This seminar will be devoted to reading Plato's Protagoras as a unified whole. We will consider several questions of enduring philosophical interest, including:
-How do people become just?
-Is there moral expertise, and if so, what is it like?
-How should philosophers talk to each other?
-What exactly would it mean to say that pleasure is the good, and to whom should hedonism be attributed?
-How does Socrates think wisdom is special?
-How should we understand the phenomenon of akrasia, commonly translated "weakness of will"?
-What is courage?
The seminar will be in English, but students who feel more comfortable participating in German are welcome to do so. Proficiency in Ancient Greek will be helpful but is neither required nor expected. |
