Philosophy

2020/2021

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

4

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies

Course type:

Compulsory course

When:

3 year, 1, 2 module

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This course will introduce you to some of the main areas of research in contemporary philosophy. Each module a different philosopher will talk you through some of the most important questions and issues in their area of expertise. We’ll begin by trying to understand what philosophy is – what are its characteristic aims and methods, and how does it differ from other subjects? Then we’ll spend the rest of the course gaining an introductory overview of several different areas of philosophy. Topics you’ll learn about will include: Epistemology, where we’ll consider what our knowledge of the world and ourselves consists in, and how we come to have it; Philosophy of science, where we’ll investigate foundational conceptual issues in scientific research and practice; Philosophy of Mind, where we’ll ask questions about what it means for something to have a mind, and how minds should be understood and explained; Political Philosophy, where we'll investigate whether we have an obligation to obey the law; Moral Philosophy, where we’ll attempt to understand the nature of our moral judgements and reactions – whether they aim at some objective moral truth, or are mere personal or cultural preferences, and; Metaphysics, where we’ll think through some fundamental conceptual questions about free will and the nature of reality. The development of this MOOC has been led by the University of Edinburgh's Eidyn research centre. To accompany 'Introduction to Philosophy', we are pleased to announce a tie-in book from Routledge entitled 'Philosophy for Everyone'. This course companion to the 'Introduction to Philosophy' course was written by the Edinburgh Philosophy team expressly with the needs of MOOC students in mind. 'Philosophy for Everyone' contains clear and user-friendly chapters, chapter summaries, glossary, study questions, suggestions for further reading and guides to online resources. Please click "Start Here" and navigate to the "Optional Reading" page for more information.

Learning Objectives

• 1. формирования профессиональных компетенций в области анализа философских текстов
• 2. формирование аналитического инструментария для реализации профессиональноисследовательской и проектной деятельности на основе понятийного аппарата философии
• 3. - создание у студентов целостного представления об истории философской мысли в эпоху Античности

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Иметь общее представление о философии Гераклита
• Иметь общее представление о философии Парменида и контексте возникновения платоновских диалогов
• Иметь общее представление о платоновском учении о знании и добродетели, композиции и основных идеях сочинения "Республика"
• Иметь общее представление о философском учении Платона об идеях

Course Contents

• The Milesians & Heraclitus
  Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes and Xenophanes seek the material principle of the cosmos, and arrive at a radical new conception of the gods. Heraclitus distills the essence of their “naturalism” in his riddling slogans.
• Plato on Reality & Goodness
  The ultimate realities are intelligible Forms, while the world of our experience is only an image of that reality. Goodness is a fundamental feature of the world. Plato’s cosmology: the creation of the universe (complete with a world soul) and the principles of mathematical perfection that structure it at every level.
• Plato on Virtue, Teaching, & Justice
  What is virtue, and how can it be taught? What is teaching anyway, and how could we ever acquire knowledge? Socrates gives a geometry lesson purporting to show that learning is recollection. Why should we act justly? What’s in it for us? An elaborate analogy between a city and a human soul seeks to convince us that crime never pays, even if the criminal can escape detection.
• Parmenides to Plato
  Parmenides poses a fundamental philosophical challenge to all naturalistic inquiry when he denies the intelligibility of change. Later naturalists (Empedocles, Anaxagoras, and Democritus) respond to his challenge. Plato’s portrait of Socrates raises questions about the nature of philosophy, its role in public life, and the relation between morality and religion.

Assessment Elements

• – Работа на семинарах
• – Творческая работа

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (2 module)
  0.7 * – Работа на семинарах + 0.3 * – Творческая работа

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Denkova, L. (2012). Plato’s “First Aesthetics” (Book V of the Republic). New Bulgarian University Scholar Electronic Repository.
• Iturbe, M. (Mariano). (2015). The Search for the Arche in the Pre-Socratic Philosophers (The Milesian School). A Path to Dialogue. Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Navarra.
• Leszl, W. (2019). Problems raised by an edition of Democritus with comparisons with other Presocratics. Presses universitaires du Septentrion.
• Morris Stockhammer. (2015). Plato Dictionary. Philosophical Library.
• Plato, & Translator Benjamin Jowett. (2020). The Complete Plato. İstanbul.
• Platon, & Zekl, H. G. (2014). Parmenides : Griechisch - Deutsch. Felix Meiner Verlag.
• Taylor, A. E. (2012). Plato: Timaeus and Critias (RLE: Plato). Routledge.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Erickson, C. (2015). The Republic as Er Myth: Plato’s Iconoclastic Utopianism. Administrative Theory & Praxis (Taylor & Francis Ltd), 37(2), 95–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2015.1027618
• Miriam Campolina Diniz Peixoto. (2017). Life, Birth and Death in Democritus. Atomistic Reflections Between Physics and Ethics. https://doi.org/10.14746/pea.2017.1.8
• Morel, P.-M., & Brancacci, A. (2007). Democritus : Science, the Arts, and the Care of the Soul: Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Democritus, Paris, 18-20 September 2003. Brill.
• MOUJÁN, R. F. (2020). There Is No Such Thing as Separation: Similarities between Parmenides’ Poem and Plato’s Sophist. Signos Filosóficos, 22(43), 8–23.
• Piergiacomi, E. (2017). Naming the Principles in Democritus: An Epistemological Problem. https://doi.org/10.1515/apeiron-2016-0058
• Plato. (2018). Parmenides : “Death Is Not the Worst That Can Happen to Men.” Scribe Publishing.
• Schofield, M. (2006). Plato : Political Philosophy. Oxford: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=215317