Seminars and courses

Current seminars

More information about individual courses can be found in the online course catalog.

Winter semester 2025/26 (13.10.2025-06.02.2026)

  • Musaph Research Seminar (Adamson, Isépy, Rapp)
    Tues. 12-14, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433)
  • Colloquium for Doctoral Students (Rapp)
    Mon. 16-18, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433)
  • Der Sinn des Lebens (falls es so was gibt) (Rapp)
    Es besteht die verbreitete Erwartung, dass sich Philosophie traditionell mit Fragen befasse, die mehr oder weniger direkt mit „dem Sinn des Lebens“ zu tun haben. Viele professionelle Philosophinnen und Philosophen vor allem der analytischen Tradition geben sich aber eher skeptisch oder zugeknöpft, wenn es zu Fragen nach dem Sinn des Lebens kommt, unter anderem weil viele den Verdacht hegen, die Frage nach „dem Sinn des Lebens“ sei selbst sinnlos oder könne nicht mit den Methoden der analytischen Philosophie beantwortet werden. Erst in jüngerer Zeit gibt es ausgehend von den Arbeiten der Moralphilosophin Susan Wolf eine vertiefte Forschungsdebatte über den Sinn des Lebens bzw. über „Sinn im Leben“. Die Vorlesung soll die Problematik der Frage nach dem Sinn des Lebens aufzeigen und in die genannte neuere Forschungsdebatte (die am ehesten in der Ethik/Moralphilosophie, Metaethik angesiedelt ist) einführen. Behandelt werden daher vorzüglich Autorinnen und Autoren des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts (u.a. A.J. Ayer, Kurt Baier, David Wiggins, Thomas Nagel, Robert Nozick, Susan Wolf, Thaddeus Metz, John Cottingham, Iddo Landau), aber auch Beispiele aus der Philosophiegeschichte (S. Kierkegaard, F. Nietzsche), der Literatur (u.a. Leo Tolstoi, Albert Camus) und dem Film (u.a. Monty Python, The Truman Show) werden herangezogen.
    Folgende Themen werden behandelt: Ist die Frage nach „dem Sinn des Lebens“ sinnlos? – Sinn des Lebens und Sinn im Leben – Sinn und Religion/Transzendenz (Supernaturalistische Theorien des Sinns) – Sinn des Lebens und die kosmische Perspektive – Sinnleere/das Absurde/Anti-Sinn – Sinn und das gute Leben – Sinn und Moral – Objektivistische und subjektivistische Theorien des Sinns – Sinnhafte Projekte als Beitrag zum guten Leben – Sinn und Tod/Sterblichkeit.
    Mon. 14-16, Schellingstr. 3, S001
  • Socrates and the Socratic Schools (Chame)
    This seminar focuses on the phenomenon of the Socratic dialogue (sokratikós lógos) as a key to understanding Socrates and the first generation of Socratics. We will begin by addressing the so-called “Socratic question” and then study Socrates through the works of Plato, Xenophon, and the extant testimonies of other Socratics such as Antisthenes of Athens, Aristippus of Cyrene, Aeschines of Sphettus, and Euclid of Megara. All these philosophers present different portrayals of Socrates, so one of our main tasks will be to analyze the points of commonality and the differences between them. Finally, we will overview the later development of the Socratic schools throughout the fourth and early third centuries BC.
    Mon. 10-12, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433)
  • Aristotle’s Rhetoric (Rapp)
    Aristotle’s Rhetoric can be considered the first comprehensive introduction into argumentation theory. At the same time, the Rhetoric is crucially embedded into other parts of Aristotle’s oeuvre, in particular, it is connected with his Topics and his works on moral philosophy and psychology. Aristotle thinks of rhetoric as being a counterpart to dialectic, the method by which philosophers are able to provide arguments on any subject. Indeed, Aristotle regards arguments or proofs as central to persuasion. However, people are not always willing to accept the conclusion of a compulsive argument, for example they might be reluctant to accept a suggested conclusion if they happen to be in an averse emotional state. This is why an essential section of the Rhetoric includes the by then most comprehensive discussion of several types of emotions.
    Tues. 16-18, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, 433)
  • Reading Aristotle in Greek (Isépy)
    Einführung in die Autorenlektüre/Reading Greek Philosophy in Greek (Isépy): Aristoteles, De partibus animalium I
    Tues. 18-20, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, 433)
  • Introductions to Platonism in Late Antiquity: Alcinous’s Didaskalikos and Porphyry’s Sentences (Adamson)
    This seminar will be devoted to two late ancient texts that present the thoughts of great Platonists in condensed and expository form. First, the Handbook or Didaskalikos of Alcinous, a Middle Platonist primer on the dialogues of Plato; and second, the Sentences of Porphyry, which serves something like the same function for Plotinus. While these works may seem derivative and hence uninteresting, they in fact take care to structure and unify the thought of the authoritative author in question, ironing out inconsistencies and turning corpora that are often rather ambiguous and elusive into bodies of doctrine. Both works will be read in English but with reference to the Greek; for the seminar we will be joined (online) by Prof Tad Brennan of Cornell University.
    Weds. 16-18, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, 433).
  • Al-Ghazali, Revival of the Religious Sciences (Arabic reading seminar) (Adamson, Hansberger)
    Al-Ghazali is most famous among philosophers for his refutation of Ibn Sina in the Incoherence of the Philosophers; his intellectual autobiography, Deliverer from Error, is also a well-known text. But these represent only a fraction of his multifaceted and prodigious output. His significance as an Islamic theologian is perhaps most secured through his enormous Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din), which explores many features of Islamic practice and spirituality. Many sections are informed by al-Ghazali’s profound engagement with philosophy, and in this seminar we will read selections from Book 21, “The Marvels of the Heart” where, among other things, al-Ghazali discusses the difference between rational and inspired knowledge.
    Tues. 10-12, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, 433)
  • Übung zu "Phil. Arabisch" (Hansberger)
    Philosophisches Arabisch / Philosophical Arabic
    In dieser Übung werden wir Texte aus dem Fortgeschrittenenseminar "Metaphysics as a science in Greek and Arabic Aristotelianism" im arabischen Original lesen, d.h. Auszüge aus al-Kindi, "Die Erste Philosophie", al-Farabi, "Ziele der Metaphysik" und Ibn Sina, "Die Heilung". Die Übung ist nicht nur für Teilnehmer des Fortgeschrittenenseminars gedacht, sondern steht allen Interessierten offen, die sich im Lesen arabischer philosophischer Texte üben wollen.
    Teilnahmevoraussetzung: Kenntnisse der klassischen arabischen Sprache.
    Je nach den Präferenzen der Teilnehmenden wird die Übung auf Deutsch oder Englisch abgehalten werden.
    We will read some of the texts that form the primary material of the advanced seminar "Metaphysics as a science in Greek and Arabic Aristotelianism" in the Arabic original -- i.e. excerpts from al-Kindi, "On First Philosophy", al-Farabi, "On the Aims of Metaphysics" and Ibn Sina, "Healing". The reading class is not restricted to participants of the advanced seminar but is open to anyone who would like to practice reading Arabic philosophical texts.
    Knowledge of Classical Arabic is required.
    Depending on the preferences of the participants, the language of instruction will be either English or German.
    Weds. 12-14, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, E341
  • Scientific status of Metaphysics in Aristotelian Tradition (Hansberger, Genç)
    In this seminar we will survey accounts on the scientific status of metaphysics in Greek and Arabic Aristotelianism. What Aristotle says about what sort of science metaphysics is in his Metaphysics raises some questions about the subject-matter and the structure of metaphysics as a science. First of all, what is the subject-matter of metaphysics? In this science, do we study the most general features shared by all that exists, i.e., “being qua being and its per se attributes,” or the ultimate causes of everything, which are “separate and immovable” beings? If it is both the general features and the ultimate causes of all that is, how should we understand the relation between the study of each so that the term “metaphysics” would turn out to pick out one genuine science rather than being an equivocal umbrella term for two different sciences with different subject-matters? Does metaphysics also study some common principles like the principle of non-contradiction? If so, again, do we have a genuinely single science that studies the other things mentioned before and also the common principles like the principle of non-contradiction? This brings us to the question of how we should individuate sciences according to Aristotle. What characterizes a science? When we have a body of knowledge, how can we know whether this body of knowledge constitutes exactly one complete science? Finally, is metaphysics a demonstrative science? If it is not a demonstrative science, what sort of method secures the reliability of metaphysical knowledge? If it is a demonstrative science, is it just like any other demonstrative science or does metaphysics differ from the others in some important respects? To address these questions meaningfully, we should also have at least an outline view of what a demonstrative science is for Aristotle and how it is organized.
    The seminar has three main units. The first unit is on Aristotle, where we will read passages from Aristotle’s Metaphysics and Posterior Analytics. The second unit is on late antique Greek commentaries on Aristotle; here we will focus mainly on selections from Alexander of Aphrodisias’ commentary on the Metaphysics, but will also look at the division of philosophy accounts we find at the beginning of the Alexandrian Greek commentaries on Porphyry’s Isagoge. The third unit is on medieval Arabic philosophy. Here we will look at discussions of the subject-matter of metaphysics and the order of sciences by al-Kindi (On First Philosophy), al-Farabi (On the Aims of Metaphysics; Enumeration of the Sciences and other texts), and Ibn Sina (Healing).
    The seminar will be conducted in English; the primary texts will be made available in English translation. Knowledge of Greek and/or Arabic is not required.
    Weds. 12-14, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, E 341
  • Stoic metaphysics (Chiocchetti)
    The Stoic metaphysical system is one of the great intellectual achievements of the Hellenistic period, yet it survives only in fragments and later testimonies. This research seminar is dedicated to the challenging but rewarding task of reconstructing and critically assessing this influential philosophy. We will focus on Chrysippus’ mature system.
    Our work will be twofold: first, a careful, methodologically aware reading of the primary evidence; second, a critical engagement with the major lines of interpretation in contemporary scholarship. We will deal with the core debates surrounding Stoic thought: the coherence of their corporealism, the function of the two ‘first principles,’ the intricate theory of causes, the controversial status of the four ‘incorporeals’ (lekta, place, void, and time), and the Stoic solution to the problem of universals. Our primary text will be Long and Sedley's The Hellenistic Philosophers (available online via the university library).
    Weds. 10-12, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, 433)
  • Plato's Hippias Major and Hippias Minor (Spinka)
    Hippias Major and Hippias Minor, while not among Plato’s most renowned dialogues, offer an intriguing read due to their dramatic connection and broad topical range. They present another confrontation between Socrates and a sophist, which is always entertaining to observe. Moreover, they delve into a profound philosophical concept: the noble (το καλόν). What makes something beautiful and admirable? Our discussion will continue with Hippias Minor, exploring ethical themes. Notably, this dialogue presents a shocking claim that virtuous and knowledgeable individuals can engage in shameful acts, contradicting the notion of nobility and admiration. We will explore these topics and address the scholarly debate on whether both dialogues are truly Socratic.
    Weds. 12-14, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, 433)

Previous Semesters

Summer semester 2025

  • Musaph Research Seminar (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp)
    Tues. 12-14, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433)
  • Colloquium for Doctoral Students (Chame, Helle)
    Mon. 16-18, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433)
  • Plato’s Theaetetus (Chame)
    Plato’s dialogue Theaetetus is motivated by a central question: what is knowledge? Three answers are given successively: first, that knowledge is perception; second, that it is true judgment; third, that it is true judgment with an account. All three answers are relentlessly refuted by Socrates, leaving us in aporia. The dialogue addresses crucial questions—such as the relationship between knowledge and perception and the problem of definition—with remarkable and demanding argumentative rigor. Thus, our main objective in the seminar will be to carefully read and reconstruct its main arguments and, ultimately, pose questions concerning the relationship between this work and Plato’s views in other dialogues. We will also consider the issue of the dialogue’s portrayal of and opposition to precedent (e.g., Protagoras, Heraclitus) and possibly contemporary (e.g., Antisthenes) philosophers and interlocutors.
    Mon. 14-16, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, 433).
  • Practical Thinking in Plato and Aristotle (Spinka)
    Reasoning is not only theoretical; it has also a practical side, which concerns ethical questions and morality. This aspect of reasoning has its own specific activities, concerns particular objects, and aims to achieve specific goals. The discovery and gradual refinement of the notion of practical reasoning and its importance for moral questions can be to some extent attributed to Plato and Aristotle. This course aims to understand the foundations these philosophers laid for that notion and its development. We will examine different questions relevant to how Plato and Aristotle conceptualize practical reason and its ethical aspect. Among other topics, we will focus on the following questions: To what extent is practical reasoning independent of pre-existing desires and passions? In what ways is reasoning purely instrumental or reflective? Does it merely provide us with means to satisfy our passions (as a Humean analysis might suggest), or does it also reflect on those desires? What do we think about when we engage in practical reasoning? What is the difference between productive and practical thinking, and what is distinctive of its as a moral activity? To what extent does reasoning about ethical issues and morality uncover truths about the world, and to what extent is it intended to change the world?
    Weds. 12-14 Ludwigstr. 28, RG 024.
  • Reading Greek Philosophy in Greek (Primavesi)
    Aristotle, Metaphysics Λ. A revised Greek text of the book with a new apparatus criticus will be provided.
    Thurs. 14-16, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, 433).
  • Ptolemy and Ancient Scientific Methodology (Adamson)
    his seminar is dedicated to philosophical aspects of the works of the great mathematician, astronomer and astrologer Ptolemy, who lived in the second century CE. In particular, we will look at his short text On the Criterion and at the introduction to the Almagest and, time permitting, also the introduction to the Tetrabiblios. These texts present Ptolemy’s understanding of scientific method and epistemology, which bears clear marks of the influence of Aristotle, and to a lesser extent other sources especially Stoicism. The texts will be read in English translation with reference to the original Greek. Ptolemy expert Liba Taub will be a regular presence throughout the seminar and will lend her expertise to the discussion.
    Weds. 10-12, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, 433).
  • Plato in Arabic (Adamson, Hansberger)
    In this seminar we will read Plato in Arabic translation, referring to the Greek original for the sake of comparison; facility in classical Arabic is thus necessary for participation and facility with ancient Greek would be helpful. We will begin with passages from the Arabic of Galen’s Paraphrase of the Timaeus and also look at the reception of the Laws.
    Tues. 10-12, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, 433)
  • al-Ghazali, Der Erretter aus dem Irrtum (al-Munqidh min al-Dallal) (Hansberger)
    Der Erretter aus dem Irrtum stellt eine Art intellektuelle Autobiographie dar, in der Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad al-Ghazali (gest. 1111 n. Chr.) von seiner sein Leben lang währenden Suche nach wahrer und sicherer Erkenntnis berichtet. Diese Suche und der sie begleitende Zweifel führt ihn zur intensiven Beschäftigung mit verschiedenen Sparten der islamischen Theologie, mit der griechisch geprägten Philosophie und schließlich mit dem Sufismus. Die Schrift erschöpft sich aber nicht in autobiographischen Betrachtungen; vielmehr verfolgt al-Ghazali den Zweck, darzulegen, inwieweit diese Wissenschaften und Lehren sicheres Wissen vermitteln, und ab welchem Punkt sie lediglich falsche Gewissheit erzeugen und so ihre Anhänger in den Irrtum führen. Damit gibt der Text auch einen guten Einblick in al-Ghazalis Sicht auf das Verhältnis von Philosophie und Religion. Einsteigern bietet der Text einen Einblick in wichtige Themen der Philosophie der islamischen Welt, gerade auch in ihrer Auseinandersetzung mit der Religion. Fortgeschrittenen bietet er vielfältige Möglichkeiten, ihre Kenntnisse zu erweitern und zu vertiefen. Besonders im Zusammenhang mit der zugeordneten Übung “Philosophisches Arabisch” eignet sich das Seminar auch für Studierende des Instituts für den nahen und mittleren Osten. Je nach den Präferenzen der Teilnehmenden wird das Seminar auf Deutsch oder Englisch abgehalten werden.
    Thurs. 10-12 Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, E 210, with Exercise Session Thurs. 12-14 in room A 020.
  • Neo-Aristotelian Metaphysics (Rapp)
    In current metaphysical research there are several so-called "Neo-Aristotelian" positions. Some of the most distinguished metaphysicians of our time (e.g. Kit Fine, Jonathan Lowe, Kathrin Koslicki) have taken inspiration from Aristotle. The seminar tries to give a survey on Neo-Aristotelian positions in current philosophy. Above all, we will discuss problems of essentialism, contemporary theories of substances, the so-called "Four-Category-Ontology", new approaches to hylomorphism as well as the debate about grounding.
    Tues. 16-18, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, 433)

