PHL3890

Science, happiness and death in stoic and epicurean philosophy

Dirk Baltzly

8 points
* 2 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton
* Prerequisites: first-year philosophy and PHL2130 or a minor sequence in some arts subject preferred; open to students in other faculties with permission of instructor.

Objectives Students who complete the subject should understand the central perspectives and tenets of stoic and epicurean philosophy and should also appreciate how the stoic and epicurean systems were shaped by classical philosophy and the social conditions of the Hellenistic period. They should also be in a position and motivated to explore stoic and epicurean ideas towards a resolution of a variety of contemporary philosophical problems.

Synopsis This subject introduces the student to the philosophical systems of these rival Hellenistic schools and examines 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. The subject is not merely an exploration of a lively period in the history of philosophy, however. Stoicism and epicureanism were both therapeutic philosophies: a proper understanding of the truths revealed by the systems was thought to make the fully educated stoic or epicurean `a mortal god'- blessed and happy, utterly immune to the vagaries of misfortune and fearless in the face of death. These are certainly claims which deserve further investigation.

Assessment Two essays (3000 words each): 50% each
* One essay may optionally be replaced by a 3-hour examination

Prescribed texts

Long A and Sedley D The Hellenistic philosophers vol. 1, CUP