PHIL 603

Spring 2012

Readings

horai
Another fabulous image from Perseus! The three standing figures are the Horai, who represent order and regularity - both in the universe and in communities. They are Dike (Justice or Right), Eirene (Peace), and Eunomia (Good Law).
This page lists each week's assigned reading, plus supplementary recommended and suggested reading. Recommended readings are those I think will be very helpful; suggested and optional readings are those I think will be helpful or interesting, but not of as high a priority as the recommended ones. Toward the bottom of the page you will find some suggested readings that cover broader topics than we can cover in a single week.

Check through the whole page periodically; as I come across additional materials that might be of interest concerning each topic I will add them.

Example: For JSTOR: From the page of 'J' listings, click on JSTOR. Then click on "Search," and from the "Search" page, click on "Advanced Search." Enter the author's name and the journal title in the appropriate search boxes. For prolific authors, it may be helpful to enter the date or a bit of the article title as well. Alternate method: From the main JSTOR page, click on "Browse" and scroll down until you find the title of the journal you're looking for, then click on that title. This will bring you to a page listing all issues of the journal. (The journals you'll be looking for may be listed under 'Philosophy' or 'Political Science' or both.)

Week One: due January 30

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Books One through Three

Salkever, S. "Aristotle's Social Science." Political Theory 9 (1981): 479-508. Available online via JSTOR. If you are unfamiliar with how to access library journal databases, see above.
On-line notes: Notes on Nicomachean Ethics Book One, Chapter 7
On-line notes: Notes on Nicomachean Ethics Book Two Aristotle, Metaphysics Book One (also called Book A), Chapters 2 and 3
(What? You don't carry a copy of the Metaphysics around with you all the time? Fortunately the University of Adelaide in Australia has come to your rescue with an electronic version of W.D. Ross' translation. This link will take you to a table on contents; click on Book I and scroll down to see Ch. 2 and 3.) Achtenberg, D. "Human Being, Beast, and God." Pp. 29-50 in Sim, ed., The Crossroads of Norm and Nature. On reserve. (See below for publication information.)

 

Week Two: due February 6

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Books Three and Four On-line notes: Ancient Greek Vocabulary: Aristotle
(Please look at these notes periodically throughout the semester. They will be updated frequently, to cover terms encountered in each week's reading, and also in response to student questions. If there's a term you'd like to see discussed in these notes, please let me know.)

Collins, S. "The Moral Virtues in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics." Pp. 131-158 in Bartlett and Collins, eds., Action and Contemplation. (This volume is available as an e-book through the GMU Library catalog.)


 

Week Three: due February 13

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Book Five

Nussbaum, M. "Human Functioning and Social Justice: In Defense of Aristotelian Essentialism." Political Theory 20 (1992): 202-246. Available on-line through the JSTOR database. 

Bobonich, C. "Internal Realism, Human Nature, and Distributive Justice: A Response to Martha Nussbaum." Modern Philology 90, Issue Supplement (May 1993): S74-S92. Available on-line through the JSTOR database. (See above for instructions on how to access materials on JSTOR.)

Yack, B. "Natural Right and Aristotle's Understanding of Justice." Political Theory 18 (1990): 216-237. Available on-line through JSTOR (see instructions above).

Notes on Nicomachean Ethics Book Five: Justice

Jaggar, A. "Reasoning About Well-Being: Nussbaum's Methods of Justifying the Capabilities." The Journal of Political Philosophy 14.3 (2006): 301-322. Available on-line.

Some lecture notes on Aristotle's definition of 'nature' (φύσις, transliterated phusis or physis) in the Physics

(not reading, but a video) This may be helpful in thinking about Aristotle's notion of nature: A rabbit that herds sheep, or sheep who get herded by a rabbit. For Aristotle, it would be wrong to say that it's "unnatural" for the rabbit to herd the sheep, or for the sheep to be herded by an animal that is not a human or a canine. Rather, he would say that the rabbit has by nature the capacity to herd, and to learn to do so effectively (more or less; the rabbit doesn't seem to understand that when the sheep reach a corner of the yard they cannot go further). It's just that most rabbits do not exercise this capacity. Aristotle would also note that the sheep have the capacity to learn how to be herded; they can also flee pursuers without being herded, and they also have the capacity to face down the pursuer (as one of them does when the rabbit nips the sheep  even after they go where he is chasing them).

Bolotin, D. "Aristotle on the Question of Evil." Pp. 159-170 in Bartlett and Collins, eds., Action and Contemplation.

Pangle, T. "Justice Among Nations in Platonic and Aristotelian Political Philosophy." American Journal of Political Science 42 (1998): 377-397. Available on-line through JSTOR. (See above for instructions on how to access materials on JSTOR.)

Swanson, J. "Aristotle on Nature, Human Nature, and Justice." Pp. 225-247 in Bartlett and Collins, eds., Action and Contemplation.


Week Four: due February 20

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Book Six

Sorabji, R. "Aristotle on the Role of Intellect in Virtue." Pp. 201-219 in Rorty, ed., Essays on Aristotle's Ethics.

