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Ancient Philosophy

Code: 100306 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500246 Philosophy OB 2
2503702 Ancient Studies FB 2

Contact

Name:
Jesus Hernandez Reynes
Email:
jesus.hernandez@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

This course has no prerequisites.


Objectives and Contextualisation

Ancient Philosophy (6 ECTS) is a subject that is considered a core subject at the UAB, scheduled for the second year of the following studies: Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy and Bachelor's Degree in Antiquity Sciences.

The subject fulfills two objectives: on the one hand, it is mainly the study of the two most important authors of ancient philosophy (Plato and Aristotle), who in turn are among the most important of philosophy in general. On the other hand, as the field of study coincides historiographically with that of the birth of philosophy, the subject is also a beginning to philosophy, in its historical singularity. In this sense, the study of the first philosophers will be done through two of their most outstanding figures: Heraclitus and Parmenides.


Competences

    Philosophy
  • Act within one's own area of knowledge, evaluating sex/gender-based inequalities.
  • Analysing and summarising the main arguments of fundamental texts of philosophy in its various disciplines.
  • Placing the most representative philosophical ideas and arguments of a period in their historical background and relating the most important authors of each period of any philosophical discipline.
  • Recognising and interpreting topics and problems of philosophy in its various disciplines.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Thinking in a critical and independent manner on the basis of the specific topics, debates and problems of philosophy, both historically and conceptually.
  • Using the symbology and procedures of the formal sciences in the analysis and building of arguments.
    Ancient Studies
  • Dominate the use of specific instruments, with special attention to digital tools, for analysing the ancient world.
  • Interrelate linguistic, historical and archaeological knowledge of the ancient world with knowledge of other areas of the humanities, mainly ancient literature, philosophy and art.
  • Recognise the impact of some important aspects of the ancient world in contemporary culture and society.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Accurately using the specific lexicon of the history of philosophy.
  2. Analyse the sex-/gender-based inequalities and gender bias in one's own area of knowledge.
  3. Arguing about several issues and philosophical problems for the purpose of different works and the assessment of the results.
  4. Assess how stereotypes and gender roles impact professional practice.
  5. Carrying out a planning for the development of a subject-related work.
  6. Demonstrating a personal stance over a problem or controversy of philosophical nature, or a work of philosophical research.
  7. Discriminating the features that define the writer's place in the context of a problem and reorganising them in a consistent diagram.
  8. Distinguishing and outlining the fundamental content of a philosophical text.
  9. Documenting a philosophical issue and contrasting its sources.
  10. Effectively communicating and applying the argumentative and textual processes to formal and scientific texts.
  11. Establishing relationships between science, philosophy, art, religion, politics, etc.
  12. Explaining the specific notions of the History of Philosophy.
  13. Expressing both orally and in written form, the issues and basic problems of the philosophical tradition.
  14. Identifying the main ideas of a related text and drawing a diagram.
  15. Indicate the main themes of the history of philosophy.
  16. Indicating and discussing the main characteristics of the distinctive thought of a period and contextualizing them.
  17. Indicating and summarising the common content of several manifestations of various fields of culture.
  18. Indicating the main issues of the history of philosophy.
  19. Point out and discuss the main characteristics of era-defining thought, placing them in their context.
  20. Producing an individual work that specifies the work plan and timing of activities.
  21. Reading basic philosophical text thoroughly.
  22. Reading thoroughly philosophical texts of the History of Philosophy.
  23. Recognising, with a critical eye, philosophical referents of the past and present and assessing its importance.
  24. Relate various orders that can be discovered among the philosophical ideas of different authors and moments in history.
  25. Relating the various orders of the philosophical ideas of different authors and historical moments.
  26. Rigorously building philosophical arguments.
  27. Solving problems autonomously.
  28. Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
  29. Summarising the topics and arguments exposed in a classical philosophical debate.
  30. Using suitable terminology when drawing up an academic text.

