Content

The content of the course changes from year to year. For 2023-2024 the topic will be Stoicism. This highly systematic body of thought does not only offer an interesting ethics, but also a radical ontology, epistemology, and physics, all of which will be dealt with in this course. 

Course material

Course material 2023-2024:

Primary and secondary texts are available in the library or can be purchased in bookstores (there is no guarantee that all texts will be in print). The course syllabus and other practical information related to the course will be made available on Toledo. Other materials may be made available on Toledo, depending on copyright restrictions. The students are required to check Toledo as well as their university e-mail account on a regular basis for further practical information related to the course.

Course text:

• Long, A.A. and Sedley, D.N. (1987) The Hellenistic philosophers, volume 1, translations of the principal sources, with philosophical commentary (Cambridge) 

Original versions of the fragments and excerpts (Greek and Latin) with philological comments (optional for students who have Greek and Latin – the large majority of the texts are in Greek):

• Long, A.A. and Sedley, D.N. (1987) The Hellenistic philosophers, volume 2, Greek and Latin texts with notes and bibliography (Cambridge) 
• Arnim, Hans von (1903-1905). Stoicorum veterum fragmenta, 4 volumes (Stuttgart).

Secondary literature (to be used during the course):

• Arenson, K.E. (2020) The Routledge handbook of Hellenistic philosophy (Routledge handbooks in philosophy ) (New York (N.Y.)) 
• Algra, K., Barnes, J., Mansfeld, J. and Schofield, M. (eds) (1999) Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy(Cambridge)
• Algra, K. (2004) ‘Eternity and the concept of God in Early Stoicism’, in G. Van Riel and C. Macé (eds), Platonic Ideas and Concept Formation in Ancient and Medieval Thought (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy. De Wulf-Mansion Centre, Series 1, 3) (Leuven) 173–90
• Annas, J.E. (1992) Hellenistic Philosophy of Mind (Hellenistic Culture and Society, 8 ) (Berkeley - Los Angeles - London) 
• Annas, J. (1993) The morality of happiness (Oxford) 
• Bobzien, S. (1998) Determinism and freedom in Stoic philosophy (Oxford) 
• Bobzien, S. (1999) ‘Chrysippus’ theory of causes’, in K. Ierodiakonou (ed.), Topics in Stoic Philosophy (Oxford) 196–242
• Bobzien, S. (2005) ‘Early Stoic determinism’, Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale, 4
• Brennan, T. (2005) The Stoic Life. Emotions, Duties, and Fate (Oxford) 
• Brennan, T. (2009) ‘Stoic souls in Stoic corpses’, in D. Frede and B. Reis (eds), Body and soul in ancient philosophy(Berlin - New York) 389–407
• Bronowski, A. (2019) The Stoics on lekta: all there is to say (Oxford classical monographs , First edition, ) (Oxford, United Kingdom ; New York, NY) 
• Duhot, J.-J. (1989) La conception stoïcienne de la causalité (Bibliothèque d’histoire de la philosophie) (Paris) 
• Engstrom, S.P. and Whiting, J. (1996) Aristotle, Kant, and the Stoics. Rethinking Happiness and Duty (Cambridge - New York) 
• Frede, M. (1983) ‘Stoics and Skeptics on clear and distinct impressions’, in M. Burnyeat (ed.), The Skeptical Tradition(Berkeley - Los Angeles - London) 65–93
• Frede, D. (2002) ‘Theodicy and providential care in Stoicism’, in D. Frede and A. Laks (eds), Traditions of theology. Studies in Hellenistic theology, its background and aftermath (Philosophia antiqua, 89) (Leiden – Boston – Köln) 85–117
• Gill, C. (2005) ‘Competing Readings of Stoic Emotions’, in R. Salles (ed.), Metaphysics, soul, and ethics in ancient thought. Themes from the work of Richard Sorabji (Oxford) 445–70
• Gill, C. (ed.) (2005) Virtue, norms, and objectivity. Issues in ancient and modern ethics (Oxford) 
• Goldschmidt, V. (1979) Le système stoïcien et l’idée de temps (Bibliotheque d’histoire de la philosophie , quatrième édition) (Paris) 
• Klein, J. (2015) ‘Making sense of Stoic indifferents’, in Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, Volume 49, 227–82
• Menn, S. (1999), 'The Stoic theory of categories,' Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 17, 1999, 215-47
• Romeyer-Dherbey, G. and Gourinat, J.-B. (2005) Les stoïciens (Bibliothèque d’histoire de la philosophie) (Paris) 
• Hahm, D.E. (1977) The Origins of Stoic cosmology (Columbus, Ohio) 
• Ierodiakonou, K. (ed.) (1999) Topics in Stoic Philosophy (Oxford) 
• Inwood, B. (1985) Ethics and human action in early Stoicism (Oxford) 
• Inwood, B. (ed.) (2003) The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics (Cambridge) 
• Ioppolo, A.M. (1995) ‘L’ὁρμὴ πλεονάζουσα nella dottrina stoica della passione’, Elenchos 16, 23–55
• Long, A.A. (ed.) (1971) Problems in Stoicism (Reprint 1996) (London) 
• Long, A.A. (1996) ‘The logical basis of Stoic ethics’, in Stoic Studies (Cambridge) 136–55  
• Long, A.A. (1996) ‘Stoic eudaimonism’, in Stoic Studies (Cambridge) 179–201  
• Long, A.A. (1996) ‘Soul and body in Stoicism’, in Stoic Studies(Cambridge) 224–49 
• Long, A.A. (1996) ‘Representation and the self in Stoicism’, in Stoic Studies (Cambridge) 264–85  
• Long, A.A. (1996) ‘Hierocles on oikeiôsis and self-perception’, in Stoic Studies (Cambridge) 250–63  
• Long, A.A. (1996) ‘Heraclitus and Stoicism’, in Stoic Studies (Cambridge) 35–57 
• Long, A.A. (1996) ‘Greek ethics after MacIntyre and the Stoic community of reason’, in Stoic Studies (Cambridge) 156–78
• Long, A.A. (1996) ‘Dialectic and the Stoic sage’, in Stoic Studies (Cambridge) 85–106
• Long, A.A. (2007) ‘Stoic communitarism and normative citizenship’, in D. Keyt and F.D. Miller (eds), Freedom, reason, and the polis. Essays in ancient Greek political philosophy (Cambridge) 241–61
• McCabe, M.M. (2005) ‘Extend or Identify: Two Stoic Accounts of Altruism’, in R. Salles (ed.), Metaphysics, soul, and ethics in ancient thought. Themes from the work of Richard Sorabji (Oxford) 413–43
• Nolan, D. (2006) ‘Stoic gunk’, Phronesis 51, 162–83
• Nussbaum, M.C. (1994) The therapy of desire. Theory and practice in Hellenistic ethics (Princeton, New Jersey) 
• Nussbaum, M.C. (2002) ‘The worth of human dignity: two tensions in Stoic cosmopolitanism’, in G. Clark and T. Rajak (eds), Philosophy and power in the Graeco-Roman world. Essays in honour of Miriam Griffin (Oxford) 31–49
• Nussbaum, M.C. (2006) ‘The therapy of desire in Hellenistic ethics’, in M. van Ackeren and J. Müller (eds), Antike Philosophie verstehen. Understanding ancient philosophy (Darmstadt) 218–42
• Reydams-Schils, G. (2005) The Roman Stoics. Self, responsibility, and affection (Chicago - London) 
• Salles, R. (2005) The Stoics on determinism and compatibilism (Ashgate new critical thinking in philosophy) (Aldershot - Burlington, VT) 
• Schofield, M. (1999) The Stoic Idea of the City (Chicago and London)
• Schröder, S. (1990), 'Philosophische und medizinische Ursachensystematik und der stoische Determinismus', Prometheus, 15, 1989, 209-239; 16, 1990, 5-26; 136-154.
• Sorabji, R. (2000) Emotion and Peace of Mind. From Stoic Agitation to Christian Temptation. The Gifford Lectures (Oxford) 

