Colby College
Department of Government
Government 271: Classical
Political Philosophy
MW 1 - 2:15 pm
259 Miller Library
872-3681
Political philosophy is traditionally said to have begun with Socrates' question: How should one live? By setting itself up as the proper judge of
opinions, philosophy presents itself as a challenge to the political community,
whose laws and customs would otherwise be the authoritative guide of human
action. The course begins with a brief look at the traditional ideals of
the Greek world as these are articulated by Homer and then turns to explore
the criticisms and transformations of these ideals articulated by Socrates,
his students, and contemporaries; the course concludes with a brief glance
at the political achievements of the Roman Republic through works by Polybius
and Cicero.
The readings are organized in a manner that
attempts to be both roughly chronological and roughly thematic; materials
from Aristotle's Politics
have been divided up and assigned as appropriate to complement the examination
of regimes in the other major works. Thucydides
and the readings relating to the trial of Socrates give us a look at Athenian
democracy; Xenophon's Education of Cyrus enables us to explore the ancient ideals of
monarchy and polity--and to consider the differences between legitimate monarchies
and tyranny. Plato's Republic and Laws (from which we will be reading substantial selections)
offer a very different account of monarchy and aristocracy, while also developing
the classic critique of tyranny.
Though the political and moral ideals of Greeks and Romans may seem to us remarkable and strange, we must always bear in mind (as did Rousseau, who learned so much from them) that the men of classical antiquity "were human, just as we are." Their problems are still our problems: we, too, must decide how to live; we, too, must shape our own political world; we, too, are confident that we know the answers and are impatient with the questions philosophy insistently poses. Precisely because we are so confident -- or, perhaps, even complacent -- we must take all the more seriously the challenge classical thought poses to the orthodoxies of modernity.
Course
Aims and Methods
Classes will be conducted as a mixture of lecture
and discussion. Because this is an introductory
course, some class periods will include a substantial lecture component. However, the course aims not only to introduce students
to some of the major claims and arguments of classical political philosophy
but also to enable students to become critical, close readers of texts in
classical political philosophy. It is therefore
essential that students read the assigned material carefully before coming
to class and arrive prepared to discuss what they have read.
Books Recommended
for Purchase
Aristophanes, Assembly
of Women. Translated by Robert
Mayhew. Prometheus Books.
Aristotle,
Politics. Translated by Carnes
Lord. University of Chicago Press.
Cicero, Selected
Political Speeches. Translated by Michael Grant.
Penguin Books.
Plato and Aristophanes, Four Texts on Socrates.
Translated by Thomas G. West
and Grace Starry West. Cornell University Press.
Plato, Laws. Translated by
Thomas Pangle. Chicago.
Plato, Republic. Translated
by Allan Bloom. Basic Books.
Polybius,
The Rise of the Roman Empire. Translated by
Ian Scott-Kilvert. Penguin Books.
Thucydides, The Landmark Thucydides : A Comprehensive
Guide to the Peloponnesian War. Edited by Robert B. Strassler. Touchstone Books
Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus. Translated by
Wayne Ambler. Cornell University Press.
Course Requirements and Grading
Grades will
be determined according to one of the following formulas:
Standard
requirements
• Three
short papers (5-6 pages each) papers: 60% Everyone must write the paper due on March 4 and
at least two other papers (the others are due in my office on April
8, April 29, and May 10). For those who write
all four papers (and everyone is encouraged to do this); only the three highest
grades will be counted.
• Comprehensive
final examination: 25%
• Class
participation: 15%
Long paper option:
• One
short paper (5-6 pages): 15%. Due on March 4.
• One
long paper (20-25 pages): 60%. Due on May 10.
• Class
participation: 25%
Satisfactory
performance on the long paper will satisfy the Government department writing
requirement. Students interested in taking the
long paper option must consult with the instructor and get the instructor's
permission in writing before the spring recess. Normally
students must get a grade of B or better on the short paper in order to qualify
to take the long paper option.
N.B. Failure to
complete any major component of the course (e.g., failing to submit any of
the required papers, persistent absenteeism) entails failing the course as
a wholeÑregardless of performance on the completed components.
