Ancient Philosophy The Examined Life

AY2017/2018 Semester 1

What is the right thing to do? What is the fundamental nature of the universe? Are there limits to knowledge? These questions, which we continue to ask today, were also pondered and debated by philosophers over two thousand years ago, and in trying to answer them, they developed sophisticated systems of thought. This course aims to teach students the views of the highly influential philosophers of ancient Greece, Rome, and other regions of the ancient world. The main philosophers covered will be Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, the Epicureans, and some of the Pre-Socratics. The course is structured around several topics, including ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology.