Lewis & ClarkCollege of Arts & Sciences

Nicholas Smith

Courses

Philosophy 451: Socrates (Spring 2011)

Howard 123

Professor: Dr. Nick Smith

Office: Howard 229

Office Hours: M, W 12:00-2:00 and by appt.

Phone: 503-768-7478
Email: ndsmith@lclark.edu;
Web site: http://www.lclark.edu/~ndsmith

Requirements:
(1) In-class presentation of research paper; final revision of research paper (each 1/3 of final grade). Students presenting their research papers to the class should also send electronic copies of the papers they propose to present as attachments (in Rich Text Format, or .rtf files) to the other members of the seminar by or before 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before their presentation.
(2) In-class presentations of scholarly articles or chapters (two articles or chapters per student; each 1/6 of final grade).

If you have a disability that may impact your academic performance, you may request accommodations by submitting documentation to the Student Support Services Office in Albany Quadrangle (x7191), and that office will notify me of the accommodations for which you are eligible.

Books
 (1) Plato: Complete Works (ed. J. Cooper), Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co., 1997. (Listed in syllabus either as Cooper or by titles of Platonic works.)
(2) Readings on reserve in the library (listed in syllabus by author; see listings after syllabus).

Course Schedule:

Weeks

Dates

Topics

Readings

I

1/18

Introduction, Socrates Problem

Vlastos, SIMP, chs. 2-3; Hutchinson; Morrison; Brickhouse and Smith SMP, ch. 1

II

1/25

The Trial of Socrates

Apology; Brickhouse & Smith, SOT, 18-47, 59-87, 210-234; PS 155-175; PTS section 1.1 (7-18)

III

2/1

Trial, continued

 

IV

2/8

Socratic Religion: Piety and Afterlife

Euthyphro; Gorgias 523a-end; Crito 54c; Vlastos, SIMP, ch. 6 (Kaplan); McPherran 130-174 (Hammond); Brickhouse & Smith, PS 179-189; Brickhouse & Smith, PS, 201-212; McPherran 247-271 (Nelson); Brickhouse & Smith SMP, appendix; Brickhouse and Smith PTS sections 1.2-3 (18-48)

V

2/15

Socrates’ Daimonion

Smith & Woodruff, Ch. 10 (Schalow); McPherran 175-208 (Frey); Brickhouse & Smith, PS 189-195; Brickhouse and Smith 2005

VI

2/22

Apology-Crito Problem

Crito; Kraut, 11-24, 54-90 (Moon);
Harte (Mire); Brickhouse & Smith, SOT 137-153, PS, 141-155, PTS section 3.6 (215-241).

VII

3/1

Elenchos

Gorgias; Vlastos, SS, Ch. 1 (Hammond); Brickhouse & Smith, TPS, 74-96, PS Ch. 1; Benson 2000, chs. 2-4 (Ellis) and 2002 (Kaplan); Brickhouse and Smith 2002; Santana 2007

VIII

3/8

Knowledge and Wisdom

NB: This class meets in Howard 258

Republic Bk. I; Brickhouse & Smith, PS, 30-60; Vlastos, SS, Ch. 2 (Nelson); Benson 2000, chs. 6-7 (Morales)

IX

3/15

Unity of the Virtues

Protagoras; Vlastos, PS, Ch. 10 (Schalow); Penner 1973 (Frey); Brickhouse & Smith, PS 60-72, SMP section 6.2

X

3/29

Socratic Moral Psychology

Gorgias 461b-end; Meno;
Penner 1990 (Moon); Devereux (Mire); Brickhouse & Smith SMP Chs. 2-4.

XI

4/5

The Trial Revisited (Ellis)

Leaving One’s Country (Frey)

Natural Science (Nelson)

TBA

TBA

TBA

XII

4/12

Family Values (Kaplan)

Irony (Hammond)

Virtue and Happiness (Morales)

TBA

TBA

TBA

XIII

4/19

Hedonism (Schalow)

Egoism (Moon)

Victimization (Mire)

TBA

TBA

TBA

XIV

4/26

Last Meeting at Nick’s home

 


Readings on Reserve:
Benson, H. H. 2002. “Problems with the Socratic Method.” In Scott 2002: 101-113.