Other secondary texts (articles and books) will be added in the syllabus and during the course. The students are not required to possess a copy of the recommended literature, but will need to consult it (library, online). Students who want to use secondary literature outside that presented in this document and the course syllabus are strongly advised to consult the teacher before doing so.

Online resources

• https://modernstoicism.com/

Introductory reading (optional, available in the library and in bookstores):

Sharples, R.W. (1996) Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics. An Introduction to Hellenistic Philosophy (London)  

Format: more information

The course will be given in the form of seminars with active student participation.

The teacher will give an introduction and assist the close reading of texts. He will provide terminological and conceptual clarifications and explain the argumentative and textual strategies that are typical of the author(s) of the text(s) studied in this course. Students should have read carefully the sections of the text to be studied each week as well as the secondary literature assigned for that week. Students are required to take notes that enable them to reconstruct the ideas and arguments expressed during classes. They are strongly discouraged from making audio or video recordings, as this is in most cases counterproductive (no recording may be made without explicit prior permission). They have to participate actively in the discussion, ask for clarification when necessary, and students may also challenge various views and interpretations (including those of the teacher), in a respectful way.

Students will be assigned sections of course material (primary sources, interpretations, secundary literature). Depending on the group size, they are required either to make one or more presentations in class, in which they explain the argument of the section assigned to them, or to discuss the results of group work. These tasks need to be accompanied by written work (hand-outs, reports, …) to be submitted to the teacher and to be discussed in class. Feedback will be given. The students will also be required to write a final paper (min. 2500 - max. 3000 words) on a specific problem or section of the text. Word limits include footnotes/endnotes, but not the bibliography. The final version of the paper will need to be uploaded on Toledo/Turnitin. Students are expected to inform themselves about the faculty guidelines for papers and bibliographical referencing and about the faculty guidelines with regard to plagiarism.

Precise deadlines for each of these tasks will be given in the syllabus.

Regular attendance and active participation are required for this course. A student who is repeatedly and for illegitimate reasons absent can be denied further access to class by the teacher of the course.The course will be given in the form of a seminar.