PHIL 5393-001
MWF 9-9:50, PH 202
Spring 2014
Instructor: Dr. Miriam Byrd
Office: 304 Carlisle Hall
Department phone: (817) 272-2764
Email address: [email protected] (best way to reach me)
Office hours: MW 12:00-1:00 and by appointment
Course Description: One of Plato’s major concerns in the dialogues is establishing
methods for philosophical inquiry, and he presents us with the methods of elenchus,
hypothesis, recollection, dialectic, and division. In this course, we will seek to
understand and evaluate these methods. Though the secondary literature often
focuses on how Socrates, or another main speaker, describes a method, we will try
to gain additional insight by exploring how this speaker implicitly uses the method
within the dialogue. We will also consider how a better understanding of Plato’s
philosophical methods and how they are applied in the dialogues will contribute to
evaluation of current methods of interpreting the Platonic dialogues.
Other topics of discussion will include the connection between Plato’s metaphysical
views and the methodology he recommends, the relationship between these
methods, and whether attention to these methods casts any light on the debate
between unitarians, scholars who see an underlying unity throughout Plato’s
thought, and developmentalists, who believe that he held separate and distinct
philosophies in different chronological periods.
Text: Plato: Complete Works, ed. John M. Cooper, Hackett Publishing, 1997. ISBN:
0872203492. This is also available as an e-book through Amazon.
Course Requirements: Grades will be based on a term paper, participation, and
two take-home essay exams. Your paper assignment is posted under Course
Materials in Blackboard. You will receive your essay questions a week in advance of
the exam’s due date.
Grades:
Midterm Exam
Research Paper
Final Exam
Participation
A
B
C
D
F
90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
59 and below
25%
30%
25%
20%
due 2/24
due 4/28
due 5/7
Late papers and exams: Late papers and exams will only be accepted in cases of
exceptional circumstances such as documented illness.
1/13
1/15
1/17
1/20
1/22
1/24
1/27
1/29
1/31
2/3
2/5
2/7
2/10
2/12
2/14
2/17
2/19
2/21
2/24
Course Introduction
Historical Background
“Interpreting Plato” Christopher Rowe
Holiday
Apology 17a-28b (17-26); “The Socratic Problem” William J. Prior
Apology 28c-42a (26-36)
“Socratic Method” Thomas Brickhouse and Nicholas Smith
Crito (37-48)
Continued, “Conflicted Values in Plato’s Crito” Verity Harte
“The Elenctic Speech of the Laws in Plato’s Crito” Robert Metcalf
Laches 178a-190d (664-675)
Laches 190d-201c (675-686)
Continued, “Socratic Method” Hugh Benson
Meno 70a-79e (870-879)
Meno 80a-86d (879-886); Plato on Recollection” Charles Kahn (119-122)
Meno 86d-96d (886-894)
Meno 96e-100b (894-897)
Phaedo 57a-69c (50-60)
Midterm Exam due, Phaedo 70a-77d (60-68) “Plato on Recollection” Charles
Kahn (122-124)
2/26 Phaedo 77e-84b (68-73)
2/28 Phaedo 84c-102a (73-87)
3/3 Continued, “Dialectic and Plato’s Method of Hypothesis” Miriam Byrd
3/5 Phaedo 102b-118a (88-100)
3/7 Continued
3/10-14 Spring Break
3/17 Republic 368c-377a (1007-1016) and 403d-445e (1039-1077)
3/19 Continued
3/21 Republic 473d-480a ( 1100-1107), “Plato’s Metaphysics” Verity Harte
3/24 Library demonstration in room 315a of the Central Library
3/26 Republic 504c-518d (1125-1136), “Plato’s Philosophical Method in the
Republic” Hugh Benson
3/28 Continued
3/31 Republic 518-525e (1136-1142), “The Summoner Approach” Miriam Byrd
4/2 Republic 526a-541b (1142-1155), “Plato and Mathematics” Michael J. White
4/4 Phaedrus 227a-244a (507-522)
4/7 Phaedrus 244a-257a (522-533), “Plato on Recollection” Charles Kahn (124134) Paper abstract and list of potential sources due
4/9 Phaedrus 257a-271c (533-548), “The Method of Division and the Division of
the Phaedrus” Kenneth Dorter
4/11 Phaedrus 271d-279c (548-556)
4/14 Letter VII (1646-1667), Excerpt from Plato and the Foundation of Metaphysics
Hans Joachim Krämer
4/16 “Review of Plato and the Foundation of Metaphysics” Kenneth Sayre, Excerpt
from The City and Man Leo Strauss
4/18 Sophist 216a-231e (236-52)
4/21 Sophist 232a-245e (252-267)
4/23 Sophist 246a-259b (267-283
4/25 Sophist 259b-268d (283-293)
4/28 Discussion, paper due
4/30 “Form and the Platonic Dialogues” Mary Margaret McCabe
5/2 “Plato’s Arguments and the Dialogue Form” Michael Frede
5/7 Final Exam due by 9:00 am
As the instructor for this course, I reserve the right to adjust this schedule in any way that serves
the educational needs of the students enrolled in this course. –Miriam N. Byrd.