Winter semester 2024/25

  • Musaph Research Seminar (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp)
    This semester we are reading Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics III.1-5.
    Tues. 12-14, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433)
  • Reading Greek Philosophy in Greek (Primavesi)
    In this course, we will read selected passages from the third book of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics in the original Greek. Thus, this course can serve as a complement to the MUSAΦ Research Seminary, where these texts will be discussed in English.
    Tues. 14-16, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433).
  • Eleatic Philosophy (Chame)
    Most ancient Greek philosophy developed under the shadow of Parmenides of Elea, “venerable and astounding” in the words of Plato (Theaetetus 183e). Parmenides’ poem—his only work according to Diogenes Laertius, written as early as the beginning of the 5th century BC and of which only fragments remain—presents a perplexing discussion of being, according to which being is one, not generated, and immobile. The interpretation of this poem is highly controversial, and we will dedicate the first part of the seminar to studying it, posing questions such as: what kind of monism is implied in Parmenides’ view? How should we understand the rejection of non-being, and what is the role of opinion as opposed to the way of truth? What is the purpose and meaning of the cosmological section of the poem? The second part of the seminar will focus on two Presocratic thinkers frequently associated with Parmenides: Zeno of Elea and Melissus of Samos. Together with Parmenides, they comprise what is usually called the ‘Eleatic’ school of thought. We will first question the historiographical worth of such a category, and then analyze the extent to which they develop or modify Parmenides’ original insights. Finally, the third part of the seminar will provide an overview of the reception of Eleatic thought in the 4th century BC, particularly in Plato, the Socratic Euclid of Megara, and Aristotle.
    Tues. 10-12, Ludwigstr. 31, Room 028.
  • Plato’s Parmenides (Chiocchetti)
    Plato’s Parmenides is regarded as one of his most fascinating and complex dialogues, where his own theory of forms faces rigorous scrutiny. In this dialogue, the character Parmenides challenges the young Socrates, forcing him to defend the theory of forms against serious philosophical questioning. Throughout the semester, we will engage in a close reading of the entire dialogue. The first half of the course will focus on the first part, where Parmenides critiques the theory of forms, presenting various arguments that Socrates must counter, apparently unsuccessfully. In the second half, we will examine the Eight Deductions, whose stated aim is to save the theory of forms from the earlier criticisms. However, it is a complex task to understand if and how this result is achieved, whether the second part of the dialogue truly aligns with the first, and what Plato's real purpose might be within the whole work. We will carefully analyze the arguments in the dialogue, discussing various possible reconstructions and evaluating if and how the theory of forms can be rescued, even in ways not explicitly outlined in the text. Additionally, we will consider contemporary metaphysical perspectives that have recently re-engaged with the Parmenides.
    Weds. 12-14, Ludwigstr. 31, Room 28.
  • Aristotelische und Konfuzianische Ethik (Adamson)
    In dieser Spezialvorlesung werden zwei ethische Theorien aus der Antike behandelt: die aristotelische und die konfuzianische Ethik. Anhand ausgewählter Themen wie Tugendlehre, Freundschaft und andere soziale Beziehungen, das Verhältnis zwischen Ethik und Politik sowie Ansichten zu Gender werden die Prinzipien von Aristoteles und den antiken Konfuzianern (Kongzi selbst, aber auch Mengzi und Xunzi) diskutiert.
    Begleitend zu dieser Vorlesung wird Prof. Adamson in diesem Semester ein Seminar halten, in dem die Nikomachische Ethik und die Lunyu (Analekten von Kongzi) vollständig gelesen und diskutiert werden.
    Weds. 14-16 Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, Room M 105.
  • Aristotle’s Metaphysics: the Middle Books (Anagnostopoulos, Chame, Helle, Rapp)
    Aristotle believes that certain material objects, and especially living organisms, like plants and animals, are substances. However, he also believes that these substances are hylomorphic composites, that is, composites of form and matter. Unlike the materialists, who claim that such ordinary objects are most fundamentally the matter they are made of, and that the lowest level constituents of the physical world (be they atoms or stuffs) are the only genuine substances, Aristotle suggests that what material substances fundamentally are is given by their form. At the same time, he distances his view from the Platonic conception of forms as self-sufficient entities. In the middle books (VII-IX) of his Metaphysics, Aristotle approaches the study of such hylomorphic substances as part of the study of the first cause and principles of being, famously asking ‘what is ousia?’ (‘being or substance’). The complex and often roundabout discussion engages dialectically with his predecessors' views. Moreover, Aristotle faces a significant challenge that he himself seems to be the first to fully develop: if material substances are composites of form and matter, how can they be genuine unities, rather than accidental compounds? Aristotle's response to this challenge crucially invokes the distinction between potentiality and actuality, explored in book IX. This course combines careful reading of the primary text with discussion of recent secondary literature.
    Mon. 12-16, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433).
  • The Philosophy of Epictetus (Helle)
    In this course, taught in English, we will read and study the Discourses of the later Stoic Epictetus (1st-2nd centuries CE). Epictetus has not uncommonly been studied with a view to earlier Stoicism, for the purposes of reconstruction, contrast, and comparison. In this course, we will approach Epictetus as a philosopher in his own right. Our aim will be to interpret, investigate, and grapple with the philosophical issues taken up by Epictetus in the Discourses. Epictetus is notorious for his insistence that we should focus all our efforts on what is truly up to us, which, as he sees it, is our thoughts, desires, emotions, beliefs, decisions and so on, i.e. our mental life. We will discuss this view along with questions such as ‘what is truly up to us as human beings?’, ‘what is the relationship between goods and evils for human beings and what is up to us?’, ‘where should we direct our desires and aversions?’, ‘how should we engage with what is not in the end up to us?’, ‘how do our social circumstances affect what it is appropriate and inappropriate for us to do?’, ‘how should one deal with and act under uncertainty?’, among others.
    Tues. 16-18, Ludwigstr. 31, Room 028.
  • Proclus on the Republic (Adamson)
    Proclus (412-485), one of the greatest figures of late ancient philosophy and a key thinker in the development of Neoplatonism, wrote several commentaries on works by Plato that have survived down to the present day. Alongside line-by-line commentaries on the Timaeus and Parmenides, he composed a set of essays on Plato’s Republic that look at selected themes in that dialogue, e.g. Plato’s attitude towards poetry and the role of women in the ideal state. In this seminar we will read selections from these essays, which will give us an opportunity to look at the themes in the Republic itself and to look at how late ancient philosophers grappled with some of the same interpretive problems we still face today. We will be joined via an online link by Prof Tad Brennan from Cornell University.
    Tues. 16-18 Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433).
  • Die Intellektlehre des Averroes (Hansberger)
    Der andalusische Philosoph Averroes (Ibn Rušd, 1126-1198) setzte sich in seinem philosophischen Werk intensiv mit den Schriften des Aristoteles auseinander, die er zum Teil mehrfach kommentierte. In seinen Kommentaren zu De anima, vornehmlich im "Großen" Kommentar, entwickelte er Gedanken zur Epistemologie und Intellektthorie, die ihm im lateinischen Mittelalter zu notorischer Berühmtheit verhelfen sollten. Wir werden uns diese (oft ungenügend verstandenen) Thesen, z.B. zur Einheit des Intellekts aller Menschen oder zur "Konjunktion" des menschlichen Intellekts mit dem sog. Aktiven Intellekt, in ihrem Kontext und ihrer Éntwicklung erarbeiten.
    Je nach den Präferenzen der Teilnehmenden wird das Seminar auf Deutsch oder Englisch abgehalten werden.
    Weds. 14-16, Amalienstr. 73a, Room 20.
  • Al-Farabi’s Book of Religion (Adamson, Hansberger)
    This semester our Arabic reading seminar will be devoted to a key work by al-Farabi, Kitab al-Milla (Book of Religion), in which he sets out an influential account of the relationship between philosophy and religion. According to this account, which would be developed further by Ibn Rushd (Averroes) in his famous Decisive Treatise, religion expresses in symbolic terms the truths that philosophy discovers through proper scientific demonsration.
    Tues. 10-12, Musaph Seminar Room (Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433)

Summer semester 2024

  • Musaph Research Seminar (Adamson, Lattmann, Rapp)
    Tues. 12-14 c.t., Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433.
  • Plato’s Theory of Forms and its Critics (Santiago Chame)
    The most famous aspect of Plato’s philosophy, both in ancient and present times, is his theory of Forms or Ideas. At its core, a Form (eidos, idea) is a fundamental structure that can unify and articulate a multiplicity of things in a specific way. This notion allows Plato to address many difficulties in the domains of ontology, epistemology, psychology, and philosophy of language. It is also crucial in the context of his moral and political philosophy. However, there are many difficulties involved in this theory. Firstly, it should be noted that the use and understanding of Forms varies significantly throughout the dialogues. It is uncertain when Forms were first introduced; Plato uses language akin to Forms in an early dialogue such as Euthyphro, and in the Meno, he resorts to non-sensible entities to explain the possibility of learning and knowledge. Still, it is unclear whether these early uses are connected (and if so, in which way) to the mature presentation of the theory in dialogues such as Phaedo, Symposium, and Republic. Moreover, another account of the theory—mediated by important criticisms of its mature version in the Parmenides and additional considerations of the relationship between Forms and knowledge in the Theaetetus—appears in late dialogues such as the Sophist. Given this variance, the first part of the seminar will be devoted to the analysis of the main texts in which Plato speaks of Forms, focusing on their points of contact and divergence. The second part of the seminar will return to the topic of the criticism of the theory: beyond Plato’s own Parmenides, we have testimony of important challenges to it from within Plato’s Academy, mainly by Aristotle and Speusippus, and by other philosophers external to the Academy such as Polyxenus. Thus, the second part will focus on these critical arguments, paying special attention to their context and their implications for Platonic philosophy.
    Fri. 14-16 c.t. Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, M 201.
  • Plato’s Philosophy of Language (Leonardo Chiocchetti)
    In this course, we delve into Plato's conception of language. Our journey begins with the challenging problem posed by the sophists to Plato, i.e. the alleged impossibility of falsehood. This claim, deeply rooted in Eleatic monism, prompts a critical examination of language's capacity to convey truth and falsehood. Through a careful reading of selected passages from the Euthydemus, Cratylus, and Theaetetus, we will trace Plato's early attempt to solve the problem. The passages in these dialogues are full of insights but offer no clear resolution.Our investigation takes a pivotal turn in the Sophist, where Plato's distinctions between names, verbs, and sentences mark the emergence of a theory of predication. This conceptual breakthrough lays the groundwork for a more sophisticated understanding of language’s function and its relationship to reality. Moreover, we will extend our inquiry to Aristotle's Categories and De Interpretatione, examining how his refinements and expansions upon Plato's notions further shaped the philosophical discourse on language. This comparative study will illuminate the evolution of ancient thought on predication, truth, and meaning.
    Mon. 14-16 c.t. Edmund-Rumpler-Str. 9 - A 121.
  • Ancient Moral Psychology (Andreas Anagnostopoulos)
    How does a conception of the good figure in moral deliberation and action. What kinds of desires play a role in them and how do they do so? Can these desires conflict with one another in the moral agent? If so, does the soul have "parts"? In what sense can we be motivated by reason to act morally? What is distinctive about moral deliberation in comparison with other kinds of thinking? Do we ever act contrary to our beliefs, and if so, what explains this fact? What conclusions can we draw about the structure of the mind on the basis on moral decision making? In this course we will examine ancient philosophers’ answers to these and other questions about the relationship between human psychology and ethical behavior and understanding.
    Weds. 10-12 c.t., Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433.
  • Aristotle, Metaphysics Gamma (Christof Rapp)
    Book Gamma of Aristotle’s Metaphysics comprises two challenging projects, both crucial for Aristotle’s “first philosophy” (i.e. roughly what we call “metaphysics” today). The first project consists in sketching what Aristotle calls the inquiry into being as being or into being insofar as it is. This sub-project of his Metaphysics has traditionally been understood as outlining what later philosophers have dubbed as “ontology”. For Aristotle this ontological study is meant to be a method for identifying the first principles of reality as a whole. The second project of Book Gamma concerns the so-called principles of proof, also known as “axioms”, in particular the Principle of Non-Contradiction (PNC) and the Law of the Excluded Middle (LEM). Since Aristotle takes it that these are the most certain principles there are, they cannot be proved by more certain premises. However, or so Aristotle argues, it is possible to refute people who deny these principles – provided that they say something (and – good news for Aristotle – they have to say something when expressing their denial of these principles.
    Tues. 16-18 c.t., Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433.
  • Philosophy of Mind and Soul in Ancient Stoicism (Reier Helle)
    In this course, we will be studying ancient Stoic thinking about mind and soul. In contrast to their predecessors Plato and Aristotle, the Stoics were materialists, who refused to ascribe causal power to anything incorporeal, and who considered the soul and the mind to be bodies. We will centrally be investigating how the Stoics meant to understand the mind and the soul as bodies, how they thought of mental capacities, processes, and occurrences, and precisely how they conceived of the relation between such things and the body that is the mind. We will have a closer look at the basic psychic capacities responsible for cognition, movement, and action. And we will consider the relation of emotions to states and occurrences of the body, as well as the possibility of weakness of will, on the Stoic way of thinking. The course will be taught in English; texts will be provided; and the syllabus is distributed in the first seminar meeting. Knowledge of ancient Greek (and Latin) will be useful, but is not required.
    Weds. 16-18 c.t., Schellingstr. 9 - 101.
  • Unity in Ancient and Arabic Philosophy (Damien Janos)
    Weds. 16-18 c.t., Ludwigstr. 31 - 028.
  • Al-Farabi, On the Principles of the Opinions of the Inhabitants of the Excellent City (Rotraud Hansberger)
    Abu Naṣr al-Farabi (ca. 870-950 A.D.) is one of the most important representatives of the first, “classical” period of philosophy in the Islamic world. Called the “second teacher” (after the “first teacher”, Aristotle), his interpretation and development of the Greek philosophical heritage was seminal in determining the direction philosophy was to take within the Islamic cultural sphere. On the Principles of the Opinions of the Inhabitants of the Excellent City is perhaps al-Farabi’s best-known work. His purpose in this book is to expound the philosophical views an ideal society should hold on certain topics, such as (first of all) God; the order of the cosmos and of the material world; the position of human beings within the cosmos; their particular abilities; the best possible human society; and the relation between religion and philosophy. With this catalogue, al-Farabi takes up topics that theologians of his time discussed as “principles of religion”. In al-Farabi’s own view, however (as he makes clear in his book), these issues are first and foremost the subject of philosophical knowledge and inquiry. What falls to religion is rather to communicate the very same knowledge, by use of symbols and metaphors, to those people who are unable to practice philosophy.
    Weds. 12-14 c.t., Edmund-Rumpler-Str. 9 A 180.
  • The Eternity of the World in the Baghdad School (Adamson, Hansberger)
    One of the central points of debate in the Islamic world was whether the universe is created or eternal. While the most famous single text of the problem is found in al-Ghazali’s attack on Avicenna’s eternalism in his Incoherence of the Philosopher, the discussion goes all the way back to al-Kindi and was of constant interest to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim philosophers writing in Arabic. In this seminar we will read texts bearing on the issue from the “Baghdad School” of Aristotelian thinkers active in the tenth century CE, and in particular, two responses to the late ancient Christian philosopher John Philoponus’ treatment of the eternity question by Ibn Suwar and al-Farabi. The seminar will engage with the original Arabic texts, taking turns to translate into English; thus a knowledge in classical Arabic is required to take part in the course.
    Tues. 10-12 c.t., Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433.
  • Musaph Doctoral Colloquium (Helle, Chame)
    Mon. 12-14 c.t., Leopoldstr. 11b, Room 433.

