Philosophy 200                                                                                                                      Fall 2003

History of Philosophy: Plato & Aristotle                                                                              John Dreher

I.          Get your own copy of each of our 8 texts.  Conkey’s has copies of the 6 texts listed here:

            -   Plato, The Republic (transl. & ed. D. Lee: this is the edition you used in Freshman Studies), Penguin

            -   Plato, Gorgias (transl. D. Zeyl), Hackett

            -   Aristotle, Introduction to Aristotle (ed. R. McKeon), Modern Library

            -   Aeschylus, The Oresteia (transl. Fagles), Penguin

            -   Sophocles, The Theban Plays (transl. Watling), Penguin

            -   Nussbaum, Martha, The Fragility of Goodness, Cambridge, 2001, UPDATED edition

I will provide individual copies of Euripedes' The Medea and The Hecuba.

II.         Write excellent essays and exams:

            -   in-class open book exam on 10 October 2:50 - 4:00 p.m. (20%)

            -   takehome essays due in class by 2:50 p.m. on 29 October. (40%)

            -   in-class open book final exam on 9 December 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. (40%)

            Any assignment not in the right place by the right time will automatically receive a maximum grade of F (50).  Requests for extensions of due dates will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.

III.       Keep your reading on schedule:

            Sept.   24        course information

                        26        Republic 336b - 367e

                        29        Rep 427d - 449

            Oct.     1        Rep 474c - 484, 502d - 521b, 531d - 534e

                        3, 6, 8         Gorgias pp. IX-XIX & 1-113

                        10        in-class exam

                        13        Nussbaum pp. VII-XI, XIII-XVII, 1-21

                        15        Aeschylus, Agamemnon, and N 23-50

                        17        Sophocles, Antigone

                        20        N 51-84

                        22        Euripedes, The Medea.  You will receive instructions for the 29 Oct. essays.

                        24        N 87-121

                        27        N 122-164

                        29        essays due in class at 2:50; no new reading; bring yourself, your essays, and your Aristotle text to class by 2:50.

                        31        Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics to 1103a10

             Nov.   3, 5         NE to 1108b11

                        7        Reading Period

                        10, 12         NE to 1115a7

                        14        NE Bk V

                        17        NE Bk VI

                        19        NE Bk X

                        21        Nussbaum 237-9, 290-317

                        24        N 318-372

                        26, 28         Thanksgiving

               Dec. 1        Euripedes, The Hecuba, and N 397-421

                        3        N XIII-XXXIX

                        5        Review

 IV.       My number grade/letter grade conversion scale, given me by the Oracle at Delphi, is as follows:

                                    above 90        A                     71 to 78           C

                                    90                    A-                    70                    C-

                                    89                    B+                   69                    D+

                                    81 to 88           B                     61 to 68          D

                                    80                     B-                    60                   D-

                                    79                     C+                   under 60        F

             After I go over your written work three times, I assign it a letter grade, and then fine-tune the letter grade with a number grade.  For example, if your essay is about as good as other essays which earned “B” (not “C,” not “A”) in my intermediate-level Philosophy courses in the recent past, it gets a “B.”  But since I do not believe that a B is a B is a B, I ask whether your essay is a high B (88? 87?) or a low B (82? 81?) or in between (85? 84?).  The answer to that question is given in the number grade assigned, e.g., “B: 88.”

            During my second and third readings of any piece of your written work, I make handwritten comments.  My objective is to make diagnostic comments which will help you see why something you did is good, or, alas, why something you did is not good.  I intend to help you help yourself get better in your reading, thinking, and writing.  So please do not become angry when you see a critical, provocative, or goading comment: take such comments as stimuli to work harder and smarter.  If a handwritten comment is illegible to you on your first try, try again.  If you still cannot read it, tell me, and I’ll gladly read it to you.

 V.        I’ll do my best to ensure that each and every class is worth attending.  If both you and I come to class fully prepared, we’ll do good stuff together.  If it happens that you are not prepared for a particular class, tell me ahead of time, and I’ll not call on you that day.  Don’t cut the class, or try to bluff.  Note that I will reduce your course grade by 5 points for each unexcused absence after the second such absence.  Missing ANY class carries its own price.

             My formal office hours are MWF 9:15 - 11:00 and T 10:15 - 11:00.  I will be happy to make appointments outside those formal office hours.  (I especially welcome conferences with two or more students who have been discussing course material together.)  Feel free to call me at X6681 or to (pot-luck) knock on my MH 323 office door at any time.  Although I use e-mail, I prefer voice-mail over e-mail simply because I talk faster than I type.  (Face-to-face communications are of course the best!)