Course Number: PHL 605 Course Title: History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy Term: Spring 2016

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1 1. COURSE DESCRIPTION Course Number: PHL 605 Course Title: History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy Term: Spring 2016 Instructor Dr. Timothy Smith This course covers some of the most important figures and themes of Ancient and Medieval philosophy, including Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, the nature of man, education, the ultimate end of human activity, the meaning of life, God, Providence, and faith and reason. 2. ENVISIONED LEARNING OUTCOMES The student will demonstrate an ability to identify and define the principal categories, terms, and relations as used in the in ancient and medieval philosophy. The student will demonstrate an ability to identify the assumptions and elements of diverse philosophical outlooks of the ancient and medieval periods and evaluate their tenability and coherence. The student will demonstrate an ability to evaluate various schools of thought in ancient and medieval philosophy with respect to their relative strengths and weaknesses, and with special attention paid to their relations to the Catholic Faith. 3. COURSE REQUIREMENTS 1. Participation in weekly video conference discussion on Saturday mornings [30%] a. NOTE: option of listening to discussion at another time and submitting a response will be acceptable for those who have a scheduling conflict 2. Weekly posting of 2 answers to questions on each lesson discussion board [20%] 3. Final Essay of pages [50%]. Topic and thesis should be on course subject matter and must be approved prior to submission. 4. Possible essay strategies: - Expository: explains a concept or argument as it is developed over several texts or passages. - Interpretive: argues for the superiority of one interpretation over others with respect to some ambiguous or difficult text. This is your opportunity to dig deeper into some text that attracted your attention. 1

2 - Critical: argues against some particular claim. This is your opportunity to attempt to refute some claim you thought especially worthy of attack. - Application: applies a concept or argument from the text to a new issue or problem. This is your opportunity to draw connections between your readings in philosophy and contemporary thought and issues. 4. REQUIRED READINGS AND RESOURCES: Reeve and Miller, eds. Introductory Readings in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co., 2015 NEW EDITION) Ralph McInerny, ed. Thomas Aquinas: Selected Writings (Penguin Classics, 1998) Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy (Penguin Classics, 2000) Thomas Aquinas, Commentaries on Aristotle s works can be found at: 5. CLASS FORMAT This course is an online discussion course with participation on Saturday 1pm-2:30pm EST. NOTE: Make sure that you have access to a computer with video capability. The intention is to provide a more interactive and real classroom-type of experience. If you must miss a session, you will need to listen to the audio recording of the class and submit a 2-PAGE written response in lieu of your online participation. This response is due by Tuesday, at 12pm EST, of the following week. In a discussion class each member is expected to make a contribution at every meeting. You should form your own understanding of the material and be prepared to participate as we explore these texts. You are encouraged to question your classmates and your instructor when anyone says something you disagree with or do not understand. Philosophical discussion thrives when it is an honest and open interaction as we move toward a better understanding. We will not reach an agreement every time, however, we should aspire toward it. 6. COURSE SCHEDULE This schedule below provides an historical introduction to ancient and medieval philosophy and will involve the reading of primary texts instead of textbooks about such philosophy. The first part will focus on Plato and Aristotle, addressing such themes as being, nature, ethics, the divine, and the nature of philosophy itself. The second part will focus on St. Thomas Aquinas as not only the preeminent representative of medieval philosophy but also as a Doctor of the Church, addressing issues in his metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and anthropology. Week 1 Read Apology and Crito by Plato; Introductory Readings, pp Week 2 Plato, Phaedo, Introductory Readings, pp Week 3 Plato, Republic, Introductory Readings, pp

3 Week 4 Plato, Republic, Introductory Readings, pp Week 5 Aristotle, Categories, Introductory Readings, pp Aristotle, Physics, Introductory Readings, pp Week 6 Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Introductory Readings, pp Aristotle, De Anima, Introductory Readings, pp Thomas, Commentary on De Anima 2, Selected Writings, pp Week 7 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Introductory Readings, pp Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Aristotle s Ethics ( Week 8 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Introductory Readings, pp Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Aristotle s Ethics ( Week 9 Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy, Bks. 1-3 Week 10 Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy, Bks. 4-5 Week 11 Thomas Aquinas, Theology, Faith and Reason Selected Writings, pp Week 12 Thomas Aquinas, On the Teacher: Disputed Questions on Truth Selected Writings, pp Week 13 Thomas Aquinas, The Human Good Selected Writings, pp Week 14 Thomas Aquinas, On the Virtues Selected Writings, pp Week 15 SUBMIT FINAL ESSAY ON LAST DAY OF SEMESTER 3