Winter semester 2023/24

  • Musaph Research Seminar - Aristotle on Intellect (Adamson, Lattmann, Rapp)
    Tues. 12-14 c.t., Musaph Seminar Room.
    This semester we will read and discuss passages from Aristotle and Theophrastus on the question of nous (intellect).
  • Doktorandenkolloquium (Christof Rapp)
    Mon. 14-16, Musaph Seminar Room
  • Socrates and the Socratic Schools (Santiago Chame)
    Thurs. 10-12 c.t., Hauptgebäude M 201
    In this seminar, we will focus on the phenomenon of the Socratic dialogue (lógos sokratikós) as a key to understanding Socrates and the first generation of Socratics. We will begin by addressing the so-called “Socratic question” and then study Socrates through the works of Plato, Xenophon, and the extant testimonies of other Socratics such as Antisthenes of Athens, Aristippus of Cyrene, and Euclid of Megara. All these philosophers present different portrayals of Socrates, so one of our main tasks will be to analyze the points of commonality and the differences between them. Finally, we will overview the later development of the Socratic schools throughout the fourth and early third centuries BC.
  • Plato’s Symposium (Class Lattmann)
    Weds. 16-18 c.t., Musaph Seminar Room
    The Symposium not only is one of Plato’s most well-known, philosophically profound, and aesthetically charming texts, but it also encapsulates Plato’s philosophy in nuce both in form and content. This fictional dialogue relates a banquet at which the participants, among them the philosopher Socrates, the playwrights Aristophanes and Agathon, and the politician Alcibiades, hold speeches in praise of the god Eros (“Love” and “Desire”). These speeches not only are literary masterpieces in themselves, but they also address central topics of Plato’s philosophy and, with the interrelated means of both rational argumentation and literary sophistication, situate them within the philosophical tradition. In particular, Plato in the Symposium presents one of the core elements of his philosophy, namely the ascent to the ideas on account of, and by way of, the desire we experience toward the Good, and clads it in the garment of poetry and myth. Our primary goal in the seminar will be to read Plato’s Symposium together, with (as we deem fit, more or less substantial) portions of the text in the original Greek language (depending on the needs of the participants, with ample help provided). We will not only take the opportunity to discuss the philosophical aspects of the dialogue, but also with a view to its literary dimension get acquainted with the tools of the philologist. In so doing, our close reading of the text will not only make us more familiar with Plato’s style of philosophical argumentation and thought, but also provide us with in-depth insights into the literary and poetic techniques Plato so masterfully deployed in composing his dialogues, not least as relates to their integral interrelation. In effect, we will gain an understanding of both the philosophical and literary dimensions of the Symposium and become able to appreciate this dialogue as a sophisticated philosophical text within its multifaceted cultural-historical contexts. Everyone interested in becoming more acquainted with one of Plato’s most important and fascinating dialogues as well as with the literary dimensions of ancient Greek philosophy is highly welcome, even if only for practicing one’s reading skills. Basic knowledge of the ancient Greek language is presupposed; however, one of the goals of the seminar is to make you more familiar with the ancient Greek (especially philosophical) language and to help you equip your philological toolbox.
  • Aristotle, De Anima (Christof Rapp)
    Mon. 12-14 c.t., Musaph Seminar Room.
    Aristotle's De Anima is part of his philosophy of nature. It undertakes to explore what the soul is and to get clear about the per se attributes of the soul (e.g. perceiving, desiring). Aristotle uses the soul to account for the difference between living and non-living beings. In the course of this project it turnes out that the soul has different parts or that there are different types of soul, i.e. the noutritive, the sensitive and the intellectual soul. If the soul is thought to have different parts, which seems to pose a challenge, among other things, for the unity of the underlying subject. More than that, one of the concerned parts, namely nous, intellect, seems to provide such significant anomalies (e.g. it operates without bodily organ) that it is genuinely unclear whether it can be dealt with by the same genus of inquiry, namely the part of philosophy of nature that deals with living beings. Connected with the various parts of the soul is an initial uncertainty about the extension of the treatise’s subject matter, since previous philosophers unduly restricted the study of the soul to the study of the human soul and Aristotle seems determined to overcome this—as he thinks—irrelevant restriction. The study of De Anima is indeed crucial for understanding important parts of Aristotle's philosophy. On the one hand it makes use of important metaphysical tools, e.g. the distinction between form and matter. On the other hand, the treatise on the soul is central for Aristotle's widely ramified studies of living beings and their activities. At the same time, Aristotle's theory of the soul place an important role in the history of philosophy of mind, for Aristotle is neither a dualist nor clearly subscribes to materialist or reductivist accounts of the soul/mind. It is rather remarkable that he attempts to give what he takes to be a "scientific" theory of the soul, closlely connected to his biology or zoology.
  • Exploring Aristotle's Insights on Emotions (Melpomeni Vogiatzi)
    The Aristotelian corpus encompasses various discussions and references to emotions (pathe). In the ethical works, emotions are treated insofar as they constitute a criterion for moral behaviour, as instances of emotional response provide good opportunities to reveal one’s moral disposition. De anima delves into a discussion of the nature of emotions, particularly their dependence on both soul and body. In the Poetics, the tragic emotions and their impact on the audience are explored. The most comprehensive account can be found in Aristotle’s Rhetoric. This work not only delivers a general description of the role emotional responses play in shaping the audience’s judgement but also offers an analysis of individual emotions, their constituents and outcomes. In this seminar, we will closely examine these accounts, with a primary focus on two aspects. Firstly, we will explore the emotions’ involvement of and influence on judgement. This is especially relevant to the rhetorical application of emotions, but it also has implications for our understanding of the nature of emotions, particularly regarding their consideration as rationally informed judgements and their impact on our beliefs about what is right or wrong. Secondly, we will concentrate on the contribution of emotions to our moral development. This aligns with the central focus of the ethical discourse of emotions, in which emotions are regarded as the primary objects of our dispositions.
  • Happiness, virtue, and the good in Aristotelian and Stoic ethics (Reier Helle)
    Mondays, 16-18 c.t. Hauptgebäude E 341
    In this course, we will examine happiness, virtue, and the good in Aristotelian and Stoic ethics. We begin by studying Aristotle’s ethical works. Then we turn to Stoicism and to a central text of the course, Cicero’s dialogue De Finibus (‘On Moral Ends’), which presents and discusses the ethical theories of the Epicureans, the Stoics, and that of Antiochus of Ascalon. Through close study of De Finibus, we will examine, among other things, what happiness and the good life are according to the Stoics, what virtue is, and how virtue and happiness are related; we will also investigate the Aristotelian (or Aristotle-inspired) approach of Antiochus of Ascalon to these questions. Throughout the course, we shall look at what distinguishes the views of Aristotle, the Stoics, and Antiochus, and at the grounds for the differences among them. We will pay special attention to the question of how virtue and happiness are thought to be related, whether virtue is supposed to be sufficient for happiness or whether external goods are needed in addition. The course will be taught in English; knowledge of Ancient Greek or Latin is not required, but will be a benefit. The syllabus will be distributed in the first seminar meeting.
  • Plutarch on the Stoics (Peter Adamson)
    Weds. 14-16 c.t., Musaph Seminar Room.
    This seminar will be devoted to a close reading of Plutarch's (cf 45-120 CE) writings against the Stoics, focusing on On Stoic Self-Contradictions and Against the Stoics on Common Conceptions, polemical works included in Plutarch's extensive collection of writings, the Moralia. In the process of critiquing the Stoics from a Platonist point of view, Plutarch preserves a good deal of information about the positions he is attacking, highlighting what he sees as the counterintuitive or paradoxical aspects of this Hellenistic school. The texts will be read selectively, in English translation but with frequent reference to the original Greek. Joining as a co-instructor will be Prof Tad Brennan from Cornell University, one of the world's leading experts on Stoicism.
  • Ibn Adi on Determinism and Possibility (Peter Adamson, Rotraud Hansberger).
    Tues. 10-12 c.t., Musaph Seminar Room
    Yahya Ibn 'Adi was a central figure in the so-called "Baghdad School" of Aristotelian philosophers whose activity peaked in the 10th century CE. He wrote numerous works on Christian theology and on philosophical themes, in both cases under inspiration from the Arabic translations of Aristotle - translations in which he himself had a hand. Some of these works are independent treatises, some are direct commentaries. The work at stake here, "On the Possible," is both: it consists of a discussion of the concept of contingency (al-imkan) followed by a commentary on part of Aristotle's "On Interpretation," in which the famous "sea battle" problem of determinism is discussed. In this seminar we will closely read selected passages from the work. The seminar will engage with the original Arabic text, taking turns to translate into English; thus a knowledge in classical Arabic is required to take part in the course.
  • Miskawayhs Ethik (Rotraud Hansberger)
    Weds. 12-14, Amalienstr. 73A-118
    Abu ʿAli Miskawayhs Schrift „Tahḏib al-Aḫlaq“ („Die Läuterung des Charakters“) ist eines der bedeutendsten Werke zur Ethik innerhalb der mittelalterlichen islamisch-arabischen Philosophie. Miskawayh (~932-1030 n. Chr.), Philosoph, Historiker und Literat, ist ein Repräsentant der höfischen Bildungselite seiner Zeit, der seine Vorliebe für die griechisch geprägte Philosophie mit einem breiten Interesse an anderen Wissenschaften und literarischen Künsten verbindet. In der „Läuterung des Charakters“ geht er der Frage nach, „wie wir uns eine charakterliche Disposition aneignen können, die solcherart ist, dass alle Taten, die aus ihr fließen, gut sind und zudem mit Leichtigkeit ausgeführt werden können“. Dazu, so Miskawayh, müsse man zunächst die Seele und ihre Vermögen verstehen. So geht es in seiner Schrift nicht nur um Themen wie das menschliche Glück, die Tugenden und ihren Erwerb, sondern auch um Prinzipien der Seelenlehre und die „Gesundheit der Seele“. Bei der Behandlung dieser Themen greift Miskawayh auf seine umfangreichen Kenntnisse seiner griechischen und arabischen Vorgänger zurück. Seine Ethik baut vornehmlich auf aristotelisches und (neu-)platonisches Gedankengut auf; er bindet in seine Synthese aber auch vielfältige andere Elemente ein.
    Im Seminar werden wir „Die Läuterung des Charakters“ (in engl. Übersetzung) in Auszügen lesen, analysieren und diskutieren, wobei hin und wieder auch andere Texte Miskawayhs hinzugezogen werden sollen. Ziel ist, diesen Text in seinem philosophiehistorischen Kontext kennenzulernen und zu verstehen, wie Miskawayh aus der (spät)antiken griechischen Philosophie überlieferte Ideen für seine eigene Zeit und Gesellschaft bearbeitet, ergänzt und fruchtbar macht.

Winter semester 2022/23

  • Musaph Research Seminar - Aristotle's De Partibus Animalium (Adamson, Rapp, Primavesi)
    Tues. 12-14, Musaph seminar room.
  • Colloquium for Doctoral and Master's Students (Rapp)
    Mon. 14-16, Musaph Seminar Room.
  • Eleatic Philosophy (Campbell)
    Parmenides of Elea—whose followers are known as ‘Eleatics’—is both the most influential Greek philosopher before Socrates and the most enigmatic. In this course, our first task will be to read the surviving fragments of the poem in which Parmenides expounded his philosophy and to wrestle with some of the central interpretive difficulties they raise. Is Parmenides actually a monist? If so, does he espouse strict numerical monism—the view that there is only one thing? Is the world of everyday experience a mere illusion? What is the purpose of the lengthy cosmological portion of Parmenides’ original poem? What is Parmenides’ relationship to earlier Presocratic thinkers? We will then go on to read two other presocratic thinkers who are frequently regarded as followers of Parmenides—Zeno of Elea and Melissus of Samos—with a view to understanding whether they are appropriately classified as Eleatics, and, if so, whether and how they innovate in relation to Parmenides. We will conclude by asking similar questions about purported followers of Parmenides in the 4th century BCE and following, in particular members of the so-called ‘Megaric’ school.
    Mon. 18-20, Geschw.-Scholl-Pl. 1 (E) - E 210.
  • Plato's Parmenides and Proclus' Commentary on it. (Schwark)
    It could be argued that the first critic of Plato’s theory of Forms was Plato himself. In his dialogue Parmenides, he uses the old Parmenides as a mouthpiece in order to raise several important problems pertaining to the theory of Forms. Are there Forms of each and every sensible item, including dirt and hairs? How exactly do sensible things participate in the Forms? And how can we have knowledge of the Forms if they exist separately from the sensible realm? The difficulties that Plato names here will occupy the Platonic tradition for centuries to come. When the Neoplatonist Proclus in the 5th century AD comments on the dialogue, he interprets Parmenides’ critical questions not as a refutation of the theory of Forms but rather as a maieutic tool that is meant to lead the reader to a more profound understanding of the theory. In his view, the order of the different aporiai indicates an ascent from lower-level forms to higher-level ones. Each aporia is indeed problematic with regard to the ontological level in question; yet it can be surmounted by ascending to a higher level. My class combines close reading of the relevant passages in Plato with an in-depth discussion of Proclus’ commentary. By studying Proclus’ elaborate solutions to the problems that are mentioned in the dialogue, we will at the same time become familiar with his own Neoplatonic metaphysics.
    Mon. 16-18, Geschw.-Scholl-Pl. 1 (E) - E 206.
  • Aristotle's Metaphyiscs: The Middle Books (Anagnostopoulos and Helle)
    Aristotle believes that certain material objects, and especially living organisms, like plants and animals, are substances. However, he also believes that these substances are hylomorphic composites, that is, composites of form and matter. Unlike the materialists, who claim that such ordinary objects are most fundamentally the matter they are made of, and that the lowest level constituents of the physical world (be they atoms or stuffs) are the only genuine substances, Aristotle suggests that what material substances fundamentally are is given by their form. At the same time, he distances his view from the Platonic conception of forms as separately existing universals. Aristotle arrives at this new conception of material substances through a complex and often roundabout discussion which engages with his predecessors' views. Moreover, Aristotle faces a significant challenge that he himself seems to be the first to fully develop: if material substances are composites of form and matter, how can they be genuine unities, rather than accidental compounds? Aristotle's response to this challenge crucially invokes the distinction between potentiality and actuality. In this course we will focus primarily on the so-called "middle books" of the Metaphysics, books VII-IX, but we will also look at the place of these books within Aristotle's larger project of 'first philosophy'. Each week, we will also read and discuss recent secondary literature. Participants should have some familiarity either with Aristotle or with contemporary metaphysics.
    Weds. 10-14, Geschw.-Scholl-Pl. 1 (M) - M 207.
  • Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy [hybrid seminar taught in concert with Cornell University] (Adamson, Brennan)
    The most famous work of the late ancient Christian philosopher Boethius (d.525), written while he was in prison awaiting execution, is his Consolation of Philosophy. Much admired and imitated in later centuries – there is even an Old English translation ascribed to King Alfred – the work is a dialogue between Boethius himself and Lady Philosophy. Striking for its lack of explicit Christian content, the work draws on apparently pagan, especially Stoic, ideas to show Boethius (the character) how to accept his fate with equanimity. Particularly famous is a discussion of the problem of divine foreknowledge which appears at the end of the dialogue. Note: this seminar will be taught in cooperation with Tad Brennan and other colleagues at Cornell University. The seminar will be held in person, but with the group at Cornell attending online.
    Weds. 16-18, Musaph Seminar Room.
  • Spezialvorlesung - Neuplatonismus (Adamson)
    Der Neuplatonismus war die zentrale philosophische Tradition in der Spätantike, und auch einflussreich im Mittelalter und bis in die Renaissance hinein. Nach dem sogenannten “Mittelplatonismus” entwickelte vor allem Plotin (gest. 270 n. Chr.) eine Synthese von Platonismus, Aristotelismus, und Stoizismus. Seine Ideen wurden von Nachfolgern wie Iamblichos oder Proklos mit heidnischer Religion kombiniert. Neuplatoniker verfassten auch Kommentare zu den Werken Platons und Aristoteles’. In dieser Vorlesungsreihe werden diese historische Tradition vorgestellt, mit Sitzungen zu Neuplatonismus in der islamischen Welt, im Lateinchristentum, und in Byzanz und der Renaissance gewidmet. Philosophische Hauptthemen, die abgedeckt werden, sind u.a. die Ewigkeit der Welt, die Natur der menschlichen Seele, das erste Prinzip, und Logik bzw. Sprachphilosophie.
    Wed. 12-14 Geschw.-Scholl-Pl. 1 (B) - B 006.
  • Philosophische Theorien des Träumens von Aristoteles bis Averroes (Hasnberger)
    Wie Träume entstehen und was sie bedeuten, sind Fragen, die wir heute in erster Linie an Neurowissenschaft und Psychologie zu richten gewohnt sind, die aber lange Zeit Gegenstand philosophischer Untersuchungen waren — beginnend mit der griechischen Antike. Dabei interessierten auf der einen Seite die physiologischen Aspekte des Träumens sowie sein Verhältnis zu Sinneswahrnehmung, Vorstellungskraft und Denken. Auf der anderen Seite beschäftigte etliche Denker die Frage, ob — und wenn ja, wie — Träume Träger von Weissagungen sein können (wie es die allgemein vorherrschende Auffassung war). Einen ersten Schwerpunkt des Seminars wird Aristoteles (384–322 v.Chr.) bilden, der in seinen Schriften zu Schlaf, Traum und Weissagung im Traum als erster systematische Studien zum Träumen vorlegte und außerdem versuchte, Wahrträume als natürliches Phänomen, ohne Rückgriff auf göttliche Einflussnahme zu erklären. Kritik an der Vorstellung, Träume könnten Träger göttlicher Weissagungen sein, findet sich auch bei Cicero (106–43 v.Chr.). Unter Stoikern und Neuplatonikern war hingegen die gegenteilige Auffassung verbreitet; ein wichtiger Text ist hier Synesius von Cyrenes (ca. 370–ca. 413) Schrift über den Traum. Die arabische Tradition schließlich, in der die Frage des Träumens besondere Bedeutung erhielt, führte aristotelische, neuplatonische und medizinische Lehren zusammen, um Theorien zu entwickeln, die Wahrträume und Prophetie im Rahmen einer philosophischen Epistemologie erklären konnten. Einschlägig sind hier die anonyme arabische Bearbeitung der Aristotelischen Schriften zu Schlaf und Traum (9. Jhdt.) sowie Schriften von al-Kindi (gest. ca. 870), Ibn Sina (Avicenna, gest. 1037) und Ibn Rušd (Averroes, gest. 1198). Ziel des Seminars ist es, fundierte Kenntnisse dieser Theorien des Träumens in ihren philosophischen Zusammenhängen und ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung zu vermitteln. Dies soll auch unter Hinzuziehung einschlägiger Sekundärliteratur, aber in erster Linie in intensiver Auseinandersetzung mit den Primärquellen geschehen. Somit bietet das Seminar Studierenden auch die Gelegenheit, sich darin zu üben, Primärtexte zu analysieren und unter systematischen wie historischen Aspekten zu diskutieren.
    Wed. 14-16, Leopoldstr. 13A - 042.
  • The development of Aristotelian logic in the medieval Islamicate world (Zolghadr)
    Aristotelian logic was developed, through the medieval ages, both in Europe and in the Islamicate world. This course is a historical survey of the latter, i.e. the logic in the medieval Islamicate world- or as it is usually called “Arabic Logic”, for most of the related works are written in Arabic. The history of Arabic logic is so vast that we have to focus on some of its monumental moments; mainly the works of Avicenna and the Arabic logicians of the 13th century who departed from Avicenna in several different aspects. Our survey mainly includes those aspects of logic that are important to a contemporary logician, such as the definitions of logical connectives, the notion of logical consequence, and modality.
    Tues. 16-18, Schellingstr. 9 - 314.
  • The philosophical correspondence between Avicenna and al-Biruni (Adamson, Hansberger)
    Ibn Sina (Avicenna, d.1037), the most important and influential philosopher of the Islamic world, engaged in a little-studied exchange of epistles with the great scientist al-Biruni (d. ca. 1050), who is known for his work in the mathetical sciences and his great treatise that first introduced the culture of India to a Muslim audience. In this philosophical correspondence al-Biruni poses a series of questions focusing on problems within Aristotelian natural philosophy. The topics discussed include the possibility of void, atomism, the eternity of the universe, elemental translation, the plurality of worlds, and cosmology. In this seminar we will read selected passages from the correspondence in the original Arabic, taking turns to translate into English; thus a knowledge in classical Arabic is required to take part in the course.
    Tues. 10-12, Musaph Seminar Room.

