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The course, designed to take students through the central tenants of Plato’s thought, requires student participation in philosophical dialogue (reflecting Plato’s style of writing in dialogue form) in several respects. First, students will learn to discuss and debate their ideas by participating in several debates in the seminar groups after the lecture, the first being a piece of formative assessment, the second a piece of summative assessment (worth 20% of the final mark). Second, students will vote on, and discuss, multiple-choice questions on material presented during the lectures. Finally, students are strongly encouraged to attend a meeting with the lecturer in week 9 or 10 to discuss their plans for the essay for summative assessment (worth 80% of the final mark). The course will look at a small selection of Plato’s works, with a strong focus on the Republic. The topics to be covered will be:

Week 1 – Virtue ethical moral theory in the Republic
Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Primary text: the Republic, books I-IV (excerpts)

Week 2 – Plato’s theory of Forms
Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Primary texts: the Phaedo; the Republic, books V-VII (excerpts)

Week 3 – Moral psychology in the Republic
Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Primary text: the Republic, books III-IV (excerpts)

Week 4 – Case study of a virtue in the Republic: Courage
Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Primary text: the Republic, books III-IV, VIII-IX (excerpts)

Week 5 – Was Plato a feminist?
Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Primary text: the Republic, book V (excerpt)

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý * seminar debate: Plato & feminism (formative)

Week 6 – Knowledge and belief in the Republic
Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Primary text: the Republic, books V (excerpt)

Week 7 – Plato’s banishment of poets from the ideal city, part 1
Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Primary text: the Republic, book X (excerpt)

Week 8 – Plato’s banishment of poets from the ideal city, part 2
Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Primary text: the Republic, book X (excerpt)

Week 9 – The ‘third man argument’ (TMA) in Plato
Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Primary text: the Parmenides (excerpt)

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý * seminar debate: Plato & art in the Republic (summative)

Week 10 – Potential solutions for the TMA in Plato
Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Primary text: the Sophist (excerpt)

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Philosophy Area C