4 7. DISABILITIES ACCOMMODATIONS POLICY Holy Apostles College & Seminary is committed to the goal of achieving equal educational opportunities and full participation in higher education for persons with disabilities who qualify for admission to the College. Students enrolled in online courses who have documented disabilities requiring special accommodations should contact Bob Mish, the Director of Online Student Affairs, at or In all cases, reasonable accommodations will be made to ensure that all students with disabilities have access to course materials in a mode in which they can receive them. Students who have technological limitations (e.g., slow Internet connection speeds in convents) are asked to notify their instructors the first week of class for alternative means of delivery. 8. ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY Students at Holy Apostles College & Seminary are expected to practice academic honesty. Avoiding Plagiarism In its broadest sense, plagiarism is using someone else's work or ideas, presented or claimed as your own. At this stage in your academic career, you should be fully conscious of what it means to plagiarize. This is an inherently unethical activity because it entails the uncredited use of someone else's expression of ideas for another's personal advancement; that is, it entails the use of a person merely as a means to another person s ends. Students, where applicable: Should identify the title, author, page number/webpage address, and publication date of works when directly quoting small portions of texts, articles, interviews, or websites. Students should not even quote more than two paragraphs from any source as a major component of papers or projects and then it must be cited as such. Should appropriately identify the source of information when paraphrasing (restating) ideas from texts, interviews, articles, or websites. Should follow the Holy Apostles College & Seminary Stylesheet (available on the Online Writing Lab s website at Consequences of Academic Dishonesty: Because of the nature of this class, academic dishonesty is taken very seriously. Students participating in academic dishonesty may be removed from the course and from the program. 9. ATTENDANCE POLICY This course meets on Saturday mornings in an Adobe Connect room. Those who are unable to attend may watch a recording of the class session and write a reflection concerning it. Because this class is being taught entirely in a technology-mediated forum, it is important to actively participate each week in the course. In a traditional classroom setting for a 3-credit course, students would be required to be in class 3 hours a week and prepare for class discussions 4.5 hours a week. Expect to devote at least 7 quality hours a week to this course. A failure on the student s part to actively participate in the life of the course may result in a reduction of the final grade. 10. INCOMPLETE POLICY An Incomplete is a temporary grade assigned at the discretion of the faculty member. It is typically allowed in situations in which the student has satisfactorily completed major components of the course and has the ability to finish the remaining work without re-enrolling, but has encountered 4

5 extenuating circumstances, such as illness, that prevent his or her doing so prior to the last day of class. To request an incomplete, distance-learning students must first download a copy of the Incomplete Request Form. This document is located within the Shared folder of the Files tab in Populi. Secondly, students must fill in any necessary information directly within the PDF document. Lastly, students must send their form to their professor via for approval. Approval should be understood as the professor responding to the student s in favor of granting the Incomplete status of the student. Students receiving an Incomplete must submit the missing course work by the end of the sixth week following the semester in which they were enrolled. An incomplete grade (I) automatically turns into the grade of F if the course work is not completed. Students who have completed little or no work are ineligible for an incomplete. Students who feel they are in danger of failing the course due to an inability to complete course assignments should withdraw from the course. A W (Withdrawal) will appear on the student s permanent record for any course dropped after the end of the first week of a semester to the end of the third week. A WF (Withdrawal/Fail) will appear on the student s permanent record for any course dropped after the end of the third week of a semester and on or before the Friday before the last week of the semester. 11. ABOUT YOUR PROFESSOR Dr. Timothy Smith Ph.D., University of Notre Dame (IN), 1999 M.M.S., Medieval Institute, University of Notre Dame (IN), 1994 M.Div., Southern Theological Seminary, Louisville (KY), 1991 B.A., William Jewell College (MO), 1988 Publications: Thomas Aquinas Trinitarian Theology: A Study in Theological Method (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2002) Aquinas on Aristotle and Creation: Use or Misuse? Sapientia 55 (2000), pp Ed., Faith and Reason: The Notre Dame Symposium (South Bend, IN: St. Augustine s Press, 2000) The Context and Character of Thomas Aquinas Theory of Appropriations, The Thomist 63 (1999), pp The Importance of Order in Theological Discussion, Sapientia 54 (1999), pp Thomas Aquinas Theological Method, Sapientia 53 (1998), pp Currently residing in Ventura, California 5