Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy Workshop

All meetings, unless otherwise noted, take place in Classics 26, from 4:30–6:00.

For papers that are not distributed in advance, the workshop typically consists of a 45-minute presentation, followed by a 45-minute question-and-answer session. For precirculated papers, the presentation is abbreviated in order to leave more time for discussion.

Jump to the current meeting entry.

Fall Quarter, 2008

10/1 Thomas Keith (University of Chicago, Classics) will present his paper, “Litigious Sages, Skeptical Youth, and Other Menaces: the Imperial Stoa Defends the Polis”. The paper will not be distributed in advance, but Thomas suggests taking a look at the following passages: Musonius Rufus, X and XXXIX (ed. Hense); Epictetus, Discourses III.7, IV.5, and Encheiridion 31.

10/3–4 Chicago Area Consortium in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, Seventh Biennial Conference: “Beauty, Harmony, and the Good”.

10/8 De Anima III. 1. 424b22–425b11.

10/15 Kristin Hulburt (University of Chicago, MAPH) will present a paper, “Parmenides in
Context – the Aletheia of Existence”. The paper is available so that you can read it in advance, but this isn’t necessary. It would be helpful, however, to read over the relevant fragments, especially 2–8. (download paper, download fragments)

10/22 De Anima III. 1. continued.

10/29 De Anima III. 425b3–b25. (It might be useful to compare NE IX. 9. 1170a13–1170b8, on the desirability of friends.)

11/5 De Anima III. 425b26–426a26.

11/12 Nicholas D. Smith (Lewis & Clark College, Philosophy) will discuss his paper, “Socratic Teaching and Socratic Method”. The paper is available for advance reading here: download paper.

11/19 De Anima III. 426a15–426b7. We will also return to the discussion of NE IX. 9. 1170a13–1170b8 from 10/29.

11/26 no meeting

12/3 De Anima III. 426b8–427a1. Finish discussion of NE IX. 9. 1170a13–1170b8.

Winter Quarter, 2009

1/7 De Anima III. 426b30–427a16.

1/14 Pierre Destrée (FNRS / Université de Louvain). “Aristotle, and the pleasure ‘proper’ to tragedy”. The paper is available for advance reading here: download paper.

1/21 De Anima III. ch3: 427a17–427b26.

1/28 De Anima III. ch3 continued: 427b27–428b9.

2/4 De Anima III. ch3 continued: 428b10–429a9.

2/11 De Anima III. ch4: 429a10–429b9.

2/18 De Anima III. ch4 continued, ch5: 429b10–430a25.

2/25 Elizabeth Shurcliff (University of Chicago, Philosophy) will present a paper, “Purification of soul in the Phaedo”. The paper is available for advance reading here: download paper. Also, Elizabeth recommends looking over the following passages: Phaedo 61b–69e, 80d–84c, 116a–118a.

3/4 Nicholas Houlahan (University of Chicago, Classics), will present a paper, “Empedocles: The Question of Salvation in a World of Strife”. Nick recommends looking over Empedocles fragments B17 and B110 in advance of the talk: download text of fragments (Inwood edition).

3/11 John Hannon (University of Chicago, Philosophy), will present a paper, “Why does Aristotle include a Discussion of the Presocratics in On Youth and Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration?”.

• The paper is available for advance reading: download paper.
• The paper includes most of the relevant passages, but you may want to look at some of the additional readings that John recommends: chs 7–13 of Aristotle’s On Youth and Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration (alternatively known as 1–7 of De Respiratione) found at the end of the Parva Naturalia; the fragments of Anaxagoras, Diogenes of Appollonia, Democrates, and Empedocles; and Thomas Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

Spring Quarter, 2009

4/1 Bart Van Wassenhove (University of Chicago, Classics), will present a paper, “Wonder and philosophical progress in Plato’s Theaetetus”.

4/8 De Anima III. ch4 continued, ch5: 429b22–430b6. (Also: Further PDFs of the Hicks text and commentary are now available on the Useful Links page.)

4/15 De Anima III. ch5 continued, ch6: 430a17–430b20.

4/22 De Anima III. read up through ch8 (430a26–432a14); discussion of ch8.

4/29 De Anima III. ch9.

5/6 James Lennox (University of Pittsburgh, History and Philosophy of Science) will present a paper titled “Aristotle on Mind, Soul, and the Science of Nature”.

Paper abstract

Aristotle appears to endorse premises implying that an animal’s soul constitutes an important part of its nature and thus is to be studied by the natural scientist. The premises are:

1. Natural things have formal and material natures.
2. For living things, their formal nature is soul.

Which implies:

3. To investigate the formal nature of a living thing, the natural scientist must study soul.

It would seem, then, as many have concluded, that Aristotle is a naturalist regarding the study of the soul. Life with Aristotle is, however, rarely so simple. In Parts of Animals I. 1, Aristotle argues that the natural scientist should not speak of all soul, since reason is not a source of natural change (641b8–9). This claim raises important questions about the status of a theoretical investigation of the soul and about the scientific investigation of the mind. If distinct parts of the soul are examined by different sciences, does that call into question the unity of the investigation of soul? These questions will be explored by noting similarities between the concerns Aristotle raises about the unity of natural science in Physics II. 2 and the unity of the investigation of the soul in the above texts.

(download flyer)

5/13 Nathan Rothschild (University of Chicago, Philosophy), will present a paper, “An Approach to Plato’s Tri-Partite Psychology”. Advance reading of the paper is recommended: download paper.

5/15* Christoph Helmig (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Institute of Philosophy), will present a paper, “Sense perception and object recognition in Plotinus”. Friday at 4:30 PM in Cochrane-Woods 156 – Please note date and time. This talk is being presented by the Late Antiquity and Byzantium Workshop, with co-sponsorship by the Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy Workshop.

5/20 Alexander Lee (University of Chicago, Classics), will give a presentation on “Dialectic and Persuasion in the Gorgias and Phaedo”. There is no advance reading, but it may be worth reviewing the ending myths of the Gorgias and Phaedo – and, inevitably, the Republic. There will also be some focus on the Callicles section of the Gorgias.

5/27 Frances Spaltro (University of Chicago, Classics), will present a paper, “Movement of the Body, Movement of the Soul: Becoming Like God in Plato’s Laws”. Recommended readings: Plato Laws 4.715e–718e; 5.726a–730e; 10.897–905.

6/3 Toby Chow (University of Chicago, Philosophy), will present a paper on “The parts of the soul and psychic corruption”. Recommended reading / key passages (all from the Republic):

IV 436a–441c (argument for the partition of the soul);
IV 441c–445e (the virtues in the soul);
VI 485a–487a (the philosophical nature);
VII 514a–519c (the allegory of the cave);
VIII 553a–555a (the oligarchic soul);
IX 586e–587a (reason and pleasure);
IX 588b–591a (the final argument for justice).

Comments Off