Summer semester 2022

  • Musaph Research Seminar (Castelli, Primavesi, Rapp)
  • Plato’s Exhortation to Philosophy: the Euthydemus (Campbell)
    In this course we will examine the way in which Plato argues for the value of philosophy and attempts to distinguish it from rival intellectual pursuits such as sophistry and rhetoric. Alongside our main text, the Euthydemus, and parts of related Platonic dialogues, we will also look at selections from some of the contemporary rivals whom Plato may be targeting in the Euthydemus (e.g., Antisthenes and Isocrates). Our guiding aim will be to better understand the educational debates in the context of which Plato developed his distinctive views about the nature and value of philosophy and philosophical education. Along the way we will also consider a number of central questions raised by the Euthydemus, such as: How does Plato
    understand the relationship between wisdom and happiness? To what extent is Plato aware of, and able to diagnose fallacious reasoning?
  • Plato's Statesman and Sophist (Meißner)
    The “Sophist” and the “Statesman” – two of Plato’s most challenging works – are usually discussed in isolation from each other. However, there is not only an intimate dramatic connection between these two dialogues: They constitute a continuous, methodologically unified investigation into the nature of the sophist, the statesman, and the philosopher. In the seminar, we will scrutinize the course and the results of this investigation in order to gain a better understanding of both the “Sophist” and the “Statesman”. We will read the two dialogues in an English translation, with occasional remarks about the original texts, but knowledge of ancient languages is not necessary. We will also engage with the relevant secondary literature.
  • Aristotle, Politics (Rapp)
  • Training the Mind for Truth: Logic and Epistemology in ancient and late ancient Greek Philosophy (Castelli)
    The capacity to give and check reasons in support of abstract claims, policies, or actions is traditionally regarded as one distinctive trait of (human) rationality. People engage in these activities all the time, independently of whether they are capable of describing explicitly what they do exactly when they engage in such activities. Philosophers have devised strategies and tools to describe and assess these activities. The first to see the need for such an explicit philosophical account of these practices is, in some important and uncontroversial sense, Aristotle. Despite differences, the Stoics shared with Aristotle and his followers the idea that such an analysis is an important task of philosophy, but this concern was in no way uncontroversial in antiquity and late antiquity. In fact, both the Peripatetics and the Stoics had to come up with arguments to justify their interest in logical matters as such. What is logic about? How is knowledge of logical matters supposed to assist philosophers in their actual goal, i.e. contemplation of the truth? And what place is left for logic if one, like the skeptics do, suspend judgement on whether it is at all possible to attain knowledge of the truth? This class will provide an overview of the main texts and the main issues of the debate among the different philosophical traditions in antiquity and late antiquity concerning the conceptualisation of some basic operations of the mind (e.g. deduction and induction), the nature and function of logical investigations, and their contritbution to human knowledge.
  • Stoic Metaphysics (Helle)
    In this course, we will study the sophisticated materialist metaphysics of the ancient Stoics. In opposition to their predecessors Plato and Aristotle, the Stoics rejected the existence of immaterial forms and ideas; they supposed that only bodies can act or be acted on, and even insisted that only bodies exist. We will critically investigate inter alia the ontology of the Stoic system; its first principles; the Stoic theories of categories and causation; as well as Stoic thinking about universals. Our focus will be the mature system of thought associated with the third head of the Stoic school, Chrysippus. We will read and analyze ancient evidence of Stoic thinking, along with contemporary scholarship. Our primary text will be Long and Sedley’s collection, The Hellenistic Philosophers (available online through the university library).
  • Cicero's Academica (Brüllmann, Castelli)
    In this class we will read and discuss Cicero's writings on Academic scepticism.
  • Plotinus On the Genera of Being (Schwark)
    Plotinus' treatise On the Genera of Being (Peri tôn genôn tou ontos, Enn. VI 1-3) is devoted to the question of if and how being can be divided into different kinds, and which ontological status these kinds have. In VI 1, Plotinus sets out by offering a critical discussion of the category-doctrines of both Aristotle and the Stoics. His treatment is very polemical, and he heavily depends on earlier Platonist and Peripatetic authors. We will therefore merely briefly look at VI 1 and then focus for the most part on VI 2, where Plotinus presents his own doctrine of the kinds of being. Here he works with the fundamental assumption that only the intelligible world, as opposed to the sensible world, has true being. Against this background, he makes use of original and elaborate arguments in order to show that the five "greatest genera" of Plato's Sophist are the categories of the intelligible world. In VI 3, Plotinus then discusses possible ways of categorizing the sensible world, without committing himself to any particular account. We will especially consider his suggestion that the categories of the sensible world may be reduced to two, namely quasi-substance and relation.
  • Der Arabische Plotin (Hansberger)
    Die arabische Fassung von Plotins Enneaden IV-VI gehört zu den bekanntesten und wichtigsten Texten der griechisch-arabischen Tradition. Angefertigt von Ibn Naʿima al-Ḥimsi, der dem Übersetzerkreis um den Philosophen al-Kindi (gest. ca. 870 n.Chr.) angehörte, wurde sie nicht als ein zusammenhängender Text (und auch nicht unter Plotins Namen), sondern in mehreren Teilen überliefert, deren umfangreichster unter dem Titel "Theologie des Aristoteles" in Umlauf kam.Das bedeutendste Merkmal der arabischen Plotin-Version ist jedoch, dass es sich nicht um eine Übersetzung im eigentlichen Sinne handelt, sondern um eine adaptierte Paraphrase, die neben direkt auf den griechischen Text zurückgehenden übersetzenden oder paraphrasierenden Teilen auch zahlreiche Interpretamente und von der Vorlage ganz unabhängige Einschübe enthält. Diese Zusätze weichen auch inhaltlich von Plotins Text ab. Die arabische Fassung stellt damit eine signifikant veränderte Bearbeitung dar, die zum einen Tendenzen zur Harmonisierung von platonischem und aristotelischem Gedankengut aufnimmt, welche schon in der spätantiken Kommentartradition vorhanden waren, zum anderen aber auch auf Fragen und Probleme eingeht, die in der damaligen islamischen Theologie aktuell diskutiert wurden. Beides wird vom Übersetzer/Bearbeiter dazu eingesetzt, seinen Zeitgenossen griechisches philosophisches Gedankengut als tragfähig, relevant und zeitgemäß zu präsentieren. Im Seminar werden wir Auszüge aus der arabischen Fassung von Enn. IV-VI — inhaltlich geht es dabei hauptsächlich um Themen aus Seelenlehre und Metaphysik — im Vergleich mit Plotins eigenem Text lesen (beides in englischer bzw. deutscher Übersetzung). Dabei werden wir uns sowohl ein Verständnis von Plotins Gedanken erarbeiten als auch genau analysieren, welche philosophischen Ideen der Übersetzer/Bearbeiter neu in den Text einführt, und wie er dabei vorgeht.

Winter semester 2021/22

  • Musaph Research Seminar - Aristotle's critique of Plato's theory of forms and principles (Adamson, Castelli, Primavesi)
  • Kolloquium for Doctoral and Master’s Students (Castelli)
  • Seminar - Eleatic Philosophy (Castelli)
    Both Plato (in his Sophist) and Aristotle (in thePhysicsas well as in several other works) feel the need to distance themselves from a way of thinking about being which they regard as characteristic of Parmenides and which seems to be doomed to some form of unacceptable monism. This reaction to Parmenides' philosophy was not isolated: in his dialogue Parmenides Plato gives a portrait of Zeno, Parmenides' pupil, as the author of a book whose main goal was that of defending Parmenides' views by showing the paradoxical implications of the views of Parmenides' many opponents. In this class we will analyse the evidence about Parmenides' poem and his philosophy, the relation of Parmenides' work to that of Zeno and Melissus, and the main points of Plato's and Aristotle's criticism against Elatic monism. Furthermore, we will discuss the main issues concerning the existence and nature of an "Eleatic" school.
  • Reading Greek Philosophy in Greek - Plato’s Apology (Primavesi)
  • Seminar - Atoms & Stuff: The Topology of Matter in Ancient Philosophy (Anagnostopoulos)
    In this seminar we will look at the two major conceptions of the topology of the material world in antiquity, namely, as indivisible and unchangeable tiny bodies, i.e., atoms, and as continuous and always further divisible stuff, as well as attempts to move beyond these options. We will attempt to understand the motivations for different conceptions of the material world as well as their prospects and problems in accounting for various phenomena. Our primary texts will include fragments and reports of presocratic philosophers, Aristotle and Epicurus, among others. We will also look at recent secondary literature.
  • Seminar - Aristotle On the Soul (Carter)
    Ancient Greek philosophers generally believed that animate things are distinct from inanimate things in virtue of having a soul. However, what is a soul? What sorts of things have souls? Do souls have parts? Are souls distinct from bodies, and if so, how can they interact? In this course we will study how Aristotle answered these questions in his central psychological work, On the Soul (De Anima). Among the topics we will explore are: the relation between Aristotle's theory of scientific inquiry and definition in the Posterior Analyticsand his practice of inquiring into and defining the soul in De Anima; the role that his criticism of earlier Greek theories of soul plays in the development of his own account of the soul; his so called 'hylomorphic' theory of the soul-body relation, and the soul's causal role in the life processes of nutrition, perception, imagination, intellectual cognition, and action.
  • Seminar - Ancient theories of the enmattered form (Schwark)
    The enmattered form (i.e., the form in matter) is an integral part of the natural philosophy not only of Aristotle and his school but also of many Platonists. However, the theories in question differ significantly with regard to the way in which they spell out the role that the enmattered form plays in the constitution of an individual. How is the enmattered form related to qualities, how is it related to the soul? Does the enmattered form depend upon higher principles, and if so, how are we to understand this dependency relation? In this seminar we will discuss these and similar questions on the basis of select passages from Plato, Aristotle, Alexander of Aphrodisias, Alcinous, Plotinus, and Proclus. A comparison of the different authors will show how each of them embeds his concept of the enmattered form into his peculiar metaphysical framework.
  • Seminar - Happiness, virtue, and the good in Aristotelian and Stoic ethics (Helle)
    In this course, we will examine happiness, virtue, and the good in Aristotelian and Stoic ethics. We begin by studying Aristotle’s ethical works. Then we turn to Stoicism and to a central text of the course, Cicero’s dialogue De Finibus (‘On Moral Ends’), which presents and discusses the ethical theories of the Epicureans, the Stoics, and that of Antiochus of Ascalon. Through close study of De Finibus, we will examine, among other things, what happiness and the good life are according to the Stoics, what virtue is, and how virtue and happiness are related; we will also investigate the Aristotelian (or Aristotle-inspired) approach of Antiochus of Ascalon to these questions. Throughout the course, we shall look at what distinguishes the views of Aristotle, the Stoics, and Antiochus, and at the grounds for the differences among them. We will pay special attention to the question of how virtue and happiness are thought to be related, whether virtue is supposed to be sufficient for happiness or whether external goods are needed in addition.
  • Seminar - Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods (Adamson)
    This seminar will be devoted to a major philosophical work by the famous Roman jurist and rhetorician Cicero: On the Nature of the Gods. As in other works (like the Academica and On Ends), Cicero here offers ample reports of the teachings of Hellenistic schools on his topic. Exploiting the dialogue form, Cicero uses the spokesmen Velleius and Balbus to represent the viewpoints of the Epicureans and Stoics, and Cotta to criticize them from his own point of view, that of a moderate Skeptic. Philosophical themes include Hellenistic accounts of providence, proofs for the gods’ existence, and the nature of their involvement in human life, if any. The result is one of the most important texts of ancient philosophical theology, and an important example of the transmission of Greek thought into Latin.
  • Seminar - Aristotle's zoology in Arabic (Adamson, Hansberger)
    In this seminar we will read selected excerpts from Aristotle’s works on animals, comparing the Greek original to the medieval Arabic translation which combined these works into a single work called simply Book of Animals. The seminar will be taught in English, and participation requires the ability to read and translate classical Arabic; facility with Ancient Greek would be helpful but is not required.
  • Seminar - Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi, “Die Philosophie der Erleuchtung” (Hansberger)
    Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi (1154–1191) gilt als Begründer der sog. Illuminationsphilosophie (Ḥikmat al-ishraq), einer signifikanten Strömung der post-avicennischen Philosophie, deren Einfluss sich bis in die Gegenwart fortsetzt. Im Zentrum von al-Suhrawardis Denken steht die Frage, wie wir überhaupt etwas erkennen können. Ausgehend von einer dezidierten Kritik der avicennischen Erkenntnistheorie und Metaphysik entwickelt er ein das direkte, intuitive Erfassen betonende Konzept eines „Erkennens durch Gegenwart“ sowie eine „Ontologie des Lichts“, innerhalb welcher der Begriff des Lichts viel von dem übernimmt, was bei Avicenna der Begriff der Existenz leistet. Al-Suhrawardi entwickelt seine Philosophie grundsätzlich aus derjenigen Avicennas, nimmt aber auch Elemente aus der mystischen Tradition sowie der platonischen Ideenlehre auf und sieht sich selbst in der Tradition griechischer, indischer und persischer „Weiser“. Während al-Suhrawardi durch den Einfluss der Interpretation Henry Corbins lange Zeit hauptsächlich mit mystischem Gedankengut in Verbindung gebracht wurde, betont die neuere Forschung den philosophischen und argumentativen Charakter seines Denkens. Im Seminar werden wir das philosophische Hauptwerk al-Suhrawardis, „Die Philosophie der Erleuchtung“, lesen und uns auch mit Blick auf die darin kritisierten avicennischen Positionen ein Verständnis von al-Suhrawardis Philosophie in ihrem geistesgeschichtlichen Kontext erarbeiten.

