Module CLAS2571: EPICUREANISM

Department: CLASSICS AND ANCIENT HISTORY

CLAS2571: EPICUREANISM

Prerequisites

• Early Greek Philosophy (CLAS1101) or Classical Theories of Soul (CLAS1531) or Ethics and Values (PHIL1011) or Knowledge and Reality (PHIL1021) or Reading Philosophy (PHIL1041).

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To promote the learning and understanding of ancient philosophy in accordance with the general aims of the relevent Degree Programmes; to introduce students who have studied philosophy at Level 1 to new and more challenging philosophical topics, texts and concepts, thereby to develop the range of their knowledge, and the depth of their analytical skills.

Content

• Epicureans were proud of the radical character of their philosophy, which was unusual among the mainstream schools in denying the operation of providence. This module looks at how and why Wpicurus and his followers developed a philosophical system capable of explaining the cosmos without recourse to teleology. It focuses especially on their appropriation and refinement of Democritus' atomic theory, and on their analysis of sensation and thought. It explores how, on these foundations, they were unable to build a systematic phyusics embracing this and every possible universe, and a distinctive ethics centred on the search for pleasure. Texts to be used will include Lucretius' philosophical epic, the De Rerum Matura, and fragments that survive from the works of Epicurus himself.

Learning Outcomes

• knowledge of the texts which are important for our understanding of Epicureanism (including Cicero, Lucretius, and fragments of Epicurus himself);
• knowledge of the central doctroines definitive of Epicureanism, especially in the areas of epistemology, physics, and ethics.
• knowledge of debates within the Epicurean school itself (for example over the nature of friendship), and among contemporary scholars in their interpretation of the evidence.

• ability to use knowledge of philosophy and/or the history of philosophy acquired at level 1 to use a wider intellectual/historical context in evaluationg the evidence for Epicurean thought.
• ability to use these sources to support a philosophically plausible account of Epicurean thought, in particular on matters of epistemology, physics, and ethics.

• a capacity to present a well-researched, wee-articulated, and well-balanced account of the evidence for a particular topic, which takes the views of other commentators into account.
• a capacity to identify and engage critically with arguments as set out in written texts of different genres.
• a capacity to reconstruct a plausible line of thought from imperfect evidence.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures form the core of the module, being used to provide factual information and to give models for interpretative procedures in the selection and interpretation of fragments.
• Examination tests general assimilation and understanding of material across the breadth of the course.
• Continuous Revision Sheets, on which students collate the results of ongoing primary and secondary reading for their understanding of particular topics. As an element in summative assessment they demonstrate the level of understanding achieved in given areas, aswell as showing how students have through their own work built on and consolidated the material fed to them in lectures.
• Assessed essay tests students' ability to locate, exploit and discuss sources avaliable to them.
• Seminars are used to give students practice in the manipulation of important concepts and the anlaysis of fragments, an oppertunity to talk through areas of difficulty.
• Tutorials are for feedback on formative and coursework assessments.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

In Micaelmas Term, submission of one Continuous Revision Sheet on a given topic (to be marked and discussed as an essay of 2,000-3,000 words on a given topic.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University