PHL3890

Science, happiness and death in stoic and epicurean philosophy

(ART)

Dirk Baltzly

8 points + 2 hours per week + First/second semster + Flexible + Second semester + Clayton + Prerequisites: First-year philosophy and PHL2130 or a minor sequence in arts subject preferred, students from other faculties by permission

Synopsis: An introduction to the philosophical systems of these rival Hellenistic schools and their interaction, evolution and relevance to contemporary philosophical problems. Among the issues that concern the stoics and epicureans are questions about happiness and fulfilment; coping with the inevitability of death; fatalism and moral responsibility; the role and relevance of god in a purely material universe; materialist theories of mind; and foundationalism in epistemology.

Assessment: Two essays (3000 words each) or essay and exam (3 hours): 50% each