Philosophy 392 Jill Gordon Lovejoy 251

Seminar on Socrates Office Hours: Mondays 1:30-3:00
Thursdays 4:00-5:00

T, Th 11:00-12:15 By appointment: x 4554; jpgordon@colby.edu

Fall 2006

SYLLABUS

TEXTS: (1) Aristophanes: Clouds;

(2) Plato:Trial & Death of Socrates, Symposium

(3) Xenophon: Conversations of Socrates

(4) Kierkegaard: Philosophical Fragments

(5) Nietzsche: Twilight of the Idols

(6) Readings on Electronic Reserve from several authors, noted with an "*" on the syllabus.

COURSE:

We will follow two threads in this course: (1) We will trace the figure of Socrates through several philosophers, and we will examine Socrates' significance to their views and what he represents in their writings. (2) In addition to our focus on Socrates, we will study each of the philosophers in his own right, trying to see where his image of Socrates fits in to his overall philosophical project. We will approach the readings historically, reading first sources from authors who were Socrates' contemporaries, followed by an enlightenment view, two views from the nineteenth century, and two views from living American philosophers.

WORK AND ASSESSMENT:

Since this is a small seminar, its success depends, in part, on your attendance and daily participation. On a daily basis you will submit one question to me via electronic mail based on your readings for that day. Our class meets at 11:00 a.m., so you must have your question submitted to me by 10:00 a.m. that day. I will assemble the questions from you and your classmates, and they will serve as the basis for our conversations on most days.

Daily attendance throughout the semester is expected. Please note the schedule below, especially dates on which papers are due in class and the penalties for not attending those classes and not completing papers on time. Three absences during the semester, for whatever reason, will result in being dropped from the seminar, and two tardies will count as an absence. (It has been many years since I have had an attendance policy, and I regret having to impose it, but recent experience has led me to believe that there should be consequences for failure to contribute one's fair share to a seminar, and for disrespecting for the work done by one's peers and classmates, which is what habitual lateness and missing classes amount to.)

In addition to your daily questions, you will complete the following graded work:

(a) First shorter paper, 6-8 pages = 30% of final grade

(b) Second shorter paper, 6-8 pages = 30% of final grade

(c) One 15-18 page term paper = 40% of final grade

(a and b) You will write two shorter papers, both of which should be based on close readings of the texts. The topics for these papers appear on the syllabus on the dates on which each is due. Please look ahead to these topics so that you can be thinking about your papers ahead of time. You should come to class with your paper in its completed form, and we will discuss them in that day's class. It will be essential for you to attend class on the days that the short papers are due; absences from class on paper due dates will result in a lowering of two full grades on that paper (e.g., a paper earning a B+ will receive a D+).

(c) You will write a 15-18 page term paper whose topic is up to you, limited only insofar as it must focus on some aspect of the portrayal of Socrates in some philosopher's or philosophers' texts. The term paper will be worth 40% of your final grade, and a non-graded but mandatory abstract and bibliography will be due and briefly presented on the last day of the term. Your bibliography must include at least three scholarly sources outside the reading list for this course. You will find that using the Philosophers' Index database is your best source for scholarly work. If you are unfamiliar with the Philosophers' Index, I or a reference librarian can show you the basics in just a few minutes. (Note: J-Stor is NOT a research database, but rather a storehouse for a select few journals in philosophy. It will not be adequate for the purposes of researching your term paper.) Please consult the "Survival Kit" for tips on formulating a thesis and writing a philosophy paper. More details on the term paper assignment forthcoming.

Plagiarism: Any use of ideas not your own, whether you quote them directly or paraphrase them, must be cited. Not doing so is plagiarism, one form of academic dishonesty. The standard for plagiarism holds for all written work for this and any other course at Colby, and it includes books, journals, magazines, videos, web pages, spoken communication, and all other sources, regardless of medium. Cases of plagiarism will result in an automatic 'F' in this course and a report sent to the Dean of Students Office. Additional penalties can include suspension or expulsion. See Colby College Catalogue for further details.