Summer semester 2021

  • Oberseminar - Musaph Research Seminar (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp)
    Current research projects in ancient philosophy
  • Colloquium - Doctoral Student Colloquium (Rapp)
  • Seminar - Plato's Theory of Forms and its Critics (Castelli)
    Although the theory of Forms (or Ideas) is regarded both by his contemporaries and by later interpreters as a (in some respect: the) most distinctive aspect of Plato's philosophy, we cannot find in Plato's dialogues one unified systematic account of it. Even the status of this doctrine is disputed, since Plato sometimes introduces it as a "hypothesis". In the first part of this seminar we will read and analyse in detail the main passages from Plato's Dialogues in which Forms are mentioned and their status and function is analysed. The main Dialogues we will focus upon are Phaedo, Republic, Sophist, Parmenides, Symposium, Phaedrus, Timaeus. In the second part, we will analyse the most important pieces of criticism against the doctrine of Forms by two eminent pupils of Plato, namely Aristotle and Speusippus.
  • Seminar - Plato's Philebus (Brüllmann)
    In the Philebus, one of his late dialogues, Plato returns to two questions that have engaged him since his early writings: What is the best life for us to lead? And what role does pleasure, in particular, play in such a life? In order to answer the latter question, Plato offers an extensive and subtle treatment of the nature of different kinds of pleasure. This treatment takes up ideas that are familiar, e.g., from the Gorgias, the Phaedo, and the Republic. However, the discussion of pleasure in the Philebus goes way beyond what we find in those earlier works; it introduces, for instance, a novel division of all being into the four classes of (1) limit, (2) the unlimited, (3) mixtures of limit and the unlimited, and (4) the cause of these mixtures. Not to forget, the dialogue also says something about knowledge and its role in the good life as well as dialectics and the problem of unity and diversity. The aim of our course is to reconstruct the argument of the Philebus and to thereby get an introduction into a core topic of not just Plato’s ethical thought.
  • Seminar - Ancient Moral Psychology (Anagnostopoulos)
    How does a conception of the good figure in moral deliberation and action? What kinds of desires play a role in them and how do they do so? Can these desires conflict with one another in the moral agent? In what sense can we be motivated by reason to act morally? What is distinctive about moral deliberation in comparison with other kinds of thinking? Do we ever act contrary to our beliefs, and if so, what explains this fact? What conclusions can we draw about the structure of the mind on the basis on moral decision making? In this course we will examine ancient philosophers’ answers to these and other questions about the relationship between human psychology and ethical behavior and understanding. We will engage in a close reading of ancient texts in translation together with discussion of selected scholarly literature - roughly one article each week. The course will focus on the theories of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Knowledge of ancient Greek is not required, but of course, beneficial.
  • Seminar - Aristotle on the Locomotion of Animals (Rapp)
    Imagine a rabbit dozing in the sun. All of a sudden the rabbit stretches its legs and scambers towards a carrot on the opposite side of the lawn. How come that the rabbit sets itself into motion and locomotes from place A to place B? According to an old tradition deriving from Aristotle, the rabbit's movement can be explained by reference to some sort of perception (maybe the rabbit saw or smelled the carrot) plus a kind of pro-attitude or desire (most likely, the rabbit has aquired a taste for carrots). Given that perception and desire are what we call "mental states", how come that such mental states can move the rabbit's body? Aristotle dedicated a short treatise ("De Motu Animalium") to the common cause of the locomotion of all animals (human and non-human animals alike) and tries to answer the question of how the soul manages to impart motion on the animal body. The answer that Aristotle develops is meant to comply with more general principles of movement, as he develops them in his "Physics". It adresses the psychological as well as the physiological side of this question. One part of his answer concerns the famous practical syllogism, one other part addresses the mechanical forces by which a body is set into motion. Essentially, the seminar will discuss the treatise "De Motu Animalium", but will also address other Aristotelian texts that deal with questions of animal movement, most notably "De Anima" III 9-10, "De Incessu" 3 + 9, "Nicomachean Ethics" VII 3, "Physics" VIII 2 +6.
  • Seminar - Aristotle De Interpretatione (Castelli)
    In the traditional order in which Aristotle's logical treatises (the so-called Organon) have been trasmitted to us, De interpretatione (Int.) is the second work. The idea behind this placement is that Int. offers Aristotle's account of the structure of simple propositions (which, for Aristotle, are propositions in which one single thing is predicated of one other thing). For this reason, this text should be read after the Categories, (i.e. the treeatise dealing with the things designated by single terms or term-like expressions, which appear as subject or predicate in basic predicative propositions), and before the treatises dealing with different types of arguments (i.e. Prior Analytics, Posterior Analytics, Topics, Sophistical refutations, all assuming that the propositions figuring as premises and conclusions in arguments are or can be reduced to basic predicative structure).
    Despite this fairly systematic picture, elaborated in the course of the centuries by Greek, Latin and Arabic commentators, the precise nature and aim of Int. is problematic. Pretty much everything, starting from title and authenticity of the treatise, were controversial since antiquity. In this seminar we will read the whole work with special attention to some main exegetical and philosophical issues such as: the origin and nature of language; the distinction between nouns and verbs; the analysis of simple declarative propositions (with or without a copula); the nature and function of the copula; the analysis of the oppositions obtaining between propositions and, in particular, the analysis of the opposition obtaining between future contingents.
  • Seminar - Aristoteles' Kategorienschrift (Rapp)
    Aristoteles’ "Kategorienschrift" ist einer der meist kommentierten Texte der Philosophiegeschichte. Für viele Jahrhunderte wurde er sogar als Einführung in die Philosophie benutzt. In dieser kurzen Schrift werden zunächst die Begriffe Substanz, Substrat, Akzidenz eingeführt. Dann wird die These aufgestellt, dass alles Seiende in eine von zehn Kategorien falle. Diese Kategorien werden dann einzeln vorgestellt und diskutiert. Im letzten Teil der Schrift (den "Postprädikamenten" = Kap. 10-15) werden dann vermischte Themen, wie die verschiedenen Gegensätze, Priorität, Gleichzeitigkeit und Bewegung abgehandelt. Mit dieser Thematik bewegt sich die Schrift im Schnittfeld zwischen Ontologie, Sprachphilosophie/Semantik und Logik. Aristoteles selbst macht von seiner Kategorienlehre an vielen Stellen seines Werks Gebrauch, u.a. um auf den Umstand aufmerksam zu machen, dass "seiend" ein Begriff ist, der in den verschiedenen Kategorien je Unterschiedliches meint, und dass Begriffe, wenn sie Entitäten in unterschiedlichen Kategorien bezeichnen, nicht dasselbe bedeuten können.
  • Seminar - The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus (Adamson)
    One of the most pivotal figures of late ancient philosophy was the man whom later Neoplatonists called the “divine Iamblichus.” An important precursor of Proclus, Iamblichus aimed at the integration of pagan religious thought into Platonist philosophy. He defended the religious practice of theurgy against the skeptical remarks of Porphyry, for instance, and developed the Neoplatonic theory of principles into the more complex system we find presented by Proclus. Yet he also commented on Aristotle and contributed to the project of integrating Aristotelian thought into Platonism. In this seminar we will read selected passages from his surviving works (or fragments of his works); all texts will be made available in both English translation and the original Greek.
  • Seminar - Proclus' Elements of Theology (Schwark)
    Proclus’ Elements of Theology is one of the most influential philosophical works of late antiquity. This is (partly) due to its comprehensive and systematic character. E.R. Dodds calls it “the one genuinely systematic exposition of Neoplatonic metaphysic which has come down to us.” Imitating the style of Euclid’s Elements, Proclus endeavors to establish the Neoplatonic metaphysical system by means of an axiomatic method. The treatise is divided into two parts. In the first part, Proclus introduces the general antitheses that are relevant to Neoplatonic metaphysics, e.g., unity and plurality, cause and effect, transcendence and immanence. In the second part, he then uses these antitheses in order to elucidate the three kinds of true causes within reality (henads, intellects, souls) and the relations among them. The aim of this class is a careful analysis of Proclus’ work. A close reading of the text will enable us to discuss and critically assess Proclus’ metaphysical assumptions and his philosophical method.
  • Seminar - Al-Farabi on Music (Adamson, Hansberger)
    In this seminar, we will read selections from al-Farabi’s Great Book of Music, the most important work of the medieval Islamic world to combine philosophy with music theory. Interesting issues that arise in the text include the place of music in the Aristotelian curriculum of sciences, the relation between mathematics and music, the effect of music on the soul, and the nature of aesthetic experience. Excerpts of a forthcoming translation will be made available. Participation in the seminar presupposes knowledge of classical Arabic.

Winter semester 2020/21

  • Oberseminar - Aristotle's Poetics (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp)
    Ancient Philosophy: Research Seminar
  • Spezialvorlesung - Einführung in die Philosophie Platons (Frühe und mittlere Dialoge) (Rapp)
    Platon ist eine der prägenden Figuren der Philosophiegeschichte. Das gilt sowohl für die Themen, die er behandelt, als auch für die Methode, die er praktiziert. Viele seiner Dialoge sind philosophisch-literarische Kunststücke, die vorführen, was ein philosophisches Problem ist und wie man sich diesem Problem annährt, ohne selbst eine definitive Lösung zu verteidigen. Das ist einer der Gründe, warum sich Platons Dialoge einerseits als Einführung in das Philosophieren überhaupt eignen und andererseits auch für fortgeschrittene PhilosophInnen immer wieder eine Herausforderung darstellen. Die Vorlesung gibt eine Übersicht über Dialoge, die grob der frühen und mittleren Schaffensperiode Platons zugeordnet werden können. Im Mittelpunkt werden die Dialoge Euthyphron, Laches, Charmides, Menon, Euthydemos, Protagoras, Phaidon, Gorgias, Politeia (Der Staat), Phaidros und Theaitetos stehen. Mit dieser Auswahl werden die Themen Definition, Tugenden, Wissen, Staat, Seele, Rhetorik, Dialektik, Ideen, Dichtungskritik berührt, so dass die Vorlesung sowohl in der Ethik und poliltischen Philosophie als auch in der Metaphysik, der Erkenntnistheorie und der Kunstphilosophie angesiedelt ist.
  • Advanced Seminar and Essay-Course - Plato: Nomoi (Laws) (Brüllmann)
    The Laws (Nomoi) is Plato’s last and longest dialogue. For a long time rather neglected (or seen as a testimony for Plato’s resignation in political matters), it has recently gained more attention and become a subject of serious study. Like the Republic, the Nomoi is, on the one hand, a work of political philosophy: it deals with an ideal constitution and how it might be realised, with the origin, purpose, foundation, scope, and content of (penal) laws as well their enforcement, with questions of power, political persuasion, and offices, with education and its means, with marriage, sexual relationships, and the participation of women, with the distribution of property, and with the role of the arts and feasts. On the other hand, the dialogue treats, again like the Republic, a multitude of topics that go way beyond questions of politics in a narrow sense; thus, it offers an overview of large areas of Plato’s (late?) philosophy. Among those topics are virtue, goods, happiness, anthropology, moral psychology, crime, but also cosmology, theology, and the philosophy of history. Unlike the Republic, however, the Laws does not merely construct an ideal state ‘in the mind’ but starts from the task of founding an actual colony. Accordingly, it is much more interested in the question of how such a state might be put into practice and is overall more pragmatic and procedural. Neither do we find a reference to the philosopher ruler, nor to Plato’s Theory of the Forms and its metaphysics as well as epistemology. The Laws suggests a rule of laws and institutions, relying on true opinions rather than knowledge. We will not be able to read all of the dialogue in our course but only its most important parts. Our focus will be on the primary text (in English translation), but we will also deal with some questions that are discussed in the literature, in particular how the theory of the Nomoi relates to that of the Republic and Statesman.
  • Übung - Reading Greek Philosophy in Greek (Primavesi)
    Plato's Gorgias. Please email prapa@lmu.de.
  • Advanced Seminar - Persuasion in Plato and Aristotle (Rapp)
    What is persuasion? Are there several modes of being persuaded, e.g. deep vs. swift persuasion? How can we bring about persuasion in other people's mind? To what extent is persuasion linked up with knowledge? After all, we seem to be convinced of what we know. Or is the rhetorical interest in persuasion motivated by the attempt to change other people's minds without conveying any knowledge? Both, Plato and Aristotle made quite pertinent suggestions concerning the mentioned set of questions, even though they seem to approach the phenomenon of persuasion from different perspectives. Plato again and again challenges the idea of persuasion without knowledge (even though he sometimes approves of paternalistic persuasion that is not knowledge-based), while Aristotle seems to be particularly interested in persuasion with regard to subject matters that do not allow of scientific treatment and, hence, not of full knowledge. In the seminar we will read selected passages from Plato's Gorgias, Phaedo, Phaedrus, Republic, Laws and from Aristotle's Rhetoric with a view to the various philosophical accounts of persuasion.
  • Advanced Seminar - Aristotle’s Theory of Substance (Rapp)
    Aristotle's concept and theory of substance (ousia) had an unparalleled impact on the history of philosophical metaphysics. Unfortunately, the understanding of the details of this theory is encumbered by many textual and interpretative difficulties. In this seminar we will discuss core issues connected with the Aristotelian doctrine of substance. Drawing on selected passages from his "Categories, his Metaphysics ZH and his Metaphysics Lambda, the seminar will deal with the following ingredients of Aristotle's theory of substance: the role of the substrate, substance as primary being, substance and essence, definability as criterion of substancehood, substance and universality, the causal-explanatory approach to substance, sensible and non-sensible substance, substance and hylomorphism.
  • Advanced Seminar and Essay-Course - Aristotle: Metaphysics IX (Theta) (Anagnostopoulos)
    In this course we will carefully read through Aristotle's treatment of potentiality and actuality in Metaphysics IX. These concepts -- as well as the related notions of possibility and necessity, capacity, change and activity -- are central to many areas of Aristotle's thought.
  • Advanced Seminar - Philosophy and moral education 1st century BC - 3rd century CE (Castelli, Hauer)
    Is moral education possible? And, if so, how does it relate to the development of cognitive faculties and intellectual skills? These questions cut through the history of philosophy and, in particular, of ancient philosophy. Since their first appearance in their Socratic version (Can virtue be taught?) to the full development of philosophical curricula designed to enhance the moral and intellectual development of pupils in the later Neoplatonic tradition, all philosophical schools discuss and, to a certain extent, even find their own legitimation in their answers to these questions. In this seminar we will discuss some of the main views in the debate on these issues between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century CE. Research in the last decades has greatly contributed to giving a fuller picture and a more accurate assessment of the rich philosophical activity in this crucial period, which starts with the general revival of interest in classical Greek philosophy in the 1st century BC and ends with the affirmation of the predominance of the Platonic tradition over the others. In this period all main philosophical traditions (Platonic, Peripatetic, Stoic, Epicurean and skeptic) face and interact with each other through the activity of well and less well known authors. During the seminar we will reconstruct the main lines of the debate about moral education through a selection of texts from Cicero, Alcinous, Seneca, Aspasius, Plutarch, Sextus Empiricus, Alexander of Aphrodisias, and Plotinus.
  • Advanced Seminar - The Late Ancient Commentators (Adamson)
    This seminar will be devoted to the philosophical contributions of the late ancient commentators on Aristotle, which have been brought to light above all by the translation project and three volume sourcebook collection edited by Richard Sorabji. In the seminar we will read selected passages collected in these sourcebooks, alongside the original Greek. The main topics to be covered will be (a) time and the eternity of the world, (b) perception and awareness, (c) philosophy of language.
  • Spezialvorlesung - Philosophie in der islamischen Welt (Adamson)
    Zu der philosophischen Tradition in der islamischen Welt gehören solche bedeutende Denker wie al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali, Averroes, Maimonides, und Ibn Khaldun. In dieser Vorlesung werden die Werke und Ideen dieser und anderen Philosophen vorgestellt, mit Blick auf den Hintergrund der Debatten in der islamischen Theologie (kalam), die Überlieferung der altgriechischen Philosophie in der arabischen Sprache, und Entwicklungen in der post-klassischen Zeit. Philosophische Themen, die besonders im Mittelpunkt stehen werden, sind menschliche Freiheit, Gottesbeweise, die Ewigkeit des Universums, Intellektstheorie, und Theorien über Raum und Zeit.
  • Adanced Seminar - Two Arabic Treatises on Love (Adamson, Hansberger)
    In this seminar, we will read selections from two texts on the subject of love (ʿishq) from the Arabic philosophical tradition, one by the group of tenth century Platonists who called themselves Ikhwan al-Safa’ (“the Brethren of Purity”), another by Ibn Sina (Avicenna). The texts will be read in the original language, so facility with classical Arabic is required for participation in the class.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Al-Farabi, Die Prinzipien der Ansichten der Bewohner der vortrefflichen Stadt (Hansberger)
    Abu Naṣr al-Farabi (ca. 870-950 n. Chr.) gehört zu den bedeutendsten Vertretern der ersten, oft als „klassisch“ bezeichneten Epoche der Philosophie in der islamischen Welt. Genannt der „zweite Lehrer“ (nach dem „ersten Lehrer“ Aristoteles), bestimmte er mit seiner Interpretation und Weiterentwicklung des philosophischen Erbes der Griechen maßgeblich die Richtung, welche die Philosophie im islamischen Kulturkreis einschlagen sollte. Die Prinzipien der Ansichten der Bewohner der vortrefflichen Stadt ist eines der bekanntesten Werke al-Farabis. In ihm legt er dar, welche philosophischen Standpunkte in einer idealen Gesellschaft zu bestimmten Themen eingenommen werden sollten. Zu diesen Themen gehören Gott, die Ordnung des Kosmos und der materiellen Welt, die Stellung des Menschen innerhalb des Kosmos und seine besonderen Fähigkeiten, die bestmögliche menschliche Gesellschaft sowie das Verhältnis von Religion und Philosophie. Mit diesem Katalog greift al-Farabi Themen auf, die in der zeitgenössischen Theologie als „Grundlagen der Religion“ diskutiert wurden. Für al-Farabi, so macht er in seiner Schrift deutlich, sind diese Themen aber in erster Linie Gegenstand philosophischer Erkenntnis; die Aufgabe der Religion besteht hingegen darin, dieselben Inhalte in symbolischer und gleichnishafter Form an Menschen zu vermitteln, die der philosophischen Erkenntnis nicht fähig sind. Im Seminar wird der Text abschnittweise besprochen und mit Bezug auf seine geistes- und philosophiegeschichtlichen Voraussetzungen und Hintergründe analysiert werden.
  • Kolloquium for Doctoral and MA Students (Rapp)
    Presentation and discussion of the participants' current projects. The discussions will be held either in German or in English.

