78000 - Moral Philosophy (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

This course will address topics and texts in moral philosophy at an advanced level. At the end of the course students will be expected to possess the main abilities required from a professional moral philosopher. These include: appraise theories and justify one's own position about them; critically analyzing philosophical texts, both from classical and recent authors; originally elaborate on them; provide fresh points of view and good working hypotheses to address them. Students will have learnt how to pull apart received knowledge in the ethical and meta-ethical field, and to reconstruct it on an original basis. Moreover, they will be expected to show their ability both to write on moral topics in a professional, opinionated, and thorough way, and to effectively communicate their views to an audience.

Course contents

PROTAGORAS, "PROTAGORAS", AND THE PROTAGORAS

The three Protagorases in the title are the historical figure of the Sophist Protagoras of Abdera (ca. 486-411 BCE), the fictional "Protagoras" in whose stead Socrates speaks in Plato's dialogue Theaetetus, and the deuteragonist (but sometimes protagonist) of Plato's Protagoras. It will be assumed that there is a significant overlapping between the three.

The course explores the philosophical and anthropological significance of some main issues raised by Plato in his dialogues, particularly the Protagoras and relevant sections of the Theaetetus. In these texts, it will be assumed, Plato speaks not only for himself but for Socrates as well, and supposedly for Socrates' adversary, Protagoras. Besides their historical interest and powerful dramatic construction, these texts put a lot on the philosophical table: the question of relativism is discussed at length; a whole line of thought in philosophical anthropology (the human as an "unfinished" being) is opened, and several themes are taken up that are still with us in ethical, political, and educational debate (the viability of ethico-political education; the nature of citizenship; pleasure as the supreme human end; the conceptual structure of virtue; what is courage; moral intellectualism, i.e. whether evil is done voluntarily or not, etc.).

After a first part dedicated to the historical setting and to introducing the main traits of the protagonists' (Socrates' and Protagoras') thought and impact, the course will tackle the texts and comment extensively on them. Along the way, we will dwell on the main philosophical aspects as indicated above, and we will discuss them in some detail, aiming both at explaining the text and at highlighting its relevance to modern philosophy.

No previous knowledge of ancient Greek is required. A basic acquaintance with the history of ancient philosophy can be useful, but some introductory information will be provided in the first few classes.

Readings/Bibliography

SOURCES:

I will draw upon a number of English, Italian, French and German translations of Plato's text, but for explanation purposes this is the recommended edition, the one we will comment in class:

• Plato, Protagoras, transl. with notes by C.C.W. Taylor, Oxford-New York: Oxford UP, 2nd ed. 1991.
• Plato, Theaetetus and Sophist, ed. by Christopher Rowe, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2015.

The Greek text of the dialogue is available on www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper, along with the classic textual commentaries by Adam and Adam, and by Sauppe (Towle transl.).

FURTHER PHILOSOPHICAL COMMENTARIES (optional):

• B. A. F. Hubbard, E. S. Karnofsky, Plato's Protagoras: A Socratic Commentary, London: Duckworth, 1982. [A commentary almost entirely in the form of questions.]
  
• Bernd Manuwald, hrsg. von, Platon Protagoras, Göttingen: Vandehhoek & Ruprecht, 2006. [Excellent commentary, only available in German.]
  
• Plato, Protagoras, Jowett-Ostwald transl., Introd. by Gregory Vlastos, Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1956. [The translation is not entirely reliable, but there is an influential introductory essay by Vlastos.]
• Platone, Protagora, a cura di M.L. Chiesara, Milano: Rizzoli, 2010.

SECONDARY LITERATURE:

• Julia Annas, "Hedonism in the Protagoras", Appendix in J.A., Platonic Ethics, Old and New, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999.
• Claude Calame, “The Pragmatics of ‘Myth’ in Plato’s Dialogues: The Story of Prometheus in the Protagoras”, and Gerd Van Riel, “Religion And Morality. Elements of Plato’s Anthropology in the Myth of Prometheus (Protagoras, 320d–322d)”, both in Catherine Collobert, Pierre Destrée, Francisco J. Gonzalez, eds., Plato and Myth: Studies on the Use and Status of Platonic Myths, Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2012.
• Samuel C. Rickless, "Socrates’ Moral Intellectualism", Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, 79 1998, pp. 355–367.
• Heda Segvic [Šegvić], From Protagoras to Aristotle. Essays in Ancient Moral Philosophy, Princeton: Princeton UP, 2009, chapters 1 to 3 (i.e.: "Protagoras' Political Art", "Homer in Plato's Protagoras", "No one errs willingly: The meaning of Socratic intellectualism").
• Ugo Zilioli, Protagoras and the Challenge of Relativism: Plato's Subtlest Enemy, Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007, ch. 3: "Ethics and Forms of Life".