Wiggins, D. "Deliberation and Practical Reason." Pp. 221-240 in Rorty, ed., Essays on Aristotle's Ethics.

Notes on Nicomachean Ethics Book Six

Jentoft, S. "Beyond Fisheries Management: The Phronetic Dimension." Marine Policy 30.6 (2006): 671-680. Available online.  (An unusual kind of "applied ethics," and it has to do with fish - Aristotle would be pleased!)

Long, C. "The Ontological Reappropriation of Phronesis." Continental Philosophy Review 35 (2002): 35-60.

Tabachnick, D. "Phronesis, Democracy, and Technology." Canadian Journal of Political Science 337 (2004): 997-1016.

Wians, W. "The Philosopher's Knowledge of Non-Contradiction." Ancient Philosophy 26 (2006): 333-353.

Heinaman, R. "Rationality, Eudaimonia, and Kakodaimonia in Aristotle." Phronesis 38 (1993): 31-56.

Higgins, C. "A Question of Experience: Dewey and Gadamer on Practical Wisdom." Journal of Philosophy of Education 44.2-3 (2010): 301-333. Available online.

Natali, C. The Wisdom of Aristotle. Trans. G. Parks. SUNY Press, 2001.


Week Five: due February 27

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Book Seven

Grgic, F. "Aristotle on the Akratic's Knowledge."  Phronesis 47.4 (2002): 336-358. Available online through JSTOR and Ingenta (see instructions above). (Note: Ingenta can be very slow, especially from off-campus.)

Gould, C.S. "A Puzzle about the Possibility of Aristotelian Enkrateia." Phronesis 39 (1994): 174-186.

Burnyeat, M. "Aristotle on Learning to be Good." Pp. 205-230 in N. Sherman, ed., Aristotle's Ethics: Critical Essays, Rowman & Littlefield, 1999 (originally appeared in Rorty, ed., Essays on Aristotle's Ethics, pp. 69-92).

Cooper, J. "Reason, Moral Virtue, and Moral Value." Pp. 253-280 in Cooper, Reason and Emotion.

Nussbaum, M. "The Discernment of Perception." Pp. 145-181 in Sherman, ed., Aristotle's Ethics: Critical Essays. 

 

Week Six: due March 5

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Books Eight and Nine

Konstan, D. "Greek Friendship." American Journal of Philology 117 (1996): 71-94. Available in hard copy in Fenwick Library; also available electronically through the Project Muse on-line database (see above for instructions on how to reach it).

Cooper, J. "Aristotle on the Forms of Friendship." Pp. 312-315 in Cooper, Reason and Emotion.

______. "Friendship and the Good in Aristotle." Pp. 336-355 in Cooper, Reason and Emotion. (Also included in Sherman, ed., Aristotle's Ethics: Critical Essays.)

______. "Political Animals and Civic Friendship." Pp. 356-377 in Cooper, Reason and Emotion.

(See also the lists of suggested further readings after each essay in Reason and Emotion.)

Nussbaum, M. The Fragility of Goodness Chapter 12.

Pangle, L.S. "Friendship and Self-Love in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics." Pp. 171-202 in Bartlett and Collins, eds., Action and Contemplation.
 

Week Seven: due March 19

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Book Ten

Locke, A. "The Ethics of Culture." Follow the link to a scan of this short essay, the text of a speech Locke gave to the freshman class of Howard University in 1923.

At least three of the following:

Buckle, S. "Aristotle's 'Republic,' or, Why Aristotle's Ethics is not Virtue Ethics." Philosophy 77 (2002): 565-595.

Burger, R. "Aristotle's 'Exclusive' Account of Happiness." Pp. 79-98 in Sim, ed., The Crossroads of Norm and Nature.

Cooper, J. "Contemplation and Happiness: A Reconsideration." Pp. 212-236 in Cooper, Reason and Emotion.

Kraut, R. "Reply to Professor Roche." Pp. 139-148 in Sim, ed., The Crossroads of Norm and Nature.

Roche, T. "The Ultimate End of Action." Pp. 115-138 in Sim, ed., The Crossroads of Norm and Nature.

Tessitore, A. "Making the City Safe for Philosophy: Nicomachean Ethics, Book 10." The American Political Science Review 84.4 (1990): 1251-1262. Available online through JSTOR.

On-line notes: "Pluralism Without Relativism in the Nicomachean Ethics"

______. "Reason, Moral Virtue, and Moral Value." Pp. 253-280 in Cooper, Reason and Emotion.

Hill, S. "Two Perspectives on the Ultimate End." Pp. 99-114 in Sim, ed., The Crossroads of Norm and Nature.

Kraut, R. "Aristotle on the Human Good: An Overview." Pp. 79-104 in Sherman, ed., Aristotle's Ethics: Critical Essays.

Rorty, A.O. "The Place of Contemplation in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics." Pp. 377-394 in Rorty, ed., Essays on Aristotle's Ethics.



