Course materials 2015/16
PH354 Aristotle: Lecture Schedule & Essential Preparatory Readings
Aristotle’s work is at the heart of philosophy in the Western tradition. In almost every area within that philosophical tradition, Aristotle’s work has been foundational, and a focal point for all subsequent discussion. Aristotle’s work is not merely of antiquarian or historical interest. Though Aristotle’s philosophy fell into disrepute after the early modern revolt against medieval scholasticism, contemporary philosophers are increasingly looking to Aristotle, and to the development of neo-Aristotelian approaches, across a very broad range of subject areas.
The corpus of Aristotle’s work is large, and the number of topics addressed in that work is vast. It is not possible to address all of these topics, and to look at all of the contemporary literature that bears on them, in a single module. On this module, we will focus our study of Aristotle by taking Jonathan Lear, and his excellent book, Aristotle: The Desire to Understand, as a guide, and as a point of orientation. Each week, as well as focusing on a set of primary texts from Aristotle, our lectures and seminars will be structured around topics and themes that emerge in Lear’s reading of the relevant parts of Aristotle. Some areas that Lear discusses we will investigate in more detail, and we will focus on the details of Lear’s reading. Other areas we will deal with only very briefly. But our study of Aristotle will be guided, week-by-week, by the structure and content of Lear’s text.
We will take Lear’s book as a point of orientation for a number of reasons. The first is that his overall goal of his book is, with sensitive and informed reading, to arrive at a view about what Aristotle’s views in the relevant area are, and what is distinctive about those views. That ought to be one of our aims in this module. A second reason is that Lear’s book covers the areas that are of central interest to philosophers working on Aristotle. But a third reason, which is the most important, is that Lear has a deep and interesting set of suggestions about some of the overarching themes in Aristotle’s philosophy; themes which provide shape to Aristotle’s view, and which provide some of their distinctive content. If possible, I want to try to focus our discussion on these themes, and see if we can add to, or develop, Lear’s observations about how they emerge in Aristotle’s work. This will require close engagement with the Aristotelian texts, and with further secondary literature.
Reading
Each week the reading that is essential lecture preparation consists of selections from the two set texts. Instructions about preparation for seminars will be given during the module.
Set Texts:
- Ackrill, J. L. (ed), A New Aristotle Reader. Clarendon, 2004
- Lear. J. Aristotle: The Desire to Understand. C.U.P. 1988
On the lecture schedule, I also include a relevant further reading from the excellent:
- Shields, C. Aristotle. London, Routledge. 2014.
Two very high quality collections of articles on topics relevant to all sections of the module, are:
- Anagnostopoulos, G. (ed.) The Blackwell Companion to Aristotle. Oxford, Blackwell. 2007
- Shields, C. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Aristotle. Oxford, O.U.P. 2012
Further advanced readings will be given in essay reading lists at the start of term and lecture material during the course of the term.
Short and Long Essay Questions
Weeks 1 & 2 Aristotle on Nature
These lectures start by offering a general introduction to our study of Aristotle. They then move on to an introduction to the elements of Aristotle’s philosophy of nature; to notions of ‘matter’, ‘form’, and Aristotle’s hylomorphism, and to the distinction between the ‘four causes’. We then focus in more detail on one of the most important, but controversial elements of Aristotle’s philosophy, and some questions about what it involves.
What are ‘final causes’? Are there any final causes in nature?
Lectures Notes and Slides
Essential Reading:
- Metaphysics, Book I (A), chapters 1 and 2
- Physics, Book II
- Lear, J. Aristotle: The Desire to Understand. C.U.P. 1988. chapters 1 & 2
Introductory Reading:
- Shields, C. Aristotle. Routledge. 2014. chs. 1 & 2
Seminar Reading Wk 2:
Physics, Book II, Chapters 6- 9.
Seminar Reading Wk 3 (on Wk 2 material):
Sarah Broadie, 'Nature and Craft in Aristotelian Teleology' in Broadie (2007), Aristotle and Beyond. Cambridge, C.U.P. (Available electronically through the library. Do a 'Title search')
Week 3 - Change
Central to Aristotle’s philosophy of nature is the notion of change and of different varieties of change. This week we discuss the topic of change and some different puzzles about change.
What is change?