CELL PHONES:

Do not bring your cell phones to class. Any student whose cell phone rings during class will be asked to leave class for that day.

SCHEDULE

Th. Sept 7 Introduction to the course. Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.) Brief introduction to Aristophanes and Old Comedy in Athens.

T. Sept 12 Read Aristophanes (c. 444-388? B.C.E.), Clouds, up to line 885, (p. 61) the entry of the characters "Superior Argument" and "Inferior Argument".

Th. Sept 14 Read Aristophanes, Clouds, from line 888 to end.

T. Sept. 19 Read Xenophon (430-354 B.C.E.), Socrates' Defense, (pp. 42-62) and Memoirs, Book I, pp. (68-99).

Th. Sept 21 Read Xenophon, Memoirs, Book II, (pp. 100-136).

T. Sept 26 Read Xenophon, Memoirs, Book III, Chs 6-14, (pp. 152-176) and Book IV, Chs, 2,7, and 8, (pp. 178-190; 211-216).

Th. Sept 28 Read Xenophon, The Dinner Party i.e., Symposium, (pp. 227-267).

T. Oct 3 Read Plato (429-347 B.C.E.), Euthyphro and Crito. Apology, through 35d, the first vote of the jury on guilt/innocence.

Th. Oct 5 Read Plato, Apology, 35d through end and excerpt from Phaedo in your text.

T. Oct 10 Read Plato, Symposium, 172-199c.

Th. Oct 12 Read Plato, Symposium, 199c-end.

T. Oct 17 FALL BREAK

Th. Oct 19 Short Paper Due in class. Using the texts we read from the three authors who were contemporaneous with Socrates, write a 6-8 page essay in which you answer one of the following sets of questions: (1) Why do you think Socrates needed a defense or "apology"? What character trait(s), if any, seem to be present in all three portrayals of Socrates, and how, if at all, is it (are they) relevant to your answer to the first question? Explain one fundamental contrast that you think is philosophically relevant between two of the authors regarding the manner in which each portrays Socrates. Or (2) What role does Socrates' use of language, rhetoric, and/or argumentation play in his dealings with Athens and Athenians? How did these three authors view the power of logos and, specifically, Socrates' use of it? Explain one fundamental contrast that you think is philosophically relevant between two of the authors regarding the manner in which each portrays Socrates.

T. Oct 24 Read Montaigne (1533-1592 C.E.), "To Philosophize is to Learn How to Die."*

Th. Oct 26 Read Montaigne, "On Physiognomy."*

T. Oct 31 Read Kierkegaard (1813-1855, C.E.), Philosophical Fragments, Preface, Chs. I, "Thought-Project" and II, "The God as Teacher and Savior. . .", (pp. 5-36).

Th. Nov 2 Read Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments, Chs. III, "The Absolute Paradox," Appendix "Offense at the Paradox,," and IV, "The Situation of the Contemporary Follower," (pp. 37-71).

T. Nov 7 Read Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments, "Interlude," Ch. V "The Follower at Second Hand," and "Moral," (pp. 72-111).

Th. Nov 9 Read Nietzsche (1844-1900, C.E.) Excerpt from The Birth of Tragedy*

T. Nov 14 Read Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, from the "Forward" through the end of the chapter entitled, "The Improvers of Mankind," (pp. 31-69).

Th. Nov 16 Read Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, beginning with the chapter entitled, "What the Germans Lack" to the end, (pp. 70-122).

T. Nov 21 Short Paper Due in class. Using the texts of the three Modern authors who wrote about Socrates, write a 6-8 page essay in which you answer one of the following sets of questions: (1) What single trait or behavior of Socrates do you think is capable of inspiring the extreme range of reactions to him in the Modern period (keeping in mind that these modern authors were using the ancient texts as the basis of their understanding of "Socratic" traits)? Explain the image of philosophy and the practice of philosophy that emerges from one of these three Modern writers (you choose which one), insofar as Socrates is representative of philosophy and/or philosophers? How, if at all, is the single Socratic trait or behavior that you discuss above linked to the image of philosophy, whether that is portrayed positively or negatively, in the author you've selected? Or (2) In what way might these three authors be putting their portrayals of Socrates to "psychological" use, i.e., in what manner are these philosophers also psychologists? Why, specifically, does the character of Socrates lend itself to such psychological use? What connections or disconnections do you see between one of these author's (you choose which one) views of the healthy human psyche and Socrates' effects on the human psuché or soul as portrayed in Aristophanes, Plato, or Xenophon (again, you choose which one)?