_______. 2000. Socratic Wisdom: The Model of Knowledge in Plato’s Early Dialogues. Oxford University Press.

_______, ed. 1992. Essays on the Philosophy of Socrates. New York: Oxford University Press. 

Brickhouse, T. C. and Smith, N. D. Forthcoming. “Persuade or Obey.” To appear in French in l’éthique de Socrate, eds. P. Destrée and L.-A. Dorion, Vrin.

_______. 2010. Socratic Moral Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  (Listed in the syllabus as SMP)

_______. 2005. “Socrates’ Daimonion and Rationality.” In Destrée and Smith 2005: 43-62.

_______. 2004. Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Plato and the Trial of Socrates. New York and London: Routledge. (Listed in the syllabus as PTS)

_______. 2002 “The Socratic Elenchos?” In Scott 2002: 101-113.

_______. 1999. The Philosophy of Socrates. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. (Listed in syllabus as TPS.)

_______. 1994. Plato’s Socrates. New York: Oxford University Press. (Listed in syllabus as PS.)

_______. 1989. Socrates on Trial. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (Listed in syllabus as SOT.)

Destrée, P. and Smith, N. D. eds. 2005. Socrates’ Divine Sign: Religion, Practice, and Value in Socratic Philosophy. Kelowna, BC: Academic Printing and Publishing (Apeiron 38.2).

Devereux, D.T. 1995. “Socrates’ Kantian Conception of Virtue.” Journal of the History of Philosophy 33: 381-408.

Harte, Verity. 1999. “Conflicting Values in Plato’s Crito.” Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 81: 117-147; reprinted in Kamtekar 2005: 229-259.

Hutchinson, D. S. 1999. “Socrates of Athens, Philosopher of Religion.” (Review of McPherran 1996.)  Dialogue 38: 601-606.

Irwin, T. H. 1986. “Socrates the Epicurean?” Illinois Classical Studies 11, 85-112; reprinted in Benson 1992: 198-219.

R. Kamtekar, ed. 2005 Plato’s Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito: Critical Essays.  Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Kraut, R. 1984. Socrates and the State. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

McPherran, M. L. 1996. The Religion of Socrates University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.

Morrison, Donald.  2000. “On the Alleged Historical Reliability of Plato’s Apology.” Archiv fhr Geschichte der Philosophie 82: 235-265; reprinted in Kamtekar 2005: 97-126.

Penner, Terry. 1973. “The Unity of Virtue.” The Philosophical Review 82, 35-68; reprinted in Benson 1992: 162-184.

_______. 1990. “Plato and Davidson: Parts of the Soul and Weakness of Will.” In David Copp, ed., Canadian Philosophers: Celebrating Twenty Years of the Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Supplementary Volume 16 of the Canadian Journal of Philosophy: 35-72.

Scott, G. A. ed. 2002. Does Socrates Have a Method? Rethinking the Elenchus and Beyond. University Park, PA: Penn State Press.

Smith, Nicholas D. and Woodruff , Paul (eds.). 2000. Reason and Religion in Socratic Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press.

Santana, Alejandro. 2007. “Constructivism and the Problem of the Socratic Elenchos.” Ancient Philosophy 27: 251-267.

Vlastos, G. 1973. Platonic Studies. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (Listed in syllabus as PS.)

_______ 1991. Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher, Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP. (Listed in syllabus as SIMP.)

_______. 1994. Socratic Studies (ed. M. F. Burnyeat). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Listed in syllabus as SS.)

Wolfsdorf, David. 2007. “The Irony of Socrates.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 65: 175-187.

Contact

Nicholas Smith’s office is in room 229 of John R. Howard Hall.

email ndsmith@lclark.edu

voice 503-768-7478

Nicholas Smith
Philosophy
0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Road
Portland, Oregon 97219