Course 2024-2025

Philosophical authors of antiquity and the Middle Ages [LPHIB300]

  • 6 credits
  • 45h
  • 2nd quarter
Language of instruction: French / Français

Learning outcomes

This teaching unit contributes to the development of the student's attitude to in-depth reading and philosophical commentary of the founding texts of ancient and medieval philosophy. The aim is to lead the student to approach an ancient philosophical text by familiarizing him/her with its specific characteristics (handwritten text, copied several times, often translated - from Greek or Latin - into several modern languages, etc.), with its own concepts, belonging to a different ancient culture, and with the way it is used in the history of the world. ), with its own concepts, belonging to an ancient culture different from ours. This in-depth reading work does not require any particular knowledge of ancient languages. However, the student will be confronted with ancient texts in their original language and guided to tame them, among other things by comparing the original text with the French translation for a number of key terms, and also by consulting critical editions. At the end of the course, the student should be able to : • read and explain an ancient philosophical text : • clarify what the text actually said; • provide a synthetic summary of the text, highlighting the different articulations of the argument proposed by the author; • to restore the historical framework in which the text was created. • comment on an ancient philosophical text: • orientate themselves in critical editions of the text and know how to evaluate the quality of the translation; • clarify what the text said was true; • question the text and its internal coherence with the help of other philosophical texts; • express personal reflections on the text in order to understand it critically. • produce a written summary of the work done on one of the texts examined in the course.

Objectives

• To develop in the student an attitude to in-depth reading and philosophical commentary of the founding texts of ancient and medieval philosophy, through a comparative approach to texts in their original language. • To enable the student to find his or her way through the philosophical literature of the ancient and medieval periods

Content

For the academic year 2020-2021 the course will explore the question of the relationship between the soul and the body as thought by the ancients. It will pay particular attention to human action by seeking to understand how the ancients imagined the relationship between reason, will and freedom. The major authors read and commented on in the course are Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, Augustine, Anselm, Abelard and Thomas Aquinas;


Prerequisites

The teaching units from one of the following lists:

  1. Lecture de textes philosophiques : Antiquité [LPHIB221]
  2. Lecture de textes philosophiques : Moyen Age [LPHIB222]

Co-requisites

The teaching units from one of the following lists:

  1. Histoire de la philosophie de l'Antiquité [LPHIB001]
  2. Histoire de la philosophie du Moyen Age [LPHIB002]

Teaching methods

The student is invited to read some philosophical texts in a personal way, making links with his or her other knowledge in philosophy. The course is intended as a support to help the student to improve his or her personal reading of the philosophical literature of antiquity and the Middle Ages. The aim of the course is to familiarize the student with philosophical texts while guiding him to deepen and comment on them.

Evaluations

Oral examination consisting of a presentation of a written work (on a text related to the course) in front of the other students and a discussion with the teacher on the themes developed in the course.

Recommended readings

An adapted bibliography is distributed to the course at the beginning of the year via WEBCAMPUS.

Language of instruction

French / Français

Location for course

NAMUR

Organizer

Faculté de philosophie et lettres
Rue de Bruxelles, 61
5000 NAMUR

Degree of Reference

Undergraduate Degree
BlockCredits
Bachelier en philosophie36