Content

The syllabus of the subject is made up of the following topics:

Block 1.

Topic 1. The problem of the birth of philosophy.

Topic 2. The so-called "pre-Socratic" philosophy.

Topic 3. Heraclitus of Ephesus I.

Topic 4. Heraclitus of Ephesus II.

Topic 5. Parmenides of Elea I.

His 6. Parmènides d'Elea II.

Topic 7. The "revolution" of the Sophists.

Su 8. Sócrates.

Block 2.

Topic 9. Plato, author of Socratic dialogues.

Topic 10. Plato, the philosopher who learns to die.

Item 11. Plato and ideas.

12. It'  s a good time to have a good time.

Topic 13. Plato and the Fair City.

Item 14. Plató i la vida justa.

Topic 15. Plato, the good and dialectics.

Block 3.

Item 16. Aristotle and syllogistic.

Item 17. Aristotle and the categories.

Item 18. Aristotle, Knowledge and Causes.

Item 19. Aristotle, the act and the potency.

Item 20. Aristotle and Movement.

Item 21. Aristotle and the soul.

Item 22. Aristotle and the reproduction of animals.

Item 23. Aristotle, technique and nature.

 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Classes 45 1.8 3, 26, 11, 12, 10, 30, 1
Type: Supervised      
Reports 22.5 0.9 26, 7, 8, 9, 20, 5, 13, 14, 18, 16, 21, 22, 25, 29
Type: Autonomous      
Readings and study 75 3 7, 8, 13, 18, 16, 25

The classes consist of the presentation and discussion of texts on the subject. Interventions by the teacher and the participating students are expected. The class dynamics make it necessary to read the texts outside classroom hours that will later be treated in the classroom. Attendance at classroom sessions is mandatory.

15 minutes of a class will be reserved, within the calendar established by the centre, for the complementation by the students of the surveys for the evaluation of the performance of the teaching staff and the evaluation of the subject.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
1st records 20% 1.5 0.06 2, 3, 19, 17, 26, 6, 7, 8, 9, 20, 11, 5, 12, 13, 10, 30, 14, 18, 15, 16, 21, 22, 25, 24, 27, 29, 1, 4
1st test 20% 1.5 0.06 3, 19, 26, 7, 8, 9, 20, 11, 5, 12, 13, 10, 30, 14, 18, 15, 16, 21, 22, 25, 24, 27, 29, 1
2nd records 20% 1.5 0.06 3, 19, 26, 7, 8, 9, 20, 11, 5, 12, 13, 10, 30, 14, 18, 15, 16, 21, 22, 28, 25, 24, 27, 29, 1
2nd test 20% 1.5 0.06 3, 19, 26, 7, 8, 9, 20, 11, 5, 12, 13, 10, 30, 14, 18, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 25, 24, 27, 29, 1
3rd test 20% 1.5 0.06 3, 19, 26, 7, 8, 9, 20, 11, 5, 12, 13, 10, 30, 14, 18, 15, 16, 21, 22, 28, 23, 25, 24, 27, 29, 1

This subject admits the continuous assessment system and the single assessment system.

Continuous evaluation

The continuous evaluation will consist of 3 multiple-choice tests, one at the end of each of the three thematic blocks (of 2 points each), 2 submissions of reports in the periods between the test tests (of 1.5 points each) and class attendance (1 point).

Single assessment

On a single date, the student who opts for the single evaluation will submit two reports (of two points each) and will take a multiple-choice test (of six points) that will cover the entire program.

At the time of carrying out each assessment activity, the teacher will inform the students (Moodle) of the procedure and the date of review of the grades. The final grade is the weighted average of all the activities evaluated.

The student will receive the grade of "Not assessed" as long as they have not submitted more than 1/3 of the evaluation activities.

In the event that the student makes any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an evaluation act, this evaluation act will be graded with a 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instructed. In the event that there are several irregularities in the assessment of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.


