Philosophy 254 - Philosophy in the Ancient World

This course is a study of texts and ideas from four of the oldest written philosophical traditions: the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, classical China, ancient Greece, and early India. The course focuses primarily on texts in moral philosophy and epistemology, including such classics as "The Eloquent Peasant," the Zhuangzi, Plato's Apology, and the Upanishads. Students will develop their skills of reading ancient philosophical texts in translation, analyzing arguments, and understanding ideas in historical and cultural context. The principal aim, however, is to take these views and arguments seriously and ask how they might be defended, adopted, or critiqued today.