FURTHER OPTIONAL READINGS:

• Students who feel the need of a general introduction to the philosophy of the relevant period may refer e.g. to Anthony Kenny, A New History of Western Philosophy, vol. 1: Ancient Philosophy, Oxford: Clarendon press, 2004 [also available as a digital resource, free for Unibo users: log in at https://login.ezproxy.unibo.it/menu and search "E-Book"]. Useful for general reference and glossary is F. E. Peters, Greek Philosophical Terms: A Historical Lexicon, New York University Press, 1967.
  
• A short introduction to Socrates' moral thinking is provided by Terence Irwin, The Development of Ethics: A Historical and Critical Study, vol. 1: From Socrates to the Reformation, New York-Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007, ch. 2: "Socrates" - This is available as online resource for Unibo users: http://sol.unibo.it/SebinaOpac/Opac?action=ebook&bib=UBODL@AlmaRE%20-%20Biblioteca%20delle%20Risorse%20Elettroniche%20dell%27Ateneo%20di20Bologna&docID=3
• For a general picture of Protagoras' thought see Zilioli's book referred to above. Also: Johannes M. van Ophuijsen, Marlein van Raalte, Peter Stork, eds., Protagoras of Abdera: The Man, His Measure, Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2013.
• A standard treatment of the Sophistic movement is W. K. C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, Volume 3, Part 1: The Sophists, Cambridge UP, 1971. A more innovative approach is provided by Jacqueline de Romilly, The Great Sophists in Periclean Athens, Oxford UP, 1998 (French orig. Éditions de Fallois, 1988).
  

Teaching methods

Please note that all classes will be given online on MS Teams.

The course will mainly consist of frontal lessons, commentary on texts, and teacher-led discussions. Students' comments, reflection, and active participation are encouraged, via the platform chat and the "raise your hand" tool. There is also an online discussion forum on the course website (see iol.unibo.it).

Since a substantial part of the lessons will dwell on texts, I recommend to get hold of the reading material before the beginning of the course. A preliminary reading of the dialogue, however naive, may be of great help in understanding the commentary. All of the required readings are translated into English, but occasional reference to Greek words will be made, as part of the technicalities of the subject matter. I will give semantic explanations as we go along.

Lessons are scheduled to start on the 9th of November 2020 and go on every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Aula XI, via Zamboni 38, ground floor. There will be 15 lessons of 2 hours each.

Assessment methods

Attending students (i.e. attending no less than 12 lessons) will submit a final paper of no less than 5000 words, which will be graded on a 30/30 scale. I will provide a list of topics, but please feel free to devise a topic of your own, provided it centrally involves one or more of the main issues raised in the course. Argumentative papers are recommended, but students coming from other fields than philosophy may suggest different kinds of treatment (e.g. literary, historical, etc.).

Papers should be in by a date that will be announced during the course, approximately 4 weeks after end of the class. They will be written in English. Allowance will be made for the difficulties of students whose first language is not English, but I expect all students to make sure their writing is reasonably correct.

Papers will then be individually discussed with the teacher and this discussion may result in improvement of the final marks.

Unlike other countries, in Italy you may take an exam without attending the course. You will be considered non-attending if you miss more than 3 classes. Non-attending students will only take a viva voce exam, based on the bibliography as indicated in the Readings/Bibliography section, i.e.: Taylor's translation and commentary of the dialogue, plus the secondary literature; the optional readings are not requested. The viva test will consist in expounding, first, a topic of your choice among the course contents (please be prepared to speak approx. 15 min.; you may use notes and sources as you speak). Then I will ask you a few questions about the course topics.

Criteria for the paper’s assessment and components of the final grade:

1. Comprehension of the examined texts (knowledge of their content, ability to gather the most relevant information and the meaning): up to 11/30.

2. Clarity, thematic pertinence, breadth and structure of the exposition (ability to vehicle thoughts in an exhaustive, well-ordered, and clear way, and to stick to the topic): up to 5/30.

3. Correctness of writing (spelling, syntax, punctuation, style, command of the philosophical and general vocabulary): up to 5/30.

4. Logical consistency, quality and cogency of the argument: up to 5/30.

5. Originality of ideas and personal reflection (grasping the critical points of the texts, formulating objections, developing the ideas present in the texts): up to 4/30;

6. Participation in class discussions: up to 1/30.

The assessment of the viva test will be approximately along the same lines, mutatis mutandis.

Teaching tools

I will make use of slides, which will be available on a weekly basis on the course-related page of the Unibo e-learning platform (iol.unibo.it). The webpage will feature a discussion forum, event calendar, study topics and tools, and could be used for teacher-students communication and the distribution of homework.

Office hours

See the website of Roberto Brigati