Bibliography

Primary Source Edits

Els escrits conservats dels principals filòsofs antics es troben editats a les grans col·leccions de clàssics grecs i llatins. Amb traducció: “The Loeb Classical Library”, “Collection des Universités de France” (Fond. G. Budé). Sense traducció: “Bibliotheca Teubneriana” i “Bibliotheca Oxoniensis”. Alguns títols es troben també a la col·lecció de la Fundació Bernat Metge.

Diels, Hermann i Walther Kranz. 2004-2018. Die fragmente der vorsokratiker. 2 vol. i 1 vol. d’índex. Hildesheim: Weidmann.

Laks, André i Glenn Most. 2016. Les débuts de la philosophie grecque. París: Fayard. [Edició anglesa: Loeb edition of Early Greek Philosophy, en 9 volums. El volum I conté materials d'introducció i de referència imprescindibles per utilitzar totes les altres parts de l'edició. Els volums II i III inclouen capítols sobre doxografia antiga, antecedents i els jònics des de Ferècides fins a Heràclit. Els volums IV i V presenten els pensadors grecs occidentals des dels pitagòrics fins a Hipó. Els volums VI i VII comprenen sistemes filosòfics posteriors i les seves seqüeles en els segles cinquè i quart. Els volums VIII i IX presenten reflexions del segle cinquè sobre llenguatge, retòrica, ètica i política (els anomenats sofistes i Sòcrates) i conclouen amb un apèndix sobre filosofia i filòsofs en el drama grec.]

Kern, Otto. 1963. Orphicorum fragmenta, Berlin: Weidmann.

Untersteiner, Mario i Antonio Battegazzore. 2009. I Sofisti. Testimonianze e frammenti, Milà: Bompiani.

Giannantoni, Gabriele. 1990. Socratis et socraticorum reliquiae. 4 vol. Nàpols: Bibliopolis.

 

Some translations

De Tales a Demòcrit. El pensament presocràtic. Fragments i testimonis. 2011.Edició i traducció de Joan Ferrer Gràcia. Girona: Edicions de la Ela Geminada.

De Tales a Demócrito. Fragmentos presocráticos. 2016. Trad. Alberto Bernabé. Madrid, Alianza.

Saviesa grega arcaica. 2012. Traducció de Jaume Pòrtulas / Sergi Grau. Martorell: Adesiara editorial.

Los Sofistas. Testimonios y fragmentos. 2013. Trad. José Solana Dueso. Madrid: Alianza editor.

Platón: Traduït al castellà en 9 vol. a la col·lecció "Biblioteca Clásica Gredos".

Plató. Diàlegs. Barcelona: Fundació Bernat Metge (ed. encara incompleta).

Aristòtil: Traduït al castellà en 18 vol. a la col·lecció "Biblioteca Clásica Gredos".

Laercio, Diógenes. 2013. Vidas y opiniones de los filósofos ilustres. Madrid: Alianza.

 

Dictionary of concepts

Brunschwig, Jackes i Geoffrey Lloyd (ed.). 2000. Diccionario Akal de El saber griego, Madrid: Akal.

 

Stories of Ancient Philosophy

Bréhier, Émile. 1998. Història de la filosofia 1. Antiguitat i edat mitjana, Barcelona: UAB Servei de Publicacions-Tecnos.

Burnett, John. 2022. La filosofia grega: de Tales a Plató. Sabadell: Enoanda.

Cornford, Francis M. 2023. Abans i després de Sòcrates. Sabadell: Enoanda.

García Gual, Carlos. 2004. Historia de la filosofía antigua, Madrid: Trota.

*Guthrie, William Keith Chambers. 2012. Historia de la filosofía griega, edició en 3 vol., Madrid: Gredos.

 

Secondary bibliography

Thematic block 1.

Berti, Enrico. 2009. En el principio era la maravilla. Las grandes preguntas de la filosofía antigua. Madrid: Gredos.

