An overview of ethical philosophical doctrines from Plato to
Augustine. Major areas of study will include Platonism,
Epicureanism, and Stoicism, as well as their consequent effects on
Abrahamic religions.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Graduate students will complete an independent research project
on a topic of their own choosing. This project will require (1)
extensive research, (2) analysis of trends in contemporary
scholarship, (3) an original argument based on integration and
synthesis of a wide range of primary and secondary material, and
(4) knowledge and use of Greek, Latin, German, French, and
Italian.
Athena Title
Good and Evil in Antiquity
Prerequisite
CLAS 1000 or CLAS 1000E or CLAS 1000H or CLAS 1010 or CLAS 1010E or CLAS 1010H or CLAS 1020 or CLAS 1020E or CLAS 1020H or CLAS 3000 or CLAS 3010 or CLAS(ANTH) 3015 or CLAS(ANTH) 3015E or CLAS 3030 or CLAS 3040 or CLAS3050 or permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to sketch the major historical, philosophical, and religious developments in Western Antiquity.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to identify and explain philosophical and ethical perspectives and problems from close readings of primary source texts from the ancient world (in translation).
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to paraphrase and explain how the major metaphysical issues of the West developed and evolved from the fifth century BCE to the fifth century CE (including the mutual influences of classical ethics and Abrahamic ethics).
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to examine and interpret the different approaches to ethical problems, such as different schools’ approaches to slavery, capital punishment, torture, when some crimes (such as thievery) are excusable, what is the definition of a good moral life, and the role of civil law in ethical issues.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to conduct research and compose the results of their research in written formats appropriate to the subject matter of the course and to the discipline of Classics.
Topical Outline
I. Plato
II. Aristotle
III. Epicureanism
IV. Stoicism
V. What is a good life, how that question is the primary question of an ethical West
VI. The development of a rewards-based afterlife in the West, from Homer to Augustine
VII. Jewish and “Pagan” mutual influence on ethical writings in the first and second centuries, CE
VIII. Cicero and what is the morally right thing to do
IX. Epictetus, stoicism, and how to be an ethical person in a world where one has no power
X. The practice of ethics, from Plato to Marcus Aurelius: One cannot be perfect, so how philosophers understand the importance of practice
XI. Fate, the omnipotence of God, and pre-destination: Are we just stuck? Cicero to Augustine
XII. The inheritance: Christianity and Islam’s debt to classical ethical philosophies
General Education Core
CORE IV: Humanities and the Arts
Institutional Competencies
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