Week Eight: due March 26

Aristotle, Politics Book One

Nederman, C. "The Puzzle of the Political Animal: Nature and Artifice in Aristotle's Political Theory." The Review of Politics 56 (1994): 283-304. Available online via JSTOR.
Ambler, W. "Aristotle on Nature and Politics: The Case of Slavery." Political Theory 15 (1987):  390-410. Available online via JSTOR.

Dobbs, D. "Natural Right and the Problem of Aristotle's Defense of Slavery." The Journal of Politics 56 (1994): 69-94. Available online via JSTOR.

Arnhart, L. "A Sociobiological Defense of Aristotle's Sexual Politics." International Political Science Review 15 (1994): 389-415. Available online via JSTOR.

Murphy, J.B. "Aristotle, Feminism, and Biology: A Response to Larry Arnhart." International Political Science Review 15 (1994): 417-426. Available online via JSTOR.

Week Nine: due April 2

Aristotle, Politics Books Two and Three

Salkever, S. Finding the Mean Chapter Two. On reserve at the JC Library.

Bodeus, R. "The Natural Foundations of Right and Aristotelian Philosophy." Pp. 69-103 in Bartlett and Collins, eds., Action and Contemplation. Available as an e-book through the GMU Library web site.
Salkever, Finding the Mean Chapter One.

Swanson, J.  "Aristotle on Nature, Human Nature, and Justice." Pp. 225-247 in Bartlett and Collins, eds., Action and Contemplation. Available as an e-book through the GMU Library web site.

Tress, D. "The Metaphysical Science of Aristotle's Generation of Animals and its Feminist Critics." The Review of Metaphysics 46.2 (1992): 307-341. Available via JSTOR.

Tress, D. "Aristotle against the Hippocratics on Sexual Generation: A Reply to Coles." Phronesis 44.3 (1999): 228-241. Available via JSTOR.


Week Eleven: due April 9

Aristotle, Politics Book Four

Lindsay, T. "Aristotle's Qualified Defense of Democracy Through 'Political Mixing'." The Journal of Politics 54.1 (1992): 101-119.

Galston, M. "Taking Aristotle Seriously: Republican-Oriented Legal Theory and the Moral Foundation of Deliberative Democracy." California Law Review 82.2 (1994): 329-399.

Week Twelve: due April 16

Aristotle, Politics Books Five and Six

Week 13: Due April 23

Aristotle, Politics Book Seven

Heath, M. "Aristotle on Natural Slavery." Phronesis 53.3 (2008): 243-270.

Mara, G. "The Role of Philosophy in Aristotle's Political Science." Polity 19.3 (1987): 375-401.


Mara, G. "The Near Made Far Away: The Role of Cultural Criticism in Aristotle's Political Theory." Political Theory 23.2 (1995): 280-303.

Week 14: Due April 30

Aristotle, Politics Book Eight

Salkever, S. "Teaching the Questions: Aristotle's Philosophical Pedagogy in the Nicomachean Ethics and the Politics." The Review of Politics 69 (2007): 192-214.


Books on reserve for our class in the Johnson Center Library

Cooper, J. Reason and Emotion.

Rorty, A.O., ed.  Essays on Aristotle's Ethics.

Salkever, S. Finding the Mean.

Sim, M., ed. The Crossroads of Norm and Nature.



Books available as e-books via the GMU Library Catalog

Achtenberg, D. Cognition of Value in Aristotle's Ethics.

Bartlett, R., and S. Collins, eds. Action and Contemplation.

Broadie, S. Ethics with Aristotle.

Pakaluk, M. Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: An Introduction.

Saxonhouse, A. Free Speech and Democracy in Ancient Athens.

Sherman, N., ed. Aristotle's Ethics: Critical Essays.

Witt and Alainen, eds. Feminist Reflections on the History of Philosophy (the essay by Charlotte Witt is on Aristotle).





 
 

General suggestions for reading

Bartlett, Robert and Susan Collins, eds. Action and Contemplation. SUNY Press, 1999.

Brague, Remi. "History of Philosophy as Freedom." Epoche 7, no.1 (Fall 2002). Available on-line. (This link takes you to a table of contents page; from there you can click on the article you want.)

Cooper, John. Reason and Emotion. Princeton University Press, 1999. (See also the lists of suggested further readings after each essay in this volume.)

Konstan, David. "Pity and Self-Pity." Electronic Antiquity 5, no. 1 (Oct. 1999). Available on-line.

Kraut, R., ed. The Blackwell Guide to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Blackwell, 2006.

Lord, C. and D.K. O'Connor, eds. Essays on the Foundations of Aristotelian Political Science. University of California Press, 1991.

Natali, Carlo. The Wisdom of Aristotle. Trans. G. Parks. SUNY Press, 2001.

Nussbaum, Martha. The Fragility of Goodness. Cambridge University Press, 1986.

Rorty, A.O., ed. Essays on Aristotle's Ethics. University of California Press, 1980.

Salkever, S. Finding the Mean. Princeton University Press, 1990.

Sim, May, ed. The Crossroads of Norm and Nature. Rowman and Littlefield, 1995.
 





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