Schedule
of Readings
I.
Introduction: The World of Homer
Feb 2 (W): The World of
Homer
Homer, Iliad and Odyssey (entire) -- recommended
II. Athenian Democracy
and Empire
Feb 7 (M): Thucydides I
-- Athenian Democracy under Pericles
Thucydides, History, 1.1-1.23, 1.118-1.146, 2.1-2.66 (Landmark
Thucydides, 3-16, 65-85, 89-128)
Feb 9 (W): Thucydides II
-- Athenian Democracy after Pericles
Thucydides, History, 3.1-3.68 (Landmark Thucydides, 159-193)
Feb 14 (M): Aristotle on Democracy
Aristotle, Politics, 3.6-3.11; 4.4-6; 5.8-9; 6.1-6
Feb 16 (W): Aristotle on Revolution
Aristotle, Politics, 5.1-9
Feb 21 (M): Thucydides III -- War and
Human Nature
Thucydides, History, 3.69-3.85, 4.1-4.48, 5.14-5.26, 5.84-5.116
(Landmark Thucydides, 194-201,
223-250, 309-317, 350-357)
Feb 23 (W): Thucydides IV -- The Failure
of Athenian Democracy
Thucydides, History,
6.8-6.72, 6.88-93, 7.42-7.87,
Epilogue (Landmark Thucydides, 366-402, 410-416, 451-478, 549-554)
III. Philosophy and
the City
Feb 28 (M): Socrates I -- Philosophy and the
City
Plato, Apology
of Socrates (entire)
Mar 2 (W): Socrates II -- What
the City Thinks of Philosophy
Aristophanes, Clouds
(entire)
Mar 4 (F): Paper One (Thucydides)
due in Miller 259 at 4 pm
Mar 7 (M): Socrates III -- Socrates'
Counter-Proposal and Conclusion
Plato, Apology
of Socrates (entire--again)
IV. Republic, Empire,
and the Limits of the Political Life
Mar 9 (W): Xenophon I -- The Persian
Republic and the Median Empire
Xenophon, Cyropaedia I-II
Mar 14 (M): Aristotle on Monarchy and Polity
Aristotle, Politics, 3.10-18; 4.7-10; 5.6-11
Mar 16 (W): Xenophon II -- Kingship and War
Xenophon, Cyropaedia III-IV
Mar 21 (M): No Class Session -- spring recess
Mar 23 (W): No Class Session -- spring recess
Mar 28 (M): Xenophon III -- Allies, Friends,
and Enemies
Xenophon, Cyropaedia V-VI
Mar 30 (W):
Xenophon IV -- The Exemplary Life of Cyrus
Xenophon, Cyropaedia VII-VIII
V. Tyrants or Philosopher-Kings
Apr 4 (M):
Plato I -- From the City of Utmost Necessity to the City as Armed
Camp
Plato, Republic II-III
Apr 6 (W): Plato II -- From
the City as Armed Camp to the Beautiful City
Plato, Republic IV-V
Apr 8 (F): Paper Two (Xenophon)
due in Miller 259 at 4 pm
Apr 11 (M): A Comic view of the Beautiful
City
Aristophanes, Assembly of Women (entire)
Apr 13 (W): Plato III -- Five Regimes
and Five Souls
Plato, Republic VIII-IX
Apr 18 (M): Plato IV -- From Theory to
Practice
Plato, Laws V-VI,
XII
Apr 20 (W): Aristotle's Critique of
Plato
Aristotle, Politics, 2.1-6; 5.12
VI. Rome: From Imperial
Republic to Monarchical Empire
Apr 25 (M): The Roman Constitution
Polybius, History
VI
Apr 27 (W): Politics in the Late Republic
Cicero, TBA
Apr 29 (F): Paper Three (Plato) due in Miller
259 at 4 pm
May 2 (M): The End of the Roman
Republic
Cicero, Philippics
VII. Conclusion
May 4 (W): From antiquity to modernity
May 10 (T): Paper Four (Rome) due in Miller 259 at 4 pm