PHIL10070 Ancient Philosophy

Academic Year 2022/2023

Philosophy began in Greece, and it remains true to say that the greatest philosophers were the Greeks. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle shaped the course of Western Civilization. The best possible introduction to philosophy as a subject is through engagement with Ancient Greek Philosophy. It is also in a way the easiest introduction to Philosophy, because, whether we are exploring the odd, cryptic remarks of Heraclitus, or eavesdropping on a spiky conversation between Socrates and one of his fellow Athenians, there is a directness, an immediacy, an urgency and virility about Greek philosophy that is missing from the more abstract, dry, technical and frankly tedious nature of later, especially recent, philosophy. This is because the central issue for the Greeks always comes back to the most important question of all: how should one live?
In this module we will look at some of Plato's writings about his friend and mentor Socrates, in particular those writings that bear on the trial and death of Socrates. These include Plato's 'Apology', 'Euthyphro', and 'Crito', a series of short, lively dialogues that offer excellent introductions not only to Socrates, but to the practice of philosophy itself. We will also look back at the earliest Greek philosophers, such as Parmenides and Heraclitus, and forward to Aristotle and beyond. But the central focus of this module is on the figure of Socrates, and his impact on philosophy.