Plato’s Dialogues on Friendship and Erotic Love
PHL 810, fall semester 2013 Debra Nails Mondays, 5:00–7:10 et al. South Kedzie Hall 501 South Kedzie Hall 530 [email protected] drop-‐in office hours: 1:30–3:00 Fridays https://loncapa.msu.edu Required texts: Cooper, John, ed. 1997. Plato Complete Works. (PCW) Hackett Publishing Co., ISBN 0-‐87220-‐349-‐2. Lesher, James, Debra Nails, and Frisbee Sheffield (LNS). 2006. Plato’s Symposium: Issues in Interpretation and
Reception. Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-‐674-‐02375-‐7 and LON-‐CAPA. Penner, Terry, and Christopher Rowe. (P-‐R) 2005. Plato’s Lysis. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-‐521-‐79130-‐8.
Note that a translation of Lysis is included. LON-‐CAPA resources <https://loncapa.msu.edu> Plato. 1998. Symposium, edited and translated with introduction and notes by Christopher Rowe, Aris and Phillips,
ISBN 0-‐85668-‐615-‐8. Greek and English. Plato. 1986. Phaedrus, edited and translated with introduction and notes by Christopher Rowe, Aris and Phillips,
ISBN 0-‐85668-‐314-‐0. Greek and English. Weston, Anthony. 2009. A Rulebook for Arguments. 4th edition. Hackett Publishing Co., ISBN 978-‐0-‐87220-‐954-‐1. Course description and goals: Plato’s dialogues on friendship (philia) and erotic desire (erôs)—Lysis, Phaedrus, and Symposium—are crucial to any account of his intellectualist ethics and the aesthetics he derives from his theory of forms. Thus these three dialogues are also key to any coherent account of Plato’s epistemology and ontology, thus to all ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, and ontology in the West. They are also powerful and stunningly beautiful dialogues that have sparked recent controversies challenging previous interpretations in fundamental ways. Prerequisite: previous Plato course or equivalent reading. Ours is a return to these dialogues, not an initial reading. Schedule of readings to be completed before class:
Constantin Brancusi, “The Kiss” (1908) Wednesday 28 August: General introduction: Who was Socrates? Who was Plato? Who are you? What’s a seminar? Why Plato now? Presocratic background. Monday 2 September: LABOR DAY—MSU closed. Monday 9 September: Cooper 1997: vii–xxvi; and Lysis (P-‐R 2005, 326–51); “Characters, Setting, Form, and
Dramatic Date.” Sunday15 September, Ancient Circle: Erik Jensen, MSU, “Moving Beyond Opinion: Barnes, Burnyeat, and the Jury
Passage in Theaetetus,” 1:30–3:30, 2426 Maumee Drive, Okemos Monday 16 September: Symposium; “Characters, Setting, Form, and Dramatic Date.” Monday 23 September: Phaedrus; “Characters, Setting, Form, and Dramatic Date.” Sunday 29 September: Ancient Circle: Nathan Sawatzky, University of Notre Dame, “Anangke and chreia in Plato’s
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Republic,” 1:30–3:30, 2426 Maumee Drive, Okemos Monday 30 September: Lysis; Sedley 1989; Obdrzalek 2006; Gonzales 2007. Monday 7 October: Lysis; P-‐R Part I. Monday 14 October: Lysis; P-‐R Part II. Friday 18 October, 3–5 p.m.: MSU Philosophy Colloquium, Ken Sayre, “Plato’s Anticipation of Aristotle’s Doctrine of
the Mean,” followed by a dinner/reception (guests welcome) Monday 21 October: Phaedrus 227a–257b + commentary; Brisson 2006 (LNS ch. 10). Sheffield 2011. Monday 28 October: Phaedrus 257c–279c + commentary. Rowe 2000. Friday 1 November, 3–5 p.m.: Philosophy Colloquium at University of Michigan, Professor Rusty Jones, Harvard
University Monday 4 November:* Phaedrus. Term paper topics due by email attachment, 300-‐word limit. Thursday 7 November: Plato’s birthday, as celebrated in the Renaissance Monday 11 November:* Symposium 172a–197e + commentary. Lear 2006 (LNS ch. 5); Jinek 2008; Obdrazalek
2010. Title and abstract due by email attachment. Monday 18 November: UNESCO World Philosophy Day. Symposium 198a–212d + commentary; Sheffield 2001;
Sheffield 2012; Blondell 2006 (LNS ch. 7). Monday 25 November:* Symposium 212d–223d + commentary. Nietzsche 1864; Nails 2012b. Annotated working
bibliography due by email attachment. Monday 2 December: Lysis, Phaedrus, Symposium. Monday 9 December: Term papers due by 10 p.m. except by prior arrangement. Evaluation: You should participate in the seminar by presenting the results of your reading and critical thinking both formally and informally, and by initiating discussion of philosophical topics. Half the grade will be based on that participation. The other half of the grade will be based on a 3,000-‐word term paper, for which there will be milestones during the semester (dates by which to commit to a general topic and approach, and to send me your preliminary title, abstract, and working bibliography—see the dates with asterisks above). Policies and advice: 1. Preparation for class: read the assigned dialogue or excerpt as many times as it takes to understand the material. Look at any course notes posted on LON-‐CAPA and note that some of the secondary sources identified on LON-‐CAPA are elementary enough to help you understand the text; others are provided primarily to aid research for term papers. Write something in advance of class: questions, comments, a diagram of an argument, objections, elaborations, assumptions, implications—something that will make you more likely to participate in discussion.
