Lehrveranstaltungen Winrersemester 2022-2023

Fortgeschrittenenseminar

Eleatic Philosophy

Mo. 18:00 bis 20:00 c.t. woch 17.10.2022 bis 06.02.2023 Geschw.-Scholl-Pl. 1 (E) - E 210

Parmenides of Elea—whose followers are known as ‘Eleatics’—is both the most influential Greek philosopher before Socrates and the most enigmatic. In this course, our first task will be to read the surviving fragments of the poem in which Parmenides expounded his philosophy and to wrestle with some of the central interpretive difficulties they raise. Is Parmenides actually a monist? If so, does he espouse strict numerical monism—the view that there is only one thing? Is the world of everyday experience a mere illusion? What is the purpose of the lengthy cosmological portion of Parmenides’ original poem? What is Parmenides’ relationship to earlier Presocratic thinkers?

We will then go on to read two other presocratic thinkers who are frequently regarded as followers of Parmenides—Zeno of Elea and Melissus of Samos—with a view to understanding whether they are appropriately classified as Eleatics, and, if so, whether and how they innovate in relation to Parmenides. We will conclude by asking similar questions about purported followers of Parmenides in the 4th century BCE and following, in particular members of the so-called ‘Megaric’ school.
Leistungsnachweis

term paper OR (presentation(s)+essay/record), according to the lecturer's specification [9 ECTS-points]
Anmeldung

LSF-registration via the menu item "Vorlesungsverzeichnis" (=> click through after LSF login to the individual view of this course) sometime between 26 September 2022 and 10 October 2022.

 

Seminar und Lektürekurs

Sokratische Paradoxien

Di. 08:00 bis 10:00 c.t. woch 18.10.2022 bis 07.02.2023 Geschw.-Scholl-Pl. 1 (E) - E 210

Platons Figur des Sokrates in den sogenannten "sokratischen Dialogen" verteidigt berühmte, paradox—oder zumindest äußerst seltsam—klingende Thesen: Er wisse, dass er nichts weiß; Tugend sei Wissen; alle Tugenden seien eine Einheit; niemand irre freiwillig; derjenige, der freiwillig irre, sei gerecht; es sei unmöglich, einem guten Menschen zu schaden; Weisheit sei hinreichend für Glückseligkeit; es sei besser, selbst widerlegt zu werden als jemand anders zu widerlegen; man wisse nur, was man mit einem bestimmten Begriff meint, wenn man ihn definieren könne.

In diesem Kurs werden wir wichtige sokratische Dialoge lesen (die Apologie des Sokrates, Eutyphron, Protagoras, Gorgias) und auch einige seltener gelesene Dialoge (Hippias Minor, Euthydemus). Wir verfolgen hierbei drei Ziele: 1) Diese Ideen zu verstehen; 2) zu beurteilen, inwieweit Platons Sokrates diese Thesen selbst vertritt; 3) herauszufinden, wie diese Thesen mit dem größeren philosophischen Projekt von Platons Sokrates zusammenpassen.
Leistungsnachweis

In the modules assigned below (Bachelor major and minor in Philosophy): a) term paper (approx. 10-12 pages) OR b) graded presentation (15 minutes) + essay/record (approx. 6 pages), according to the lecturer's specification
Anmeldung

Must be registered and prioritised at some point between 26.09.2022 and 10.10.2022 using the LSF system (via the menu item "Lehrveranstaltungen belegen/abmelden").