Module description
This module is designed to give not only an overview of some of the most important topics in Plato’s philosophy, but also to raise critical points and offer different interpretative strategies, thus providing the student with the knowledge and skills required to study Plato independently. The module will explore central questions in Plato’s philosophical thought, including: what is the true nature of reality? What is knowledge? Why should I be just and what are the best political arrangements? Who is the true philosopher and what should be their role in society? What are gods and how far could we become like them? We will explore these and such questions through three of Plato’s most fascinating and enduringly influential works: the Theaetetus, the Republic and the Timaeus. We will thus examine key aspects of Plato’s metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy and theology, and see how these aspects are interrelated in his thought.
Assessment details
Summative assessment: 1 x 2,500-word essay (100%)
Formative assessment: 1 x 2,000-word essay
Educational aims & objectives
- To communicate an understanding of central philosophical ideas in Plato, and to show how they relate to one another, with a particular focus on how his ethics is informed by other areas of his philosophy, such as his epistemology.
- To show how Plato’s ideas evolve in response to problems and challenges inherited from others and from his own writings.
- To teach students to read texts in the history of philosophy with care and subject them to philosophical analysis.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, the students will be able to demonstrate intellectual, transferable and practicable skills appropriate to a Level 5 module and in particular will be able to demonstrate:
- An understanding of central issues in Plato’s thought.
- An understanding of how some of these issues interrelate (e.g. how do his views on knowledge relate to his metaphysical theories?).
- An ability to read shorter passages with care and subject them to analysis, as well as understanding how these passages contribute to the larger work from which they are drawn.
- The ability to evaluate Plato’s ideas with philosophical sensitivity but without being anachronistic.
- Some awareness of how Plato’s thought develops as a critical response to ideas inherited from others.
Teaching pattern
One one-hour weekly lecture and one one-hour weekly seminar over ten weeks.