Academic Integrity: All students enrolled in this course are expected to adhere to
the UT Arlington Honor Code:
I pledge, on my honor, to uphold UT Arlington’s tradition of academic integrity, a
tradition that values hard work and honest effort in the pursuit of academic excellence.
I promise that I will submit only work that I personally create or contribute to group
collaborations, and I will appropriately reference any work from other sources. I will
follow the highest standards of integrity and uphold the spirit of the Honor Code.
Instructors may employ the Honor Code as they see fit in their courses, including
(but not limited to) having students acknowledge the honor code as part of an
examination or requiring students to incorporate the honor code into any work
submitted. Per UT System Regents’ Rule 50101, §2.2, suspected violations of
university’s standards for academic integrity (including the Honor Code) will be
referred to the Office of Student Conduct. Violators will be disciplined in accordance
with University policy, which may result in the student’s suspension or expulsion
from the University.
Drop Policy: Students may drop or swap (adding and dropping a class concurrently)
classes through self-service in MyMav from the beginning of the registration period
through the late registration period. After the late registration period, students must see
their academic advisor to drop a class or withdraw. Undeclared students must see an
advisor in the University Advising Center. Drops can continue through a point two-thirds
of the way through the term or session. It is the student's responsibility to officially
withdraw if they do not plan to attend after registering. Students will not be
automatically dropped for non-attendance. Repayment of certain types of financial aid
administered through the University may be required as the result of dropping classes or
withdrawing. Contact the Financial Aid Office for more information.
Electronic Communication: The University of Texas at Arlington has adopted the
University email address as an official means of communication with students.
Through the use of email, UT-Arlington is able to provide students with relevant and
timely information, designed to facilitate student success. In particular, important
information concerning registration, financial aid, payment of bills, and graduation
may be sent to students through email.
All students are assigned an email account and information about activating and
using it is available at www.uta.edu/email. New students (first semester at UTA)
are able to activate their email account 24 hours after registering for courses. There
is no additional charge to students for using this account, and it remains active as
long as a student is enrolled at UT-Arlington. Students are responsible for checking
their email regularly.
Americans With Disabilities Act:
As a faculty member, I am required by law to provide reasonable accommodation to
students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability.
Student responsibility primarily rests with informing me at the beginning of the
semester and in providing authorized documentation through designated
administrative channels.
Student Support Services Available: UT Arlington provides a variety of resources
and programs designed to help students develop academic skills, deal with personal
situations, and better understand concepts and information related to their courses.
Resources include tutoring, major-based learning centers, developmental education,
advising and mentoring, personal counseling, and federally funded programs. For
individualized referrals, students may visit the reception desk at University College
(Ransom Hall), call the Maverick Resource Hotline at 817-272-6107, send a message
to [email protected], or view the information at www.uta.edu/resources.
Student Feedback Survey: At the end of each term, students enrolled in classes
categorized as lecture, seminar, or laboratory shall be directed to complete a
Student Feedback Survey (SFS). Instructions on how to access the SFS for this
course will be sent directly to each student through MavMail approximately 10 days
before the end of the term. Each student’s feedback enters the SFS database
anonymously and is aggregated with that of other students enrolled in the course.
UT Arlington’s effort to solicit, gather, tabulate, and publish student feedback is
required by state law; students are strongly urged to participate. For more
information, visit http://www.uta.edu/sfs.
Final Review Week: A period of five class days prior to the first day of final
examinations in the long sessions shall be designated as Final Review Week. The
purpose of this week is to allow students sufficient time to prepare for final
examinations. During this week, there shall be no scheduled activities such as
required field trips or performances; and no instructor shall assign any themes,
research problems or exercises of similar scope that have a completion date during
or following this week unless specified in the class syllabus. During Final Review
Week, an instructor shall not give any examinations constituting 10% or more of the
final grade, except makeup tests and laboratory examinations. In addition, no
instructor shall give any portion of the final examination during Final Review Week.
During this week, classes are held as scheduled. In addition, instructors are not
required to limit content to topics that have been previously covered; they may
introduce new concepts as appropriate.
Emergency Exit Procedures: Should we experience an emergency event that
requires us to vacate the building, students should exit the room and move toward
the nearest exits, which are the stairs at each end of this hall. When exiting the
building during an emergency, one should never take an elevator but should use the
stairwells. Faculty members and instructional staff will assist students in selecting
the safest route for evacuation and will make arrangements to assist handicapped
individuals.