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Greek Philosophy (PHIL20040)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
To learn more, visit 2023 Course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 2
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
Is justice the guiding ideal of human action? Or a weapon the powerful use against the weak? Does democracy work, or should we leave government to experts? What is change: is the seed the same as the tree that grows from it? Is our world made up of objects and properties, or of processes and motions? These questions, and others, were subject to intense and profound investigation in the ancient Greek world. In PHIL20040, we join in this investigation alongside thinkers like Heraclitus and Parmenides, Plato and Aristotle. We will learn to interpret their works using philosophical analysis, and understand the context of their philosophy using historical and sociological analysis.
The subject is divided into three units. In Weeks 1–3, we look at the emergence of Greek philosophy in the sixth century BCE. We’ll compare intellectual professionals in the Aegean to those in other regions of Afroeurasia, and study the thought of some important Presocratic figures. In Weeks 4–7, we will undertake a study of Plato’s metaphysics, epistemology, and moral philosophy, through a careful and comprehensive reading of his Republic. In Weeks 8–12, we’ll turn to Aristotle, looking especially at his natural philosophy and theory of human behaviour in the Physics and Nicomachean Ethics.
Intended learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this subject should be able to:
- Acquire ability to give an account of the scope, achievements, and principal concerns of some central Greek philosophical investigations into the nature of reality, knowledge and value
- Improve skills in reading philosophical texts and in writing philosophical papers.
Generic skills
Students who successfully complete this subject should:
- Have developed their powers of critical and analytical thinking
- Be able to apply these powers to problems and issues in other areas of philosophy, and in other disciplines
- Have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a human being.
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
PHIL10002 | Philosophy: The Big Questions | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
PHIL10003 | Philosophy: The Great Thinkers | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Essay
| Mid semester | 50% |
Essay
| During the examination period | 50% |
Hurdle requirement: Students must attend a minimum of 75% of tutorials (i.e., 8 out of 11 weeks) in order to pass this subject. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Additional details
Note: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day; after five working days, late assessment will not be marked. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Principal coordinator Tom Davies Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 35 hours - A 1 hour lectures twice per week for 12 weeks and a 1 hour tutorial every week for 11 weeks (week 2 - week 12) Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 24 July 2023 to 22 October 2023 Last self-enrol date 4 August 2023 Census date 31 August 2023 Last date to withdraw without fail 22 September 2023 Assessment period ends 17 November 2023 Semester 2 contact information
Time commitment details
170 hours
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
- Plato, The Republic, trans. T. Griffith and edited by G.R.F. Ferrari. Cambridge Univ. Press: 2000.
- Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, trans. with introduction and notes by C.D.C. Reeve. Hackett: 2014.
- Aristotle, Physics, trans. with introduction and notes by C.D.C. Reeve. Hackett: 2018.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Major Philosophy Major Philosophy Major Major Ancient World Studies Breadth Track Ancient Greece Studies - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Science
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 27 April 2024