Burnet, John. 2021. L'aurora de la filosofia grega. Sabadell: Enoanda.

Colli, Giorgio. 2001. El naixement de la filosofia, Barcelona: Ed. 1984.

Sassi, Maria Michela. 2022. Los inicios de la filosofía en Grecia. Madrid: Siruela.

Snell, Bruno. 2008. El descubrimiento del espíritu. Estudios sobre la gènesis del pensamiento europeo en los griegos. Barcelona: Acantilado.

*Vernant, Jean-Pierre. 2011. Los orígenes del pensamiento griego, Barcelona: Paidós.

Williams, Bernard. 2011. Vergüenza y necesidad. Recuperación de algunos conceptos Morales de la Grecia Antigua. Madrid: Antonio Machado Libros.

Zellini, Paolo. 2018. Número y “logos”. Barcelona: Acantilado.

* Kirk, Geoffrey S.;  John Earle Raven i Michael Schofield. 2014. Los filósofos presocráticos, Madrid: Gredos.

Laks, André. 2010. Introducción a la filosofía "presocrática". Madrid: Gredos.

Brun, Jean. 2005. Sòcrates. Barcelona: Edicions de 1984.

Curd, Patricia. 2022. Los filósofos presocráticos. Madrid: Tecnos.

Romilly, Jacqueline De. 2023. Los grandes sofistes en la Atenas de Pericles. Barcelona: Gredos.

Wilson, Emily. 2008. La muerte de Sócrates. Héroe, villano, charlatán, santo. Barcelona: Ed. Biblioteca Buridán.

Thematic block 2.

Alcoberro, Ramon. 2022. Introducción a Platón. Barcelona: Gredos.

*Bredlow, Luis Andrés. 2017. Platón Esencial. Todo lo bueno es bello, y lo bello no carece de medida. Barcelona: Montesinos.

Görgemanns, Herwig. 2010. Platón. Una introducción, Santiago de Chile: Instituto de Estudios de la Sociedad.

Grube, Georges Maximilien Antoine. 2010. El pensamiento de Platón. Madrid: Gredos.

Hare, Richard Mervyn. 2009. Platón. Madrid: Alianza.

Melling, David J. 1992. Introducción a Platón. Madrid: Alianza.

Ross, William David. 1989. Teoría de las ideas de Platón. Madrid: Cátedra.

Taylor, Alfred Edward. 2014. Platón. Madrid: Tecnos.

*Vegetti, Mario. 2012, Platón. Quince lecciones sobre Platón. Madrid: Gredos.

Thematic block 3.

Berti, Enrico. 2019. Perfil d’Aristòtil. Sabadell: Enoanda.

*Calvo, Tomás. 1996. Aristóteles y el Aristotelismo. Madrid: Akal.

Düring, Ingemar. 2005. Aristóteles. Exposición e interpretación de su pensamiento. Mèxic: UNAM.

Leroi, Armand Marie. 2017. La laguna. Cómo Aristóteles inventó la ciencia. Córdoba: Guadalmazán.

Lloyd, Geoffrey Ernest Richard. 2013. Aristóteles. Desarrollo y estructura de su pensamiento. Buenos Aires: Prometeo.

Ponsatí-Murlà, Oriol. 2022. Introducción a Aristóteles. Barcelona: Gredos.

Reale, Giovanni. 2003. Introducción a Aristóteles. Barcelona: Herder.

*Ross, Willlian David. 2022. Aristóteles. Madrid: Gredos.

Rovira, Rogelio. 2015. Repertorio de definiciones aristotélicas. Madrid: Escolar y Mayo.

Vigo, Alejandro. 2018. Aristóteles. Una Introducción. Santiago de Chile: Instituto de Estudios de la Sociedad.

 

Los libros marcados con * son los especialmente recomendados.

 


Software

Not applicable.


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Catalan first semester morning-mixed