Summer semester 2020

  • Oberseminar - Ancient Philosophy Research Seminar (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp).
  • Advanced Seminar - Aristotle's De Anima (Anagnostopoulos, Brüllmann)
    A systematic study of Aristotle's De Anima, his work on the soul. Among the topics to be discussed are: Aristotle's dialectic with his predecessors on the nature of the soul; the metaphysical status of the soul as the form of a hylomorphic compound, the parts or functions of the soul, the nature of cognition, and the contribution of the soul to nutrition and animal movement. While our main focus is on the original text (in English translation), we will read and discuss about one piece of secondary literature each week. Knowledge of ancient Greek is not necessary, but it is of course an advantage. Knowledge of English is required.
  • Advanced Seminar: Emotionen in der Philosophie des Aristoteles (Rapp)
    Heutzutage macht die Philosophie der Emotionen einen der meistbeachteten Teilbereiche der Philosophie aus. Das war nicht immer so. In der akademischen Philosophie wurden die Emotionen erst durch die Entdeckung der vielfältigen kognitiven Eigenschaften der Emotionen in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts sozusagen „hoffähig“ - Emotionen wurden nun nicht mehr nur als Störfaktoren und dunkle Antriebe verstanden, sondern wurden systematisch auf ihre Beziehung zu Meinungen, Urteilen, längerfristigen Überzeugungen und Motivationen hin untersucht. Diese Entdeckung der kognitiven Eigenschaften von Emotionen wiederum nahm ursprünglich wichtige Anleihen bei Aristoteles - denn Aristoteles scheint der erste gewesen zu sein, der verschiedene Typen von Emotionen systematisch durch die Beziehung zu unterschiedlichen Urteilen definierte. In dem Seminar werden ausgesuchte Passagen aus De Anima, Poetik, Nikomachische Ethik und Rhetorik im Hinblick auf die darin enthaltenen Ansätze zu einer Theorie der Emotionen hin untersucht. Griechisch-Kenntnisse werden nicht vorausgesetzt.
  • Advanced Seminar - Philosophical Issues in Aristotle's Biology (Rapp, Epstein)
    Aristotle’s works on biology/zoology (Historia Animalium, De Partibus Animalium, De Generatione Animalium, De Incessu Animalium, De Motu Animalium) make up a significant part of the transmitted Aristotelian oeuvre (appr. 24%). Even though Aristotle’s biological research is based on a then unparalleled amount of empirical data, there are many crucial connections between his biology and his philosophical work. The seminar attempts to cover the philosophically most significant topics within Aristotle’s biology. Here are some examples: Aristotle’s account of scientific explanation as exemplified by his biological research - Aristotle’s explanation of different sexes and genders - Aristotle’s theory of sexual reproduction plus the idea that the essential form of an animal is transmitted from the parents to the children - his account of heredity - Aristotle’s explanation of the function (teleology) of the various parts of a body - the principle that nature does nothing in vain - permanence and variability of natural species - different life forms - the character of various animals. In this seminar we will discuss central Aristotelian concepts and terms from a philosophical as well as a philological point of view. Selected passages from Aristotle’s biological works together with selected scholarly articles will be provided. Knowledge of Ancient Greek is welcome, but not a requirement.
  • Advanced Seminar - Plotinus (Adamson)
    This course will offer an in-depth introduction to the works of Plotinus, who lived in the 3rd century AD and is acknowledged as the founder of Neoplatonism, a philosophical movement that dominated late antiquity and exercised enormous influence for more than a millenium after Plotinus’ own time. We will read a selection of texts from his works, edited as the Enneads by his student Porphyry. Texts will be made available in Greek and English and the language of the seminar will be English. By the end of the course students should have a good understanding of the Plotinian system and some of the main problems dealt with in his thought, for instance his take on matter and evil, freedom and determinism, the relation of the soul to the body, the role of the Platonic Forms, and the One as a the first cause of the whole system. Text selections will be drawn from the 7 volume Loeb series, by A.H. Armstrong. See also the new English translation under the general editorship of L.P. Gerson: Plotinus, The Enneads (Cambridge: 2018).
  • Advanced Seminar - Porphyry's Isagoge (Hauer)
    In this seminar, we will read and discuss Porphyry’s Isagoge. This work was not only held in high esteem within the Neoplatonic school, where it was part of the curriculum and thus read by every student, but it also remained influential throughout the middle ages. It contains preparatory material for the study of Aristotle’s predications and was therefore often regarded as an introduction to Aristotle’s Categories, or even to the study of Aristotelian logic in general. Text: Porphyry, Introduction. Translated, with a Commentary, by Jonathan Barnes, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2003.
  • Advanced Seminar - Post-Avicennan Physics: al-Abhari (Adamson, Hansberger)
    In this seminar, which will be run together with visiting scholar Asad Ahmed of Berkeley, we will be reading the section on Physics in al-Abhari's Hidayat al-hikma. This text of the thirteenth century was squarely based on Avicenna's Isharat and became the most commented Physics text of the post-classical period. It was eventually absorbed into the madrasa curricula of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal worlds, and was often read in these regions via the lens of the commentaries of Maybudi and Sadra. We will make an effort to work through the entire base text, supplementing it with relevant commentarial and supercommentarial interventions. The end of the exercise should give us a good sense of the diachronic reception of Avicenna's Physics in the curricula of the eastern parts of the Islamic world. Note that the seminar will be conducted in English; participation requires facility with classical Arabic. For the background in Avicenna students may want to consult: A. Lammer, The Elements of Avicenna’s Physics: Greek Sources and Arabic Innovations (Berlin: 2018); J. McGinnis, “Avicenna’s Natural Philosophy,” in P. Adamson (ed.), Interpreting Avicenna: Critical Essays (Cambridge: 2013), 71-90.
  • Kolloquium für Habilitanden, Doktoranden, Magistranden, Masterstudenten (Rapp).
    Vorstellung und Diskussion von Projekten der Teilnehmer. Die Diskussionen erfolgen sowohl in deutscher als auch in englischer Sprache. Presentation and discussion of the participants' current projects. The discussions will be held either in German or in English.
  • Übung - Reading Ancient Philosophy in Greek (Primavesi)

Winter semester 2019/20

  • Oberseminar - Research Seminar on Empedocles (Adamson, Primavesi)
    This semester the research seminar on ancient Greek philosophy will look at the fragments of the Presocratic philosopher Empedocles. Participants will take it in turn to present selections from the fragments, in each case discussing the context in which these fragments are transmitted, which will mean looking at the way Aristotle and later ancient thinkers reacted to and understood Empedocles.
  • Doktorandenkolloquium (Adamson)
    Vorstellung und Diskussion von Projekten der Teilnehmer. Die Diskussionen erfolgen sowohl in deutscher als auch in englischer Sprache.
    Presentation and discussion of the participants' current projects. The discussions will be held either in German or in English.
  • Advanced Seminar - Plato on Action (Odzuck)
    Mo. 16:00 -18:00 c.t. Geschw.-Scholl-Pl. 1 (E) - E 210
    Although none of his dialogues has human action as its main topic, Plato on many occasions discusses questions and problems that today belong to the Philosophy of Action. In this seminar, we will follow Plato's interest in these questions by carefully reading and discussing selected passages of his work, as well as recent literature on these texts. The seminar will be guided by the following questions: Why is Plato interested in the discussion of action? What are actions at all? What is their ontological status? How can actions be distinguished from each other? What is the appropriate explanation of an action? What are the different factors responsible for the occurrence of actions? Do we also act when we do nothing at all? What is the relationship between actions and achieving a good life? In this seminar, we will see that Plato in his work (contrary to what many scholars seem to think) does not only discuss fundamental questions and problems of the Philosophy of Action but also develops a set of powerful instruments for analyzing and explaining human action. The texts will be made available in the seminar. The participants are expected to carefully prepare the passages of the text to be read and to be willing to participate. In addition, three text summaries are to be prepared. Knowledge of Greek is an advantage, but not a prerequisite.
  • Advanced Seminar - Ancient Views on Dialectic (Hauer)
    In this seminar, we will examine different views on dialectic from Plato to the Neoplatonists. The conception of dialectic as question-and-answer argumentation can be found in Plato, Aristotle and several Stoics. However, the account of its specific techniques and its status differ among these thinkers. While Plato’s works include the account of dialectic as a science and as being linked to the knowledge of the Good, Aristotle conceives of it primarily as a kind of syllogism and thus links it to a specific part of logic. Aristotle acknowledges that certain aspects of dialectic may serve as instruments of philosophy and Peripatetics develop the idea of logic as an instrument of philosophy. Although the Stoics also conceive of dialectic as a part of logic and thus maintain the connection between dialectic and logic, they claim that logic is a part, and not an instrument, of philosophy. These three views were the most prominent ones for later philosophers and formed the background against which they discussed dialectic. While Alcinous appears to syncretize them, Alexander of Aphrodisias and Plotinus clearly distinguish between the three views. In order to return to Plato’s understanding of dialectic, Plotinus distinguishes dialectic from logic. Later Neoplatonists, such as Syrianus, follow Plotinus in doing so.
  • Advanced Seminar - Al-Razi, Doubts about Galen (Adamson, Hansberger)
    In this seminar we will read selections from Doubts About Galen (Shukuk ‘ala Jalinus), on the basis of a recently appeared edition by Pauline Koetschet. This work may at first seem to be a critique of Galen’s medical theories by his fellow doctor, Abu Bakr al-Razi (d.925 CE), it is in fact full of philosophical material on topics ranging from the eternity of the world to epistemology, from the nature of vision to atomism. In our seminar we will read selections of the more philosophically intriguing material; participants will take it in turns to read the Arabic and translate into English, so competence in these languages is a prerequisite for participation.
  • Advanced Seminar - Generation, Alteration and Mixture in Aristotle and Beyond (Anagnostopoulos and Castelli)
    It is hard to exaggerate the importance of the distinction between generation (the coming to be of a new substance) and alteration (mere qualitative change) in Aristotle. On the one hand, he claims that his materialist predecessors could not, unlike him, do justice to this distinction, while on the other, it is a fraught question how his general model of change can be applied to the case of substantial coming-to-be (generation) without threatening the very status of his prized substances. The physical phenomenon of mixture or blending of material constituents has drawn the attention of philosophers from Aristotle down to the present. At least prima facie it seems to make incompatible demands: on the one hand, none of the ingredients of a mixture should continue to exist, since all parts of a genuine mixture are alike; on the other hand, the ingredients of a mixture should not simply be destroyed if mixing is to be distinct from generation and corruption. Mixture seems to occupy a middle ground between generation and alteration. In this course, we will begin by exploring these topics in Aristotle's De Generatione et Corruptione, situating them within a broader framework of Aristotle's hylomorphism and theory of the elements, and against the background of his predecessors. In the second part of the course we will move on to consider the later ancient and contemporary reception of, and reaction to, Aristotle's account of mixture (for example: Alexander's critical exposition of the rival Stoic theory of mixture and Richard Sharvy's more recent topological account of mixture).
  • Advanced Seminar - Pleton, On the Difference Between Plato and Aristotle (Adamson)
    In this seminar we will read a notorious work by the most notorious thinker of the Byzantine philosophical tradition, George Gemithos, also known as Plethon. Often thought to have diverged from Christian belief in order to embrace Neoplatonic paganism, Plethon also caused outrage (and provoked a refutation from his contemporary Scholarios) by attacking the great Aristotle and accusing him of unjustified and disloyal departure from the teachings of his own master, Plato. Topics highlighted in the work include the question of whether God is a creator of the world, as Plato believed, or simply an intellective mover, as Aristotle taught, and whether Aristotle was right to reject Plato’s theory of Forms. The work is important not only for an understanding of Neoplatonism and its reception in late Byzantium but also as a forerunner of developments of the Italian Renaissance, notably the similar dispute between Plethon’s student Bessarion and a critic of Plato, George Trapezuntius. We will read the work in English translation but with reference to the Greek text, so facility in both languages is recommended for participants.
  • Advanced Seminar - Aristotle on the Virtues (Brüllmann)
    The topic of our class is a centrepiece, not only of Aristotle's ethical theory but also of ancient ethics and - due to the revived interest in the virtues - of ethical debates more generally. Our aim is to read and discuss passages from Aristotle's Nicomachean (and to some extent, Eudemian) Ethics as well as secondary literature. Against a common trend in the reception of Aristotle's theory of the virtues, our focus will not be on the notorious 'doctrine of the mean' but rather on Aristotle's treatment of the individual virtues and on the relationship between the virtues of character and phronesis, as discussed in Book VI.

