Module CLAS2771: Ancient Philosophers on Memory and Recollection

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS2771: Ancient Philosophers on Memory and Recollection

Prerequisites

• CLAS 1101 Early Greek Philosophy OR CLAS 1761 Socrates and the Socratics OR CLAS 2791 Stoicism OR CLAS 2641 Creation and Cosmology OR CLAS 1601 Remembering Athens OR CLAS 2701 Plato on Knowledge, Truth and Falsehood.

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 relevant Degree Programmes;
• To supplement and deepen the relevant knowledge and skills of those who have already taken at least one philosophy module at University;
• To introduce students to the various ways in which ancient philosophers, from the Presocratics to Augustine, reflected on the nature and epistemological role of memory and recollection, thus complementing the existent departmental emphasis on the concept of memory as a key to our study and understanding of the Classical world.

Content

• This course will examine the variety of ways in which ancient philosophers, from the Presocratics to Augustine, reflected on the nature of memory, forgetfulness and recollection. We will analyse how these philosophers' conceptions of memory, its physiology, its objects, and its role in learning and the acquisition of knowledge are tightly intertwined with their views on psychology (how the soul or mind work), physics and metaphysics (what the world is like) and epistemology (how we acquire knowledge).

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module students will be familiar with all the main philosophical conceptions of memory, forgetfulness and recollection developed in antiquity;
• understand how these conceptions are historically and logically related to one another, and how they are located in the broader framework of Classical thought;
• understand how these conceptions are tightly intertwined with the ancient philosophical positions in psychology, physics, metaphysics and epistemology;
• appreciate the main philosophical problems raised by those conceptions;
• become familiar with several central ancient texts relevant to the topic (especially by Plato, Aristotle and Augustine).

• The module aims at developing the students' ability to read and understand philosophical texts of a wide range (linguistic, stylistic, and chronological), and their capacity to identify and analyse the main theses and arguments set out in them with confidence and critical engagement;
• to handle properly the main secondary literature on the subject with some degree of critical engagement;
• to handle philosophical concepts, especially in the fields of psychology, metaphysics, and epistemology;
• to write clear and competent essays and commentaries on philosophical arguments and texts.

• The module aims at furthering the students' capacity to sustain clear, well-structured and well-defended arguments both in oral and in written form;
• it also aims at furthering the students' willingness to approach sympathetically ideas and arguments even when they appear alien and surpassed.

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

• The lectures form the core of the module and are the main source of factual information.
• Seminars are devoted to discussion of the ideas introduced in the lectures and to closer analysis of some of the main relevant texts (with particular focus on Plato and Aristotle). They are meant to give students practice in 'slow reading' of the sources and in commenting closely on specific sections of the primary literature. The summative commentary tests the level of competence reached in this exercise.
• The summative essay tests the students' capacity to locate, understand and discuss the primary and secondary sources relevant to the essay topic, and to present the results of their research in clear, well-structured and well-defended way.
• The tutorials are for feedback on formative assignments. Tutorials are meant to encourage constructive discussion of difficult points, and aim to be a really formative occasion, enabling students to revise and consolidate their knowledge.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Two written assignments: one formative essay and one formative passage commentary of 1,500 words each.

■ 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