2. During class discussions: Be civil. If you find yourself hogging the conversation, ask questions of your classmates to take the spotlight off yourself. The best discussions are ones that bounce around the room instead of ping-‐ponging with me all the time. Don’t hesitate to tell me to lower my voice or that I’m talking too much. Please help me notice when class time is over.
3. No make-‐ups: Oral presentations must be made when scheduled, not when the class has moved on to new material. In the event of sudden illness or other emergency circumstances, let me know.
4. Office hours: I keep office hours from long practice, warning you in advance if I anticipate some unusual commitment that will keep me away; but I enjoy my office hours when students visit, so please don’t hesitate to drop in. If the posted hours are inconvenient, please make an appointment with me by email.
5. Do your own work cooperatively: Do not submit for credit in this course any work completed for another course;
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and do not submit work that is not your own. You are strongly encouraged to study, discuss, and dispute with others everything we do in this course. Over the years, students who have performed best are those who met outside of class and shared their written work.
6. Academic Freedom and Integrity. Article 2.3.3 of the Academic Freedom Report states that “the student shares with the faculty the responsibility for maintaining the integrity of scholarship, grades, and professional standards.” In addition, the Department of Philosophy adheres to the policies on academic honesty as specified in General Student Regulations 1.0, Protection of Scholarship and Grades, and in the All-‐University Policy on Integrity of Scholarship and Grades, which are included in Spartan Life: Student Handbook and Resource Guide. Students who commit an act of academic dishonesty may receive a 0.0 on the assignment or in the course.
7. Accommodation for Students with Disabilities. Students with disabilities should contact the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities to establish reasonable accommodation.
Recommended sources: Anyone studying Plato at graduate level should be conversant with the contents of the following anthologies because they have largely established or shaped the topics and vocabulary of contemporary Platonism. With the exception of Fine 2008, most of the anthologized papers are available on-‐line from their original appearance as journal articles, as well as in reprints in other anthologies—so purchasing them for this seminar is not necessary. Fine, Gail, ed. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Plato. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ———. 1999a. Plato 1: Metaphysics and Epistemology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ———. 1999b. Plato 2: Ethics, Politics, Religion and the Soul. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Vlastos, Gregory, ed. 1971a. Plato: A Collection of Critical Essays. Metaphysics and Epistemology. Notre Dame:
University of Notre Dame Press. ———. 1971b. Plato: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ethics, Politics, and Philosophy of Art and Religion. Notre Dame:
University of Notre Dame Press. ———. 1971c. The Philosophy of Socrates; A Collection of Critical Essays. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame
Press. However, the following articles from them are key:
Annas, Julia. 2008. “Plato’s Ethics.” In Fine 2008. Bett, Richard. 1999. “Immortality and the Nature of the Soul in the Phaedrus.” In Fine 1999b.
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Cornford, F. M. 1971. “The Doctrine of Eros in Plato’s Symposium.” In Vlastos 1971b. Devereux, Daniel. 2008. “Socratic Ethics and Moral Psychology.” In Fine 2008. Kraut, Richard. 2008. “Plato on Love.” In Fine 2008. Markus, R. A. 1971. “The Dialectic of Eros in Plato’s Symposium.” In Vlastos 1971b. Scott, Dominic. 1999. “Platonic Recollection” (excerpt on Phaedrus). In Fine 1999a. Vlastos, Gregory. 1999. “The Individual as an Object of Love in Plato.” In Fine 1999b.
