PHIL 412.001 – Plato (on Love, Friendship, & Family)

Instructor: Mariska Leunissen. This course meets on T 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. in CW 213.

This course offers a high-level survey of the Platonic Corpus with the aim to provide students with a more thorough understanding of the key texts, doctrines, notions, and ideas in Plato’s philosophy as a whole and on his views on love, friendship, and family in particular. We will read, interpret, and critically engage with a broad selection of Platonic dialogues, including the Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, Menexenus, Republic (selections), Lysis, Phaedrus, Symposium, and Laws (selections). Attention will be paid to how Plato developed his views in their own socio-historical context as well as to the methodological problems involved in the study of ancient texts, and the dialogues of Plato in particular.

Both the readings and the in-class sessions will be demanding and some background in ancient philosophy will be presupposed.