Th. Nov 23 THANKSGIVING BREAK.

T. Nov 28 Read Washington, "What is Black Philosophy?"*

Th. Nov 30 Read Nehamas (1946- ), Chapter 6, "A Fate for Socrates' Reason: Foucault on the Care of the Self'"*

T. Dec 5 Students' choice of activities and/or readings.

Th. Dec 7 Presentation of term projects. Abstract and bibliography due at beginning of class.

Term Papers will be due before 5:00 p.m., Friday, 15 December 2006

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

The brief selection that follows is simply meant as a place where one might begin reading. Several of these texts have excellent bibliographies which might send you off in further directions toward more detailed work.

Benson, Hugh. Essays on the Philosophy of Socrates. (New York: Oxford University Press), 1992. This is a collection of essays written by contemporary analytic philosophers who glean "Socratic" philosophy almost exclusively from the dialogues of Plato.

Brickhouse, Thomas and Nicholas J. Smith. These two have co-authored many books on Socrates' trial and death, in fact, they've established a virtual cottage industry in the area. Their views are contested among ancient philosophers, and they often respond in print to their critics. Do an author search on Brickhouse or Smith for more specific references.

Dannhauser, Werner J. Nietzsche's View of Socrates. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press), 1974. A thorough treatment of Nietzsche's constant preoccupation with Socrates. Treats several of Nietzsche's works, including, and in detail, the two included in this course.

Judson, Lindsay and Vasillis Karasmanis. Remembering Socrates: Philosophical Essays. (Clarendon, 2006). A collection of essays by an international group of philosophers.

Kierkegaard, Soren. The Concept of Irony with Constant Reference to Socrates. Translated by Lee T. Capel. (New York: Harper & Row), 1965. This is Kierkegaard's doctoral dissertation written when he was still a Hegelian. In it he tries to come to an understanding and definition of irony and dialectic. Huge book, slow going, but worth the work.

Needleman, Jacob. The Heart of Philosophy. (Tarcher Publications, reprinted 2003; originally Knopf, 1982). Using his experiences first teaching philosophy to grade school children, and then to their parents, Needleman struggles with what characteristics make us good philosophers. He argues that those characteristics are best embodied by Socrates, but are lost to most adults once they "grow up."

Nehamas, Alexander. The Art of Living: Socratic Reflections from Plato to Foucault. (Berkeley: University of California Press), 1998. The first half of the book looks at Socrates in Plato's dialogues, examining him as the figure who embodies philosophy as an art of living. The second half of the book looks at three figures whom Nehamas sees, despite their vast doctrinal differences from Socrates, as following in this tradition of conceiving of philosophy as an art of living: Montaigne, Nietzsche, and Foucault.

Nichols, Octy. Socrates and the Political Community: An Ancient Date. (Albany, NY: The State University of New York Press), 1987. A look at Socrates as he appears to Aristophanes, Plato, and Aristotle. Nichols first compares the think-tank of the Clouds with the city in the Republic. She concludes with a discussion of how Aristotle addressed the question of political danger which faced Aristophanes and Plato.

Stone, I.F. The Trial of Socrates. (Anchor, 1989). Stone, a former journalist, provides a very accessible portrait of Socrates, the person, and an account of his trial. He tries to understand the specific manner in which Socrates represented a threat to Athens.

Strauss, Leo. Socrates and Aristophanes. (New York: Basic Books), 1966. Strauss was one of the pioneers in interpreting the Platonic dialogues as works of literature.

Xenophon. Oeconomicus. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press), 1979. Loeb Classical Library. Xenophon's portrayal of Socrates discussing household matters, including marriage, household management, etc.