京都大学 京都大学

5241001 History of Western Philosophy

Numbering Code U-LET02 35241 SJ34 Year/Term 2022 ・ First semester
Number of Credits 2 Course Type Seminar
Target Year Target Student
Language Japanese Day/Period Tue.3
Instructor name HAYASE ATSUSHI (Graduate School of Letters Associate Professor)
Outline and Purpose of the Course In this course we read Plato's (424/3-348/7 BC) /Symposium/ in the Greek original and discuss it in Japanese. The /Symposium/, written by Plato presumably in his relatively early age, is a dialogue which depicts a drinking party for celebrating Agathon (a tragedy poet)’s victory at the festival of Great Dionysia. In this party various characters, including Socrates and Aristophanes (a comic poet), provide a speech to praise the God of Love (eros). This dialogue is not only an outstanding piece of literature, but also philosophically very significant because Plato describes the status of his real beings most carefully with reference to “a beauty amazing in its nature” (tr. Rowe).
The purpose of this seminar is to understand Plato's /Symosium/ in both its philological and philosophical aspects.
Course Goals At the end of the term students will be able (1) accurately to translate Ancient Greek texts into Japanese at the intermediate to advanced level, (2) to analyse the structure of complex philosophical arguments, and (3) effectively to use commentaries and studies written in modern languages in order to understand Greek texts.
Schedule and Contents In the 1st introductory session, the lecturer will give general guidelines for class participation. From the 2nd to the 14th session, we will carefully read and discuss the /Symposium/ from the beginning to 189c1, using the Oxford Classical Text and working our way through about 2 pages per session. Each participant should translate a section of the Greek text (usually about 15 lines) assigned by the lecturer into Japanese. (Note that a participant should try to translate the text *in class*; he or she should not read out prepared, written translation.) We may occasionally pause and analyse the structure of important sections. In the 15th session, we will review the text we have read and the interpretative problems we have encountered in this course.

The seminar is organised as follows:
The 1st session: Introduction
From the 2nd session to the 14th session: Reading and Discussing the /Symposium/ 172a1-189c1
The 15th session: Review
Evaluation Methods and Policy Students grades will be weighed according to the following scheme:
Active participation: 60%
Understanding the text: 40%
Course Requirements Basic reading skills of Ancient Greek are required.
Study outside of Class (preparation and review) Keep in mind that it might take a long time to prepare for the class in advance.
Textbooks Textbooks/References /Platonis Opera/ Tomus II (Oxford Classical Text)., John Burnet. , (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1901.)
References, etc. /Plato: Symposium/ (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)., Kenneth Dover., (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980.)
/Plato: Symposium/., C. J. Rowe., (Warminster: Aris & Phillips Ltd, 1998.)
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