PHL2130

Plato and platonism

(ART)

Dirk Baltzly

6 points + 2 hours per week + Second semester + Clayton + Prerequisites: At least six points of first year philosophy except with permission from the undergraduate co-ordinator

Synopsis: In the first part of this century the British philosopher A. N. Whitehead remarked that 'all philosophy is but a series of footnotes to Plato.' This subject introduces students to some of the central themes in Plato's work. These will include: the relation between knowledge, moral virtue and happiness; the immortality of the soul and reincarnation; the existence and nature of Plato's "forms" - abstractions such as beauty itself, alleged to be the source of all beautiful things here. We will consider Plato's cosmology in Timaeus including the question of whether time might have come into being. Finally we will look at some of the developments of Plato's philosophy in neoplatonism.

Assessment: Essay (2500 words) and 2 hour examination.