At center is a
sphinx, a creature with the head of a woman, the body of a lion, and
the wings of an eagle. In Greek myth, this was the kind of
creature that was causing trouble for Thebes until Oedipus defeated it.
While the monumental Egyptian sphinx statue is the best-known example
today, sphinxes appeared in the mythology and artwork of cultures
around the Mediterranean. This image comes from the superb Perseus web site.
Course materials and other useful links
Spring 2008 Syllabus (in .pdf form)
"The First Philosophers of Ancient Greece" (recommended reading)
Notes on Plato's Euthyphro (required)
King, Letter from Birmingham Jail (in .pdf form)
You will receive the required reading from Aristotle's Metaphysics in class (it is a short photocopy), but if you would like to get a head start, there is another good translation of the text available on the web. Click on this link, then click on Book I. We will be reading only the first 2 chapters of Book I. (Book I is the same as Book A.)
Cherubin, Notes on Aristotle's Metaphysics A1-2 (Book A is the same as Book I.) (required)
Fowler, Life of Galileo (University of Virginia) This page is recommended reading. If you are interested in Galileo's new vision of science, follow the links to Prof. Fowler's other excellent pages of notes (optional).
Cherubin, Notes on Descartes' Discourse Part Four (recommended)
Cherubin, Notes on Descartes' Discourse Part Five (recommended)
Shelley, Frankenstein (required reading; you may purchase this at the Bookstore, or read it here). If you would like to download the whole work to save onto your computer, you can do so here (scroll down).Optional supplementary notes on the connections among philosophy, the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century in Europe, and the political revolutions in Europe and the Americas in the 18th century (I developed these notes for my HIST 100 section several semesters ago)
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, translated by W.D. Ross (required). In this work, Book One, Book Two, Book Six Chapter Five, and Book Ten are required reading. If you would like to download the whole work to save onto your computer, you can do that here (scroll down).
Cherubin, Supplementary notes on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (optional)
Hints for writing tests, exams, and papers This is optional. It was designed for PHIL 100, but the hints apply in all introductory philosophy courses, including PHIL 253.
Criteria for good writing in philosophy. Strongly recommended reading. It is a list of general things that philosophy professors ask for in student writing, things we look for in grading papers. The list was prepared by the Philosophy Department and the Writing Center.
Prof. Cherubin's main web site: http://www.gmu.edu/courses/phil/ancient/index.htm