WHAT’S ON LON-CAPA: PLATO SEMINAR 2013
FOLDERS SUB-FOLDERS CONTENTS
ALL THE MECHANICS OF THE COURSE
Syllabus 410 Syllabus 810 Philosophy Resources (Joshua Barton’s PowerPoint) Everything about Grades (undergraduate) RUBBER STAMPS Guidelines for Written Abstracts (undergraduate) Guidelines for Oral Presentations, Comments, Replies, etc. Guidelines for Handouts Sample Speaker’s Script Term Paper Research Guidelines (undergraduate) Peer Review Form
HELP WITH THE READINGS
Parmenides Division of the Arguments Scolnicov 2003 Chart Self-predication—The Third Man Argument A Problem with the Greek Text Some Candidate Platonic Forms
Protagoras Characters and Settings Relations of the Characters (diagram) Philosophical Controversies Argument against Relativism 356-357 Literary Criticism: a very brief consideration Outline and Useful Bibliography Segvic 2002, “No One Errs Willingly: The Meaning of Socratic
Intellectualism” Penner 1973, “The Unity of Virtue” Scodel 1988, “Literary Interpretation in Plato’s Protagoras” Woolf 2002, “Consistency and Akrasia in Plato’s Protagoras”
Charmides Characters and Setting notes on method in Charmides Vlastos 1982, “The Socratic Elenchus” Philosophical Inquiry in Charmides
Lysis Characters and Setting
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Introduction and a Contemporary Controversy
Phaedrus Characters and Setting Introduction and Structure Madness and Method (diagrams from Griswold 1986, Self-Knowledge in
Plato’s Phaedrus) Phaedrus read in Greek by Julius Tomin Britney Spears and Phaedrus Link to Frisbee Sheffield on erôs in Phaedrus and Symposium
Symposium Characters and Setting video clip from Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Theaetetus Characters and Setting PHL 210-level Theaetetus Notes structure of Theaetetus Notes (illustration) Fogelman & Hutchinson 1990, “Seventeen Subtleties in Plato’s
Theaetetus”
Phaedo Characters and Setting (illustrated) Arguments about the Psyche (210-level) Supplemental Considerations at 410-level Ebert 2001, “Why is Evenus Called a Sophist at Phaedo 61c?” Phaedo and bioethics cartoon
ODDMENTS & LINKS
International Plato Society link Ancient Philosophy Society link Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy link The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy link Plato’s Physical Appearance link Quotations after Plato
BACKGROUND
Nails 2009, “Socrates” Kraut 2009, “Plato” Nails 2006a, “The Trial and Death of Socrates” Nails 2006b, “The Life of Plato of Athens” Dramatic Dates of Plato’s Dialogues The Greek Alphabet Schools of Interpretation of Plato Problems of Interpretation of Ancient Texts Does the Translation Matter? Stemma Codicum of Gorgias and Sigla Tetralogies of Thrasyllus and Ancient Division of Plato’s Works Vlastos 1991, excerpt: Vlastos in Brief Nails 1995, excerpt: failed attempts to map Plato’s views to the order in
which his works were composed
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GRADUATE STUDENT EXTRAS
31 Ways to Succeed in Graduate School Term Paper Research Guidelines (graduate) Gonzales 2007, review of Penner-Rowe 2005 Jinek 2008, “Love and Friendship in the Lysis and in the Symposium:
Human and Divine” LNS (Lesher, Nails, Sheffield): Plato’s Symposium: Issues in
Interpretation and Reception LNS: Jim Lesher’s PowerPoint illustrations LNS: key to Jim Lesher’s PowerPoint presentation LNS: conference participants (photo of the authors) Nails 2012b, “The Naturalized Epistemology of the Symposium” Nietzsche 1864, “On the Relationship between Alcibiades’ Speech and
the Other Speeches in Plato’s Symposium” Obdrzalek 2006, review of Penner-Rowe 2005 Obdrazalek 2010, “Moral Transformation and the Love of Beauty in
Plato’s Symposium” Rowe 2000, “The Lysis and the Symposium: aporia and euporia?” Sedley 1989, “Is the Lysis a Dialogue of Definition?” Sheffield 2001, “Psychic Pregnancy and Platonic Epistemology” Sheffield 2011, “Beyond Eros: Friendship in the Phaedrus” Sheffield 2012, The Symposium and Platonic Ethics: Plato, Vlastos, and
a Misguided Debate
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