Teaching Syllabus
Plato's Republic
The Republic of Plato. Translated, with Notes and an Interpretive Essay, by Allan Bloom. New York: Basic Books, 1968.
The focus of this course is on the relationship between political philosophy and the decisive influence of Ancient Greek thought upon the development of Western civilization, through the reading of selected passages from Plato's Republic. It is my conviction that by reading classical texts --or at least representative excerpts from them-- students not only become familiar with the foundations and landmarks of Western Culture, but are also empowered to address themselves some of the most fundamental questions of life and death, such as "what is the meaning of things?," "what is truth?," "what is reality?," "what is the good?," "why do people need each other?" Students are hence challenged by the texts themselves to experience the complexity and fullness of human becoming. It is my contention that one only learns to appreciate the importance of philosophy to general education by asking philosophical questions and by positing philosophical problems --even without formulating them in proper terms-- in the light of the history of philosophical traditions. Plato's mise en scène of the Socratic method turns out to best exemplify such an experience that brings together instructor, students, and the text in an interactive attempt to make sense of the pursuit of education. The Socratic method is thus adopted with a view to understanding the very nature of general education and philosophical inquiry. Besides traditional classroom resources (blackboard, overhead projector, etc) I may also resort to alternative modes of teaching and education technologies such as the internet.
The course begins by investigating the Socratic inquiry into the nature of justice (collection of opinions in Book I) and move on to explore Books II through X (building of cities-states, virtues of the soul, the philosopher, the Good, knowledge and opinion, myth and logos, doctrine of the Forms, the problem of justice) so as to articulate a dialectical conception of the polis vis à vis the self-knowledge of the soul (psyché) in search of a virtuous life. The general purpose of this course is threefold, namely, (1) to introduce students to the beginnings and principles of philosophical thought, particularly political philosophy, (2) to acquaint them with the main themes of social thought (such as the forms of government, the best constitution, the question of the Good, the articulation between human nature, ethics and political philosophy, the problem of justice, political institutions, their perfection and corruption, ideal and non-ideal theories, contractarianism, individual and society), and (3) to assist them in developing their own critical reflection about the fate of democracy in light of the development of Western civilization.
Students are expected to prepare their weekly readings, participate in class discussions, read their reports in the classroom (very short essays and/or exposés), take quizzes (identity questions) and write 2 short papers (take-home, 3-5 pages each) dealing with the questions and problems indicated.
Suggested Further Reading:
Julia Annas, An Introduction to Plato's Republic. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981.
Nythamar de Oliveira, Polis and Psyché in Plato's Politeia (in Portuguese)
_______. Heraclitus' Conception of Kosmos and Logos
_______. Tractatus ethico-politicus. Porto Alegre: Edipucrs, 1999.
Richard Kraut, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Plato. Cambridge U.P., 1992.
John Sallis. Being and Logos: The Way of Platonic Dialogue. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1986.
Leo Strauss. The City and Man. The University of Chicago Press, 1964.
_______. Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983.
Gregory Vlastos. Platonic Studies. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973.