
formats for your course work.
Determine which philosophers and which texts are relevant to your
topic.
Be sure you know the standard method of citation for your ancient
texts.
As you read and study, determine your thesis. Articulating and arguing
for your thesis requires you to become a philosopher. Writing about
Socrates or Aristotle, explaining their beliefs, discussing what others
have thought about themall that is relevant explication. By itself,
however, it offers no thesis. You have a thesis when you can complete
this sentence: In this essay, I argue that A thesis is a first-person
affirmation of a supported claim.
Your thesis need not be original, but it must be yours: you must own
it, offering your own arguments and interpretations in support of it.
The thesis may be stated outright at the beginning, or it may be built
gradually and fully developed only in the conclusion. Or, it may be
arrived at through a critical examination of alternative theses.
However it is stated, it should be quite explicit and lucid.
Develop your arguments as incisively as you can, grounding them in
citations of relevant ancient texts and secondary sources of high
scholarly quality.

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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Read what youve written! Edit what youve written! Philosophical

writing is rethought, rewritten, and often rewritten again.
You may discuss the ideas of your essay with others; you may study
with others; you may draw upon any sound source. But all sources
must be credited. Your work should meet University standards of
academic integrity.
Be sure your essay is in good form and of appropriate length when
submitted.

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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Week 9
Epicureans and Stoics
Content:

Philosophy as a way of lifethe Epicurean letters and Lucretius poem

Epicurus and the priority of happiness (pleasure)the avoidance of
pain: fear of the gods, fear of death, desireatomistic materialism and
the swervethe good life as dwelling in a gardenthe Stoic view of
the cosmosthe nature and functions of the soulpassions and the
horizon of the willthe human task.

Required Reading:

Epicurus, Letter to Manoeceus (Diogenes Laertius 10.125-35).

Epictetus, Enchiridion (The Handbook).

Supplementary Reading:

Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern (New
York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2011), esp. Chapter 2, In Search of
Lucretius, pp. 51-80.
Brad Inwood, ed., The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2003).
Martha C. Nussbaum, The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in
Hellenistic Ethics (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994).
Tim OKeefe, Epicureanism (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press,
2009).
Jason L. Saunders, ed., Greek and Roman Philosophy After Aristotle
(New York: The Free Press, 1997.)
Catherine Wilson, Epicureanism at the Origins of Modernity (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2010).

Standard References:

Lucretius, (De Rerum Natura) On the Nature of the Universe, Ronald

Melville, transl. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009).

Brad Inwood and Lloyd P. Gerson, eds., The Stoics Reader: Selected
Writings and Testimonia (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2008).

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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

Week 10
The Withdrawn Soul
The Legacy of Ancient Greek & Roman Philosophy
Content:

The Cynics and nature (physis) vs. culture (nomos)the primacy of the
bodySkepticism and the limits of human knowledgethe suspension
of judgmentdoubting soulPlotinus and Neo-Platonismthe three
Hypostasesthe flight of the alone to the alone.
Key ideas and questions of classical philosophyphilosophical genres
the legacy of conceptions of the soulwhat philosophy offersthe task
of the philosopher.

Required Reading:

William Desmond, Cynics, Chapter 4, Chance, Fate, Fortune and the

Self, pp. 162-183.
Excerpts from Plotinus, Enneads; Stephen MacKenna, transl.; John
Dillon, ed. (1917-30; London: Penguin Books, 1991) IV.viii.1-8 and
VI.ix.8-10, pp. 334-34 and 544-549.

Supplementary Reading:

William Desmond, Cynics (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press,

2008).
R. Bracht Branham and Marie-Odile Goulet-Caz, eds., The Cynics: The
Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy (Berkeley, CA: University
of California Press, 2000).
Harald Thorsrud, Ancient Scepticism (Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press, 2009).
Paulina Remes, Neoplatonism (Berkeley, CA: University of California
Press, 2008).

Standard References:

A. A. Long and D. N. Sedley, eds., The Hellenistic Philosophers, Vol. I:

Translations of the Principal Sources, with Philosophical Commentary
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987).

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PPR.201: History of Philosophy (Michaelmas Term 2013)

A. A. Long and D. N. Sedley, eds., The Hellenistic Philosophers: Volume

2, Greek and Latin Texts with Notes and Bibliography (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1989).
Plotinus, Enneads, Stephen MacKenna; transl. John Dillon, ed. (191730; London: Penguin Books, 1991).

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