Seminar in Ancient Philosophy - A

Opposites and relatives in Plato and Aristotle

In this seminar, we investigate significant passages by Plato and Aristotle on two strictly related topics at the very foundation of their theoretical philosophy: opposites and relatives. The careful reading of selected passages from Plato’s “mature” dialogues (such as the Republic, the Phaedo, the Parmenides and the Sophist) and from Aristotle’s Organon (primarily the Categories), combined with some secondary literature on these passages, will lead the participants to actively reason on Plato and Aristotle’s conception of opposition and relativity and the foundational role they played for their metaphysical and logical investigations. More specifically, students will actively reason on the following and many related questions, both historically and philosophically: Does Plato posit Forms in order to solve puzzles concerning relativity and opposition? Does Plato posit a certain kind of relativity even in the realm of Forms? In which way are Forms opposed to one another? Is relativity compatible with stability, according to Plato? Is opposition compatible with stability, according to Plato? How are opposites and relatives linked in Plato’s theoretical philosophy? How many kinds of opposition are there in Aristotle, and how are they linked to one another? What can be relative and what can be opposed, according to Aristotle? What does it mean for relativity and for opposition to be listed among Aristotle’s categories? How are opposites and relatives linked in Aristotle’s theoretical philosophy? What is the philosophical relevance of Plato and Aristotle’s views on opposites and relativity, besides their indubitably historical relevance?

The two leading figures of Ancient (Western) Philosophy, Plato and Aristotle, produced such a large number of written works on a vast array of topics that the introductory courses on the History of Ancient Philosophy inevitably expose students to a simple overview of their theories. More advanced courses in Ancient Philosophy face a choice: narrow down to a certain work of these autors or to a certain philosophical topic. This course takes the latter approach and pursues three main objectives. First, broaden the philosophical horizon of the students by going beyond certain standard contemporary philosophical views on relativity and opposition. Second, expose students to crucial texts in the history of ancient philosophy without hiding their philosophical complexity and provide them with the exegetical and philosophical tools capable of simplifying it. Third, make students have first-hand experience of what it means to analyse and interpret texts in ancient philosophy.

In presenza

After a short philosophical introduction on opposites and relativity and a short historical introduction on the Platonic and Aristotelian texts dealing with these two topics, the lecturer proposes a careful reading of selected passages from the Organon and from Plato’s “mature” dialogues, as well as a reconstruction of some secondary literature on these passages. Depending on the interest, participation, and preparation of the students, the ratio between frontal lectures, presentations, and discussions on the text can vary, but the course will in any case comprise all the three teaching methods. During the course, both exegetical and philosophical issues will be discussed, and different interpretations of the texts will be offered. The precise syllabus of the course, some handouts, some translations of the Greek texts, and some research essays will be made available on the ICorsi platform at the beginning of the course.

A written essay and/or a presentation in class. While the course will be entirely in english, students can choose to write their essays in english, italian, french, or german.