PHI 120H - What is the Good Life?

What’s the best way to live? For pleasure or for virtue? For oneself or for others? By the conventions of one’s time or by some timeless truths? The fascination the ancient Greeks had with this question launched Western philosophy on the trajectory it still travels today. In their minds the question was inextricably linked with others: What is the nature of the universe in which we live? What is the status of our knowledge of this universe? How can we understand the processes of change we see everywhere, including in ourselves? And what is the nature of philosophy itself? This course will explore the emergence of Western thought out of and in contrast with earlier mythological worldviews. We will focus most on the person who most famously asked this question, Socrates, and on the writings in which he is most vividly portrayed, namely the dialogues of his student Plato. We will continue to pursue these questions through the writings of Plato’s student, Aristotle, as well as the famous schools of ancient philosophy, the Stoics, the Epicureans, and the Skeptics. This is the first course in our History of Philosophy sequence (the others are PHI 140H , PHI 220H and PHI 240H ). No prior familiarity with philosophy is assumed; indeed, because these thinkers came first, this is a perfect place to begin one’s study of philosophy. Course Typically Offered: Every 2 years.

Prerequisite(s): None.

Credits: 4