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Ancient Philosophy (B-KUL-W0W20A)

6 ECTSEnglish52 Second termCannot be taken as part of an examination contract
Van Riel Gerd |  Piazzalunga Arianna (substitute)
POC Philosophy (internationaal)

Aims

The purpose of this course is to make the students familiar with the historical context, important thinkers and themes of ancient philosophy.

At the end of the course the students should:

  • know the general development of ancient philosophy, from the 6th c. BC until the 6th c. AD;
  • be able to summarise and explain, compare and contrast several authors on certain specific topics in ancient philosophy discussed in class;
  • have enough background and practice that they can orient themselves in an unfamiliar ancient philosophical text, being able to pick out its main themes and arguments;
  • describe some ways in which ancient philosophy presents alternative philosophical intuitions to our contemporary philosophy, and see how this might be valuable in helping to challenge some of our current philosophical assumptions.


At the end of the seminar, the student will be able to:

  • read closely and critically the chosen primary and secondary texts in ancient philosophy under the guidance of the tutor;
  • correctly analyze and accurately summarize these texts;
  • analyze the structure of the text and identify arguments;
  • write a paper in the proper academic style with the correct use of English and a system of referencing;
  • show the understanding of the text in an oral presentation and a class discussion;
  • show the understanding of how philosophical questions and solutions are influenced by cultural, social and intellectual factors as related to the text discussed in class;
  • have a beginning understanding of the way the text discussed in class is related to the contemporary philosophical issues;
  • write and orally present a response to the given research question making use of library research.

Previous knowledge

General knowledge of the main themes of philosophy in its historical development (acquired in the course Historical Introduction to Philosophy)

Identical courses

This course is identical to the following courses:
W0EA8A : History of Philosophy: Ancient Philosophy (No longer offered this academic year)

Is included in these courses of study

Activities

4 ects. Ancient Philosophy (B-KUL-W0W20a)

4 ECTSEnglishFormat: Lecture39 Second term
Van Riel Gerd
POC Philosophy (internationaal)

Content

This part of the course offers a historical survey of ancient philosophy.

1. Pre-socratic philosophy:

  • the discovery of nature (Homer, Hesiod, Thales, Anaximenes, Anaximander)
  • Xenophanes
  • Heraclitus
  • Parmenides
  • Empedocles
  • Anaxagoras
  • Democritus


2. The classical period:

  • Socrates
  • Plato
  • Aristotle


3. Hellenistic and Imperial philosophy:

  • Epicureans
  • Stoicism


4. Neoplatonism:

  • Plotinus
  • Porphyry and Iamblichus
  • Proclus and Damascius


Within this historical framework, the course will consider some of the essential themes of ancient thought: knowledge and belief, the good life, political theory, and philosophical theology. The exposition of the different philosophers is based on a selection of their texts, brought together in a reader.

Course material

Reader and Course Packet, made available on Toledo

Format: more information

Lectures (39 hours in total)

2 ects. Ancient Philosophy: Reading Seminar (B-KUL-W0W21a)

2 ECTSEnglishFormat: Lecture13 Second term
Van Riel Gerd |  Piazzalunga Arianna (substitute)
POC Philosophy (internationaal)

Content

This part of the course consists of seminars with close reading of ancient philosophical texts (the themes of which change every year), student presentations and a concluding paper.

In 2024-2025, the seminar will be taught by Li Chen.

Course material

Reader and Course Packet, made available on Toledo

Format: more information

Reading Seminars (13 hours in total)

Evaluation

Evaluation: Ancient Philosophy (B-KUL-W2W20a)

Type : Partial or continuous assessment with (final) exam during the examination period
Description of evaluation : Oral, Paper/Project, Presentation, Participation during contact hours
Type of questions : Open questions
Learning material : None

Explanation


The content of the lectures is examined in an oral exam, that consists of three questions:

  • one short question focusing on knowledge of a specific element of philosophical doctrine;
  • one question in which the student will have to give a broader survey, or a comparative exercise, between different authors and/or schools;
  • one question about the texts discussed or referred to in class, which the student will be challenged to explain, while at the same time situating it in the broader context of the development of ancient philosophy.

The evaluation of the seminar assesses the students’ paper, presentation, and participation during contact hours. 

Grade breakdown: oral exam 75% - presentation and paper 25%

Students only receive a final result for the course if they have participated in the evaluation of both components. In the other case, they get a final result ‘NA’ (not taken). Students cannot pass the course if they have an insufficient score for one of the two components. In that case, they may obtain a final score of 9/20 at the most.

Students are expected to inform themselves about the faculty guidelines for papers and bibliographical referencing and about the faculty guidelines with regard to plagiarism.

 

Information about retaking exams

This course unit allows partial mark transfers in case of partial pass mark:

  • Exam (during academic year)
  • Seminar (during academic year)

For the part of the course that consists in lectures, a second oral exam is organized.

For the part of the course that consists in seminar activity, the mark for participation/presentation cannot be changed. The student can only rewrite and resubmit the paper, the mark of which will be added to the mark for participation/presentation.

If a student succeeds for one of the parts of the course, the result obtained for that part is transmitted unto the result of the retake exam session (within the same year). At any rate, students have to succeed for every part of the course separately (for the text seminar + paper as well as for the oral exam).