Phl3890 Science, Happiness and Death in Stoic and Epicurean Philosophy
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Handbook entry- a brief description of the subject can be found in the handbook entry. The handbook also provides information about the unit leader, the semester and mode in which the unit is available, the contact hours and the assessment requirements.
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MUSO site - there is a WebCT site for this unit where assessment tasks, lecture notes and other unit resources will be posted. Once enrolled, students taking this unit are advised to check the WebCT site regularly.
Subject description:
This subject looks at what the Stoics and Epicureans have to say on questions in metaphysics, epistemology and ethics. These schools of thought were the dominant trends in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy from roughly the time of Aristotle's death until the second century AD. In addition to being historically interesting, the philosophy of the Stoic and Epicurean schools is directly relevant to contemporary concerns. Like many modern philosophers, both schools were materialists. However, unlike many modern philosophers they directly address questions such as the meaning of death and the place of God in a purely material world.
What will I accomplish by taking this subject?
Students who complete the course successfully should understand the central tenets of Stoic and Epicurean philosophy and the arguments for and against them. Moreover, you will appreciate how the Stoic and Epicurean systems were shaped by classical philosophy and the social conditions of the Hellenistic period. Most importantly, you will be in a position to explore Stoic and Epicurean ideas towards a resolution of a variety of contemporary philosophical problems and you will, I hope, also be motivated to do so.Do I need to have taken the subjects on Plato or Aristotle prior to this subject?
No, not really. The Study Guide for this subject fills in enough background to allow you to see how the Stoics and Epicureans were responding to earlier philosophical views.
What if I'm a Classical Studies student who hasn't done Philosophy before?
There will be some parts of the Study Guide that people with no background in Philosophy might find a bit challenging. But you won't be compelled to write on them. Your choice of topics for essays will be very broad and topics specifically for Classics students can be arranged.
Give me a sample ...
Stoic moral philosophy teaches that emotions such as anger or fear are constituted by a pair of judgements. The feeling of fear really is the judgement that something genuinely bad is likely to happen, coupled with the judgement that it is right to react in a certain, negative way. The Stoics also claim that these judgements are false: if we were fully rational, we would not make them and thus would not feel fear or anger.
Potential essay topic for Philosophers: evaluate the case for the Stoic cognitive theory of emotions. Even assuming it were possible, would the Stoic ideal of freedom from emotion be morally desirable?
Potential essay topic for Classicists: Discuss the depiction of Stoic moral philosophy in Ridley Scott's film, Gladiator. Is Marcus Aurelius the only Stoic? Aside from other improbabilities in the depiction of gladiatorial culture in Scott's film, is there any evidence of a Stoic philosophy associated with military or gladiatorial culture in the imperial period?
Check out some Stoics and Epicureans on the web
The 'Handbook' of Epictetus
(55-105 AD) gives pithy little summaries of Stoic moral philosophy
http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/epicench.html
The entry from the Stanford Encylopedia on Stoicism.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/stoicism/#Oth
The kuria doxa of Epicurus (341-270 BC) give
pithy little summaries of Epicurean moral philosophy.
http://classics.mit.edu/Epicurus/princdoc.html