Fall Semester 2009

Ancient Greek Philosophical Psychology

Instructors: Fred D. Miller, Jr. & Pamela Phillips

Room 317 Shatzel

1:00-4:30 R

Course Description

This course will examine the development of philosophical psychology in ancient Greek thinkers from Homer to Aristotle. We will focus on the soul, cognition, and desire and related psychological concepts. The philosophers to be studied include Pre-Socratics, Plato, and Aristotle, with emphasis on the following interrelated topics: the relation of the soul to the body; whether the soul is a true unity or plurality; the explanation of perception, reason, and volition; arguments for and against the immortality of the soul; and implications of psychology for normative theory. We will discuss each philosopher's solution to these problems in the context of his own general philosophical view and also in its historical relationship to his predecessors’ accounts. These ancient views of the soul will also be compared and contrasted with modern philosophies of mind. Finally, we will spend the last sessions of the course exploring the philosophical legacy of Aristotle's ethics in contemporary virtue ethics.

Modern philosophers continue to inquire about the nature of the mind, the relationship between the physical and non-physical aspects of human nature, personal identity, and the source and character of human belief, perception, and will.  They also face the challenge of G. E. M. Anscombe that “it is not profitable to do moral philosophy . . . until we have an adequate philosophy of psychology, in which we are conspicuously lacking.”  In any case, philosophical psychology has implications for practical issues as varied as whether or when individuals can be held responsible for their actions or whether it is permissible to cease medical treatment for patients who lack brain function to whether animals or fetuses have moral standing.  Ancient Greek theories about the soul offer an instructive counterpoint to modern philosophy of mind, and sometimes exert a direct influence on modern speculation.  

This course is a research seminar. Each student is expected to carry out an original philosophical project suitable for submission for publication. To this end, students will conduct a full investigation of the literature on some specific approved topic, make a class presentation of the preliminary results of their research, and write a paper of 12-15 pages on the topic. Moreover, students in this course make a key contribution to each class session by reading assigned material in the primary texts and secondary sources and then leading discussion of philosophical questions assigned in advance. Students should have some background in philosophy including logic, since course assignments involve the logical analysis of arguments.  In addition to engaging the history of philosophical psychology in ancient Greek thought, students will acquire through course activities a variety of skills in research, exposition, analysis, and both written and oral presentation that are central to the practice of professional philosophy.

Department of Philosophy
305 Shatzel Hall,
Bowling Green State University,
Bowling Green, OH 43403.

Phone: 419-372-2117
Fax: 419-372-8191
Email: mdeluca@bgnet.bgsu.edu