Essential Reading:
- Physics, Book I, Book III, chapters 1- 8
- Lear, J. Aristotle: The Desire to Understand. C.U.P. 1988. Chapter 3, sections 1- 2.
Further Introductory Reading:
- Shields, C. Aristotle. Routledge. 2014. ch. 5
Robert Heineman, 'Is Aristotle's Definition of Change Circular?'
Lecture Notes and Slides
Seminar Reading Wk 3:
Physics, Book I, 6-9.
Week 4. Man’s Nature (1)
At the centre of Aristotle’s view of the nature of man is the idea of the soul as ‘substance qua form of a natural body which has life potentially.’ We will explore this Aristotelian conception of the soul, and questions about how exactly it is to be understood.
What is the soul? How does Aristotle think that soul is related to body?
Essential Reading:
- The Soul: On the Soul (De Anima), Book I, chapters 1 & 4, Book II, chapters 1 – 4
- Lear, J. Aristotle: The Desire to Understand. C.U.P. 1988. Chapter 4, section 1
- Shields, C. Aristotle. Routledge. 2014. ch. 7, secs. 1- 5 (inclusive)
Lecture Notes
Seminar Reading for Week 5: De Anima, Book II.
Week 5. Man’s Nature (2)
In this lecture we focus on Aristotle’s views about a fundamental capacity of the soul—the capacity to perceive.
How does Aristotle explain perception?
Essential Reading:
- On the Soul (De Anima), Book II, chapters 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, & 12; Book III, chapters 1 & 2
- Lear, J. Aristotle: The Desire to Understand. C.U.P. 1988. Chapter 4, section 2
- Shields, C. Aristotle. Routledge. 2014. ch. 7, section 6
Lecture Notes
Week 6 - Reading Week
Seminar Reading Week 7
De Anima, Book II, chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Book III, chapters 1 and 2.
Week 7 - Man’s Nature (3)
In this lecture we focus on Aristotle’s understanding of action, and on the interrelationships between action, choice, deliberation and practical rationality.
What is the role of choice in action? What is the role of deliberation in action?
Essential Reading:
- On the Soul, III.9- 13 Nicomachean Ethics III.1- 5, VI
- On the Movement of Animals, VI- VII
- Lear, J. Aristotle: The Desire to Understand. C.U.P. 1988. Chapter 4, section 5
Seminar Reading for Week 8: Nicomachean Ethics, Book III (1-5 inclusive)
Week 8. Ethics and the Organization of Desire (1)
In this lecture we focus on aspects of Aristotle’s ethical outlook as articulated in the Nicomachean Ethics. Specifically, we look at what appear to be two quite different conceptions of eudaimonia advanced in that text. We will return to this in our final lecture.
What does Aristotle take living well to involve?
Essential Reading:
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book I, Book II, Book X, chapters 6, 7 & 8
- Lear, J. Aristotle: The Desire to Understand. C.U.P. 1988. Chapter 5, sections 1- 3 inclusive
Further Introductory Reading:
- Shields, C. Aristotle. Routledge. 2015. Chapter 8, secs 1- 4 inclusive.
Seminar Reeading week 9: Nicomachean Ethics, Book X, chapters 7-8.
Week 9. Ethics and the Organization of Desire (2)
This week we discuss Aristotle’s famous, but disputed treatment of akrasia (weakness of will or ‘incontinence’ in the vocabulary of Lear (1988)).
Essential Reading:
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VII
- Lear, J. Aristotle: The Desire to Understand. C.U.P. 1988. Chapter 5, sections 1- 3 inclusive
Further Introductory Reading:
- Shields, C. Aristotle. Routledge. 2015. Chapter 8, section 5.
Week 10 - Contemplation Again + Termly Review
This week, I will end with some brief discussion of the notion of 'contemplation'. Is there a way to make sense of the notion of 'contemplation' that makes some of Aristotle's claims in Ethics, Book X, more attractive?
Following that, I will review the material for the term, highlighting material of particular importance for inclusion in the longer essays on each topic.
Reading
Nicomachean Ethics, Book X, Chs. 7-8.
Lecture notes for term
Seminar Week 10
I will hold a session on writing the longer essays. I will explain the marking criteria, what I am looking for in the longer essays more generally, and answer questions about the longer essays.