Winter semester 2018/19

  • Oberseminar - Research Seminar on Aristotle's Categories (Rapp, Primavesi)
    In this semester we will read and discuss Aristotle's treatise, the Categories. Knowledge of English and Ancient Greek is required.
  • Tutorium to the Oberseminar- Reading Aristotle in Greek: The Categories. (Primavesi)
    In this course we will carefully read through Aristotle's Categories in Greek, with special attention to the philosophical use of the language as well as to text-critical issues. The course is meant to complement the Ancient Philosophy Research Seminar, taking place Tuesdays at 12. The course will be conducted in English and those in attendance should have basic knowledge of Ancient Greek. Participants will be asked to prepare the text to be discussed each week in advance. Please contact Dr. Christina Prapa (prapa@lmu.de) in order to obtain the Greek text we will be using before instruction starts.
  • Doktorandenkolloquium (Rapp)
    Vorstellung und Diskussion von Projekten der Teilnehmer. Die Diskussionen erfolgen sowohl in deutscher als auch in englischer Sprache.
    Presentation and discussion of the participants' current projects. The discussions will be held either in German or in English.
  • Oberseminar - Ancient Theories of Argumentation (Rapp)
    The seminar is dedicated to selected aspects of ancient theories of argumentation. Participants with an interest in ancient dialectic, logic, rhetoric and argumentation theory will have the opportunity to present their own ideas and projects. Among the topics discussed will be: Plato's dialectical method, dialectic argumentation in Aristotle, Aristotle's theory of the enthymeme, sign arguments in Aristotle and in Stoic logic, the role of topoi in ancient argumentation theory, Cicero's topics, etc.
  • Advanced Seminar with Tutorium - Atomism (Anagnostopoulos, Hauer)
    Atomism posits indivisible entities that make up the world, and seeks to explain all phenomena, ultimately, on the basis of the properties and behavior of atoms. Despite the seeming simplicity of this approach, the ancient atomists were credited with a certain degree of sophistication in accounting for a variety of phenomena in the natural world, but they also developed some of the most interesting approaches to questions that might seem to be beyond the reach of a strictly materialistic approach, such as moral responsibility. In this course, held in English, we will focus on understanding and evaluating ancient atomistic theories and their ancient reception, through close reading of the ancient texts (in English translation) and contemporary secondary literature. Ancient thinkers we will discuss include Leucippus, Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Lucretius. In addition to the seminar, there is an "Übung", in which we will discuss the material at greater depth, or possibly, read texts in the original language, depending on the interests of the students. In the latter case, the Übung will be strictly optional.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar und Essaykurs - Lust und Leid in der antiken Philosophie (Platon, Aristoteles, Epikur) (Brüllmann)
    Die Phänomene Lust und Schmerz bzw. Freude und Leid spielen in der antiken Ethik und Moralpsychologie eine zentrale Rolle. Das Verhältnis antiker Philosophen zu diesen Phänomenen ist allerdings oft ambivalent. Auf der einen Seite scheint niemand zu bestreiten, dass Lust und Schmerz (a) starke motivationale Faktoren darstellen (wir tun viele Dinge, weil wir Lust erstreben und Schmerz vermeiden wollen) und dass sie (b) positiv bzw. negativ besetzt sind (Freude zu empfinden ist offensichtlich etwas Gutes, Leid zu empfinden etwas Schlechtes). Eine angemessene Philosophie der menschlichen Angelegenheiten muss diese Aspekte berücksichtigen. Auf der anderen Seite würden die meisten antiken Philosophen vor einer konsequent hedonistischen Position zurückschrecken und darauf hinweisen, dass (a) Lust und Schmerz uns oft dazu bringen, das Falsche zu tun (z.B. wegzulaufen, wo wir standhalten sollten) und es (b) andere Güter gibt (wie etwa die Tugend), die einen deutlich höheren Wert haben als Freude und Leid. Antike Debatten um Lust und Leid nehmen daher oft die Form einer Kritik des Hedonismus an.
    In unserem Seminar werden wir zunächst anhand ausgewählter Texte die Positionen von Platon (Gorgias, Philebos) und Aristoteles (Nikomachische Ethik) betrachten. Dabei wollen wir nicht nur nachvollziehen, wie sie die Rolle von Lust und Schmerz begreifen, sondern auch, von welcher Konzeption dieser Phänomene sie ausgehen. Danach werden wir uns der Auffassung Epikurs zuwenden und versuchen, die wohl wichtigste (aber oft missverstandene) Version des antiken Hedonismus zu verstehen.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Avicennas Seelenlehre (Hansberger)
    Depending on the preferences of the group the Seminar will be conducted in English or German.
    Kommentar
    Avicennas Seelenlehre ist ein wichtiger und einflussreicher Teil seiner Philosophie. Aufbauend auf der Aristotelischen Psychologie geht es dabei um die Seele als dasjenige, was sämtliche Lebensfunktionen eines lebendigen Wesens bestimmt -- von Ernährung und Wachstum über die Wahrnehmung bis hin zu den höchsten geistigen Tätigkeiten der Vernunft. Anhand des Kapitels zur Seelenlehre aus Avicennas "Buch der Rettung" (Kitab al-Najat) sowie Auszügen aus anderen Texten, vornehmlich aus dem "Buch der Heilung" (Kitab al-Šifaʾ), werden wir Avicennas komplexes und detailliertes System der Seelenvermögen erarbeiten und einige für ihn zentrale Themen genauer beleuchten. Neben dem berühmten Gedankenexperiment des "fliegenden Menschen", mit dem Avicenna die Unabhängigkeit der Seele bzw. des Selbst vom Körper veranschaulichen will, gehören dazu u.a. die Frage, wie unsere sinnlichen Wahrnehmungen zur Grundlage von rein intellektiver, vom Materiellen per se unabhängiger Erkenntnis werden kann; welche kognitiven Fähigkeiten Tiere besitzen; wie Prophetie möglich ist; und welches Schicksal die menschliche Seele nach dem Tod erwartet.

  • Advanced Seminar - The Ethics of Abu Bakr al-Razi (Hansberger)
    The physician and philosopher Abu Bakr al-Razi (d. 925) is famous first and foremost for his medical writings; but over the last decades, the philosophical work of this highly original thinker has come to be more and more appreciated. In this term's reading class, we will focus on al-Razi's ethics, reading the brief treatise Kitab al-Sira al-falsafiyya ("The Philosophical Life") as well as excerpts from Kitab al-Ṭibb al-ruḥani ("The Spiritual Medicine"). In "The Spiritual Medicine", conceived of as a companion work to his medical work al-Kitab al-Manṣuri, al-Razi sets out to develop a spiritual "regimen" which will free the soul from ist ailments, i.e. vices and passions, and lead to the achievement of a virtuous (i.e. healthy) character. In Kitab al-Sira al-falsafiyya, the author defends himself against the accusation of not having lived up to his Socratic ideal of a philosophical life. Arguing against strict asceticism, al-Razi instead proposes a life of moderation that strives to avoid causing pain to any living being - including animals. As we will read the texts in the original Arabic, knowledge of classical Arabic is required for participation in the class.
  • Vorlesung - Moralpsychologie, Antike und Heute (Rapp)
    Moralpsychologie untersucht die psychologischen Voraussetzungen der Ethik. Sie stellt heute eine der am schnellsten wachsenden Teile der praktischen Philosophie dar und profitiert von der Zusammenarbeit mit der Psychologie. Gleichzeitig gründet sich die Moralpsychologie auf wichtige Voraussetzungen aus der antiken Philosophie. Daher behandelt die Vorlesung alle Grundfragen der Moralpsychologie immer zugleich mit einem Blick auf die antike und auf die gegenwärtige Diskussion. Folgende Themen werden eine zentrale Rolle spielen:
    • Motive und Präferenzen: rational und nicht-rational
    • Entscheidungen
    • Willensschwäche (akrasia)
    • Will-Power
    • Moralische Emotionen
    • Charakterzüge
    • Tugendhafte Charakterzüge
    • Moralische Entwicklung
    • Egoismus und Altruismus

Summer semester 2018

  • Musaph Research Oberseminar (Adamson, Lattmann, Rapp)
    Current research projects in ancient philosophy.
  • Doktorandenkolloquium (Rapp)
  • Hauptseminar - Aristoteles' Topik (Rapp, Castelli)
    Aristoteles' Topik entfaltet eine Methode für die dialektische Unterredung. Unter 'Dialektik' versteht Aristoteles ein Verfahren, durch das Thesen jeglichen Inhalts überprüft werden können. Im dialektischen Streitgespräch findet diese Überprüfung mit verteilten Rollen statt: die fragende Person hat die Aufgabe, eine These anzugreifen und zu widerlegen, die antwortende Person hat die Aufgabe, die entsprechende These zu verteidigen. Gelingt es dem Angreifer, den Verteidiger zu widersprüchlichen Aussagen zu verleiten, gilt die These als widerlegt. Wichtigstes Instrument für dieses Verfahren ist eine Liste sogenannter 'Topoi' - d.h. Argumentationsanleitungen und -schemata, mit denen der Angreifer die vorgegebene These auf Widerlegungsquellen hin analysieren kann. Das dialektische Verfahren, sagt Aristoteles, dient einerseits der Einübung der philosophischen Diskussionsweise, andererseits ist es aber auch von Bedeutung, wenn es darum geht, philosophisch-wissenschaftliche Prinzipien aufzufinden. Die Auseinandersetzung mit der Dialektik nimmt in der Forschung immer größeren Raum ein. Die Dialektik ist wichtig, um Aristoteles' eigenes philosophisches Vorgehen zu verstehen. Andererseits liefert die Dialektik auch wichtige Inspirationen für die moderne Logik und Argumentationstheorie.
  • Advanced Seminar und Tutorium - Form and Matter, Actuality and Potentiality: Aristotle's Hylomorphism. (Anagnostopoulos, Pfeiffer)
    Aristotle believes that ordinary material objects, and especially living organisms, like plants and animals, are substances. However, he also believes that these substances are hylomorphic composites, that is, composites of form and matter. Unlike the materialists, who claim that such ordinary objects are most fundamentally the matter they are made of, and that the lowest level constituents of the physical world (be they atoms or stuffs) are the only genuine substances, Aristotle suggests that what material substances fundamentally are is their form. At the same time, he distances his view from the Platonic conception of forms as separately existing universals. Aristotle arrives at this new conception of material substances through a complex and often roundabout discussion which engages with his predecessors' views. Moreover, Aristotle faces a significant challenge that he himself seems to be the first to fully develop: if material substances are composites of form and matter, how can they be genuine unities, rather than accidental compounds? Aristotle's response to this challenge crucially invokes the distinction between potentiality and actuality. In this course we will focus primarily on the so-called "middle books" of the Metaphysics, books VII-IX, but we will also look at excerpts from other works. Each week, we will also read and discuss recent secondary literature. Participants should have some familiarity either with Aristotle or with contemporary metaphysics. Knowledge of ancient Greek is not required, though it is always useful. Readings will be in English, though contributions and term papers in German are welcome. This course has an Übung in which the issues raised will be discussed in greater depth; participants should attend both parts of the course.
  • Advanced Seminar - The Ancient Reception of Plato’s Timaeus (Adamson)
    Though it is not necessary the most popular of Plato’s dialogues today, no Platonic text was more influential in later antiquity and the medieval period than his Timaeus. In this work the title character sets out an account of the fashioning of the cosmos by a divine craftsman or “demiurge,” with details given about the nature of the elements, the sensory properties of bodies, and human nature. Thus ancients saw the Timaeus as the key Platonic text for natural philosophy, a kind of pendant (or rival) to Aristotle’s Physics, and also as a source for his theology. In this seminar we will read selections from a range of ancient authors who engaged directly with the Timaeus, beginning with so-called “Middle” Platonists (Alcinous and Plutarch) before moving on to the Neoplatonists Plotinus, Syrianus, and Proclus. All texts will be made available in both English and ancient Greek.
  • Spezialvorlesung - Aristoteles' Biologie (Rapp)
    Gut ein Viertel des Aristotelischen Gesamtwerks ist Fragen der Biologie und Zoologie gewidmet. Aristoteles ist der erste, der Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede verschiedener biologischer Spezies systematisch erforscht und auf der Grundlage dieser Forschung eine Systematik der verschiedenen Gattungen und Arten (Taxonomie) entwirft. Grundlage der bei Aristoteles neu entstehenden Disziplin der Biologie ist eine erstaunlich umfangreiche und differenzierte Materialsammlung (vorgelegt in der Schrift Historia Animalium), die biologische Phänomene – z.T. auf Tiersektionen beruhend – auflistet. Besondere Beachtung erfahren die morphologischen und funktionalen Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede hinsichtlich der Organe, Extremitäten und Anatomie im Allgemeinen (De Partibus Animalium), Fragen der Zeugung, Fortpflanzung, Embryologie, Schwangerschaft, Geburt und Vererbung (De Generatione Animalium) sowie die Fort- und Selbstbewegung von Lebewesen (De Incessu Animalium, De Motu Animalium). Aristoteles‘ Naturforschung ist zugleich aufs Engste mit seiner Philosophie verknüpft – u.a. mit seiner wissenschaftlichen Methodologie (Analytica Posteriora), seiner Lehre von der Seele (De Anima) sowie von den Untersuchungen zu Phänomenen, die Körper und Seele gemeinsam zukommen, wie z.B. Altern, Schlafen, Träumen (Parva Naturalia). Die Vorlesung gibt einen Überblick zu den wichtigsten Themen der Aristotelischen Biologie und zeigt im Einzelnen den Zusammenhang zwischen biologischer Naturforschung und Aristotelischer Philosophie.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - al-Farabi’s On Unity (Adamson, Hansberger)
    Farabi, the most famous Aristotelian philosopher of the Islamic world prior to Avicenna, did not write any one work covering all the topics tackled in Aristotle’s Metaphysics. His ideas about metaphysics can however be gleaned from several different works, including a short treatise on the aims of the Metaphysics itself, and the treatise we will read in this seminar. Called On the One and on Unity (Fi l-wahda wa-l-wahid), it explains the different senses in which things can be called “one,” corresponding to a similar discussion in Aristotle. We will read the text in Arabic and translate into English, planning to get through not the entire text but at least the opening section.
  • Advanced Seminar and Essay-course. Aristotle and the Stoics on Emotions.
    The aim of our class is to understand how Aristotle, on the one hand, and the Stoics, on the other, conceive of phenomena such as anger, joy, fear, or sadness. We will take a look at the strikingly different accounts that are given of these phenomena (while Aristotle emphasizes that emotions are always accompanied by pleasure or pain, the Stoics take them to be false judgements and excessive impulses). And we will discuss how these accounts relate to the authors’ background assumptions in fields such as the theory of the human soul and its relation to the body, the philosophy of action, of moral responsibility, and of the virtues. In addition, we will consider the notorious ‘lists’ of emotions that we find in the works of both Aristotle and the Stoics. Finally, we will compare the Stoic ideal of the absence of emotions (apatheia) with Aristotle’s ideal of an appropriate emotional response. Do Aristotle and the Stoics mean something completely different when talking about the ‘pathē tēs psuchēs’ or do they offer different accounts of what is roughly the same kind of experience?
  • Advanced Seminar and Tutorium (Blockseminar) - Averroes’s Philosophical Theology and Its Graeco-Arabic Background (Di Giovanni)
    Averroes of Cordoba (d. 1198), known in the Latin West as “the Commentator” of Aristotle, set out a sophisticated theory of God and the cosmic intelligences. His analysis unfolds as a meticulous exegesis of Aristotle, paying equal attention to textual -- or philological -- and philosophical detail, and further interweaving this exegesis with a subtle analysis of previous doctrines from both Greek (late ancient) and Arabic (medieval Islamic) Peripateticism. The seminar is offered in 4-hour compact sessions of discussion over the cross-lingual and transcultural tradition that is encapsulated in Averroes’s Epitome of Metaphysics. It consists of close reading of and commentary upon his overall hermeneutics in the area of pre-modern philosophical theology. Background knowledge of Aristotle’s philosophy required, with particular regard to the texts Aristotle's Physics, books 7-8, and book 12 of the Metaphysics.

Winter semester 2017/18

  • Musaph Research Oberseminar (Adamson, Lattmann)
    Current research projects in ancient philosophy.
  • Doktorandenkolloquium (Adamson)
  • Advanced Seminar - Levels and Limits of Nature: Matter, Form, Life and Action in Aristotle (Anagnostopoulos)
    In this seminar, we will explore a series of questions about different levels of the natural world, and about the limits of the natural world and the study of nature. How does Aristotle account for the boundaries between living and non-living substances? How do living beings and their activities qualify as natural beings, whose functioning can be studied as part of natural science? How, and to what extent, is cognition a natural phenomenon subject to natural-scientific study? What is the bearing of human nature on our practical activity, e.g. as ethical agents? What distinguishes inanimate from living matter? We will begin with an examination of Aristotle’s conception of nature and the distinction between natural substances and artifacts, before turning to the application of natural-scientific frameworks to various special cases, especially kinds of life-processes, such as reproduction, nutrition, cognition, and action. We will orient ourselves through recent secondary literature on these topics (roughly one article per week). The course will be have two parts: a seminar in which new material is presented and discussed, and a discussion section, led by Marilu Papandreou, in which students discuss the issues at greater depth and/or, (only!) if there is interest, study the text in the original Greek, depending on the students. Knowledge of ancient Greek is therefore not a prerequisite, though it is always beneficial.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Akademische Skepsis (Brüllmann)
  • Vorlesung - Philosophie in der islamischen Welt (Adamson)
    Diese Vorlesung bietet einen Überblick zu der lang anhaltenden und oft unterschätzten philosophischen Tradition der islamischen Welt. Hauptfiguren der Tradition, z.B. al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali, Averroes, Maimonides, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi und Mulla Sadra, werden anhand ihrer Hauptwerke diskutiert, auch im Hinblick auf den Einfluss der antiken Philosophie und religiöser Quellen. Es wird dafür plädiert, das Thema breit zu konzipieren, indem man nicht nur muslimische Autoren, sondern auch jüdische und christlich-arabische Philosophen einschließt. Das Verhältnis zwischen aristotelischer Philosophie (falsafa) und rationeller Theologie (kalam) wird auch thematisiert. Philosophische Themen, die besonders im Mittelpunkt stehen, sind Ethik, Ewigkeit des Universums, Intellekttheorie und göttliche Attribute.
  • Advanced Seminar - An Arabic Philosophical Correspondence: the Questions and Answers of Miskawayh and al-Tawhidi (Adamson)
    This seminar will be devoted to an exchange of questions and answers between two major authors of the tenth century AD: Miskawayh and al-Tawhidi. In the Hawamil wa-l-Shawamil (literally, Stray Cattle and Secure Enclosures), Tawhidi poses many philosophical queries which are then answered by Miskawayh – and often, the questions are as interesting as the answers. We will read selections from this work, alongside draft translations by Sophia Vasalou, who will visit the seminar to introduce the work.
  • Adavnced Seminar - The Philosophy of Aquinas: A Reading of On Being an Essence (Di Giovanni)
    Thomas Aquinas’s On Being and Essence (De ente et essentia) constitutes one of the most accomplished attempts in the history of Western thought to harmonize ancient metaphysics with the creationist dogma of the Abrahamitic traditions. In this treatise the Dominican master sets the foundation for his acclaimed theory of God as “Subsistent Being Itself” (Ipsum Esse Subsistens). Along the way, he engages in meaningful dialogue with major representatives of Islamic philosophy, true to his principle that wisdom is to be sought wherever it can be found, with no regard for confessional affiliations. The seminar aims at equipping students of Aquinas with a clear understanding of major lineaments of his metaphysical thought through close reading of On Being and Essence and against the background of other work in rational theology and natural philosophy
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - al-Ghazālī, „Die Inkohärenz der Philosophen“ (Tahāfut al-falāsifa) (Hansberger)
    In seiner Schrift „Die Inkohärenz der Philosophen“ widmet sich der große muslimische Theologe Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (gest. 1111 n. Chr.) einigen in seinen Augen irrtümlichen Lehren „der Philosophen“ (womit hauptsächlich Ibn Sīnā/Avicenna, gest. 1037 n. Chr., gemeint ist). Dabei geht es um Themen wie die Ewigkeit vs. Erschaffenheit der Welt, die Attribute Gottes, die Zweckhaftigkeit der Himmelsbewegung, die Möglichkeit einer leiblichen Auferstehung oder auch die Existenz eines Kausalzusammenhanges in der Natur. Al-Ghazālī unterzieht diese Lehren einer scharfen Kritik, wobei er sich selbst auch philosophischer Methoden bedient. Mit seiner Kritik geht es ihm nicht darum, philosophisches Denken als solches zurückzuweisen (wie es ihm oft angelastet wird), sondern darum, die Grenzen der philosophischen Erkenntnis genau auszuloten und darzulegen, von welchem Punkt an das Vertrauen in ihre Methoden in die Irre führen muss.
    Im Seminar wollen wir einerseits einen Überblick über das gesamte Werk gewinnen und uns andererseits mit einigen der von al-Ghazālī diskutierten Themen im Detail auseinandersetzen, wobei wir sowohl die philosophischen Ausgangsthesen als auch al-Ghazālīs Kritik sowie seine eigenen Positionen einer genauen Analyse und Diskussion unterziehen werden. Das Seminar wird somit einen Einblick in grundlegende Themen der mittelalterlichen islamischen Philosophie geben, nebenbei aber auch in Grundpositionen der klassischen islamischen Theologie einführen und das Spannungsfeld zwischen Philosophie und Theologie beleuchten, in dem metaphysische und naturphilosophische Fragen in der islamischen Welt diskutiert wurden.
  • Übung - Philosophisches Arabisch: al-Ghazālī, „Tahāfut al-falāsifa“ (Hansberger)
    Auszüge aus al-Ghazālīs Schrift „Die Inkohärenz der Philosophen“ („Tahāfut al-falāsifa“) werden im arabischen Original gelesen. Die Übung ist nicht nur für Teilnehmer des Fortgeschrittenenseminars „Al-Ghazālī, Die Inkohärenz der Philosophen“ gedacht, sondern steht allen Interessenten offen, die sich im Lesen arabischer philosophischer Texte üben wollen.

Summer semester 2017

  • Oberseminar - Aristotle, Eudemian Ethics I.8 - II.11 (Rapp, Primavesi)
  • Chapters I.8 to II.11 of the Eudemian Ethics can be read as a continuous inquiry into the notions of the good and eudaimonia (happy life) and into virtue of character. They thus provide the philosophical core of Aristotle's presumably early work on moral philosophy, the Eudemian Ethics. Unfolding the concept of virtue of character Aristotle introduces the famous doctrine that all virtue is a mean; also, since virtue is thought to be a choice/decision involving state, Aristotle discusses voluntariness, involuntariness, accountabilty, wish/intention and choice. Drawing on a new working edition of the Greek text, we will discuss the treatise chapter by chapter. The seminar will be held in English
  • Oberseminar - Ancient Philosophy: Research Seminar (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp
    Current research projects in ancient philosophy. Command of English and Ancient Greek.
  • Kolloquium - Kolloquium für Habilitanden, Doktoranden, Magistranden, Masterstudenten (Rapp)
    Vorstellung und Diskussion von Projekten der Teilnehmer. Die Diskussionen erfolgen sowohl in deutscher als auch in englischer Sprache. Presentation and discussion of the participants' current projects. The Discussions will be held either in German or in English.
  • Advanced Seminar - Aristotle On Generation and Corruption (Anagnostopoulos)
    In this course, held in English, we will read Aristotle's work On Generation and Corruption. This work deals primarily with the nature and behavior of the four "elements", the basic substances of the Aristotelian universe. Topics addressed include the distinction between generation and alteration, the eternity of generation and elemental change, the "matter" of the elements, the nature of mixture and affection. Some persistent controversies in scholarship on Aristotle which might be illuminated by this text include the debate about whether Aristotle endorsed a conception of prime matter, and if so, what this is, and how the elements fit in to Aristotle's teleological perspective. Throughout the course we will orient ourselves by reading recent secondary literature (roughly one article per week), which will be made available.
  • Advanced Seminar - Sextus Empiricus Outlines of Pyrrhonism (Adamson)
    This seminar will be devoted to a key text of ancient Skepticism, the Outlines of Pyrrhonism. In this work Sextus, a doctor from the Empiricist school, explains the arguments by which the ancient skeptic seeks to induce “suspension of belief.” In addition to considering these arguments in detail, we will discuss the overall nature and aim of Pyrrhonic Skepticism, including the question of whether it aims to undermine all beliefs or only the technical sorts of belief advanced by rival philosophers. Texts will be read in Greek alongside the published English translation of Sextus will be made available. Participants will take it in turn to present the passages.
  • Advanced Seminar - Philosophy and Islamic Theology: al-Ashari (Adamson)
    This seminar will be devoted to the most important single source for our knowledge of early Islamic theology, or kalam: the Maqalat of al-Ashari. In this sprawling work, the founder of the Asharite theological tradition explains the views of previous theologians. Along the way, many issues of philosophical interest are raised, having to do with physics (the atomic theory), logic and epistemology (attributes as related to their bearers, the nature of knowledge), and metaphysics (the free will debate). We will look selections from this work, alongside draft translations by David Bennett, who will visit the seminar to introduce the work. Participation in the seminar presupposes some knowledge of Arabic.
  • Advanced Seminar - Anatomies of Rationality: Aristotle, Averroes, and Aquinas on the Unity of the Human Intellect (Di Giovanni)
    Thomas Aquinas’s tract on the uniqueness of the intellect (De unitate intellectus contra Averroistas) marked a turning point in the history of Western civilization. With unprecedented alarm it denounced the breakdown that occurred, towards the end of the thirteenth century, in the ideal of a basic harmony between secular and religious teaching as pursued in Scholasticism. Christian religion taught that human souls are immortal and destined for an afterlife of reward or punishment. The evidence of rational investigation contradicted the thesis of personal immortality. The seminar focuses on this historic debate through a close scrutiny of Aquinas’s work and his defense of the immortality thesis. Concurrently it illuminates the philosophical background constituted by Aristotle’s psychology and its interpretation in the Islamic tradition, particularly the philosophy of Averroes.
  • Reading Group - Averroes’s Decisive Treatise (Faṣl al-Maqāl) (Di Giovanni)
    Course Description: By way of a complement to the seminar “Reason in Islam: Introduction to Islamic Theology and Philosophy”, the course features intensive reading of a classic of Islamic thought in the original text: the Decisive Treatise on the Harmony of Religion and Philosophy (Faṣl al-maqāl fī-mā bayna l-šarīʿa wa-l-falsafa min al-ittiṣāl) by Averroes of Cordoba (d. 1198). The text is a legal opinion establishing the legitimacy of philosophical investigation on Islamic principles. In fact, it even mandates the study of philosophy for all capable Muslims, presenting rational investigation as a distinct religious duty. In this sense the Treatise lays the foundations of an enlightened approach to religion of the kind that is advocated in the context of modern Islamic reformism. The texture of Averroes’s argument will be extracted from a close reading of the original text, attentive to its linguistic construction, and requiring weekly preparation from students with proficiency in Classical Arabic.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Platons späte politische Philosophie (Timaios, Kritias, Politikos) (Geiger)
    Wir werden uns in diesem Seminar mit einigen zentralen Texten und Themen von Platons später politischer Philosophie (also nach der Politeia) beschäftigen. Im Einzelnen geht es dabei um den Beginn des Timaios (Ti. 17a-27b), die Fragment gebliebene Atlantis-Erzählung im Kritias und schließlich um den Politikos. Im Rahmengespräch des Timaios erfahren wir, dass man sich am Vortag über die besten Verfassung unterhalten hat. Dabei hatte Sokrates Thesen formuliert, wie wir sie aus der Politeia kennen, v.a. aus den Büchern II-V. Interessanterweise scheint Sokrates diese Thesen weiterhin zu vertreten, aber er äußert nun den Eindruck, dass das darin sichtbare Modell einer besten Verfassung zu statisch sei und dass es sinnvoll wäre, den so konzipierten Staat in Aktion zu sehen. Etwas von der Art darzustellen, sieht Sokrates als außerordentlich schwierig an, aber genau das ist das Projekt, das die anwesenden Gesprächsteilnehmer zu Beginn des Timaios und dann im Kritias verfolgen. Wie dieses Projekt einer erweiterten politischen Theorie im Ganzen aussehen würde, wissen wir leider nicht, da der Kritias mitten im Satz abbricht, aber wir wollen versuchen, die Version, die uns vorliegt, so genau wie möglich zu beschreiben. Der Entwurf politischer Theorie, der uns im Politikos vorliegt, scheint diesen Weg nicht weitergehen zu wollen und von ganz anderer Natur zu sein. Diesen äußerst komplexen Neuentwurf nachzuvollziehen und in seinem Verhältnis zum Timaios-Kritias und zur Politeia zu bestimmen, wird uns in mindestens der Hälfte der Seminarsitzungen beschäftigen.

Winter semester 2016/17

  • Oberseminar - Ancient Philosophy: Research Seminar (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp)
    Current research projects in ancient philosophy.
  • Oberseminar - Aristotle's Metaphysics: The Middle Books (Part 3) (Primavesi, Rapp)
    In this seminar we read and discuss Aristotle's Metaphysics starting from book VII (Z). After we have read books VII-VIII in the previous semesters, we will now proceed to book IX (Theta).
    Command of English and Ancient Greek. Familiarity with the basics of Aristotelian philosophy.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Aristoteles Kategorienschrift (Rapp)
    Aristoteles’ "Kategorienschrift" ist einer der meist kommentierten Texte der Philosophiegeschichte. Für viele Jahrhunderte wurde er sogar als Einführung in die Philosophie benutzt. In dieser kurzen Schrift werden zunächst die Begriffe Substanz, Substrat, Akzidenz eingeführt. Dann wird die These aufgestellt, dass alles Seiende in eine von zehn Kategorien falle. Diese Kategorien werden dann einzeln vorgestellt und diskutiert. Im letzten Teil der Schrift (den "Postprädikamenten" = Kap. 10-15) werden dann vermischte Themen, wie die verschiedenen Gegensätze, Priorität, Gleichzeitigkeit und Bewegung abgehandelt. Mit dieser Thematik bewegt sich die Schrift im Schnittfeld zwischen Ontologie, Sprachphilosophie/Semantik und Logik. Aristoteles selbst macht von seiner Kategorienlehre an vielen Stellen seines Werks Gebrauch, u.a. um auf den Umstand aufmerksam zu machen, dass "seiend" ein Begriff ist, der in den verschiedenen Kategorien je Unterschiedliches meint, und dass Begriffe, wenn sie Entitäten in unterschiedlichen Kategorien bezeichnen, nicht dasselbe bedeuten können. Im Seminar wird ein griechisch-deutscher Text zur Verfügung gestellt. Von der Anschaffung der günstigen, aber völlig unbrauchbaren Reclam-Ausgabe des Textes kann abgesehen werden. Kenntnisse des Alt-Griechischen sind hilfreich, aber nicht erforderlich.
  • Kolloquium für Habilitanden, Doktoranden, Magistranden, Masterstudenten (Rapp)
    Vorstellung und Diskussion von Projekten der Teilnehmer. Die Diskussionen erfolgen sowohl in deutscher als auch in englischer Sprache. Presentation and discussion of the participants' current projects. The discussions will be held either in German or in English.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Averroes on Islamic Theology (Adamson)
    This seminar will be devoted to a short but important work in which Averroes assesses the Islamic theological tradition, entitled Exposition of Methods of Proof Concerning Religious Principles (al-Kashf ʿan Manāhij-l-adilla fī ʿaqāʾid-l-Milla). Passages from the work will be read from the original Arabic; discussion will be held in English.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Plato’s Phaedo and its Late Ancient Reception (Adamson)
    This seminar will be devoted to one of Plato’s most famous dialogues, the Phaedo, in which Socrates spends his final moments discoursing with friends on the immortality of the soul. Two late ancient commentaries on this dialogue are preserved, by Olympiodorus and Damascius. This seminar will be devoted to the late ancient reception of the Phaedo, and will in alternating weeks read selected passages from Plato’s text, followed by readings from the late ancient commentaries on the Platonic source. Texts will be read in Greek, but English translations of both Plato and the commentaries will be made available. Participants will take it in turn to present the passages.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - The Problem of God’s Knowledge in Pagan, Islamic, and Christian Theologies (Di Giovanni)
    God’s knowledge posed a fraught question. The results of rational investigation show that God as the most perfect being must know the most perfect object, which is God Himself in contradistinction to the lower world. At the same time, rational theologies and Abrahamic religions teach that God exerts providential care over mundane things and must, therefore, have some knowledge of wordly matters. The course explores major lineaments of the problematique and solutions elaborated within the three milieus of Greek, Arabic, and Latin scholasticisms. Readings and discussion will range over a selection of representative authors including Aristotle, Themistius, Avicenna, al-Ghazālī, Averroes, and Thomas Aquinas. Close analysis and philosophical discussion of the sources with emphasis on tracing the developments of the debate across the various cultural and linguistic contexts of philosophical theology.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Miskawayh’s Ethik (Hansberger)
    Abū ʿAlī Miskawayhs Schrift „Tahḏīb al-Aḫlāq“ („Die Läuterung des Charakters“) ist eines der bedeutendsten Werke zur Ethik innerhalb der mittelalterlichen islamisch-arabischen Philosophie. Miskawayh (~932-1030 n. Chr.), Philosoph, Historiker und Literat, ist ein Repräsentant der höfischen Bildungselite seiner Zeit, der seine Vorliebe für die griechisch geprägte Philosophie mit einem breiten Interesse an anderen Wissenschaften und literarischen Künsten verbindet. In der „Läuterung des Charakters“ geht er der Frage nach, „wie wir uns eine charakterliche Disposition aneignen können, die solcherart ist, dass alle Taten, die aus ihr fließen, gut sind und zudem mit Leichtigkeit ausgeführt werden können“. Dazu, so Miskawayh, müsse man zunächst die Seele und ihre Vermögen verstehen. So geht es in seiner Schrift nicht nur um Themen wie das menschliche Glück, die Tugenden und ihren Erwerb, sondern auch um Prinzipien der Seelenlehre und die „Gesundheit der Seele“. Bei der Behandlung dieser Themen greift Miskawayh auf seine umfangreichen Kenntnisse seiner griechischen und arabischen Vorgänger zurück. Seine Ethik baut vornehmlich auf aristotelisches und (neu-)platonisches Gedankengut auf; er bindet in seine Synthese aber auch vielfältige andere Elemente ein. Im Seminar werden wir „Die Läuterung des Charakters“ (in engl. Übersetzung) in Auszügen lesen, analysieren und diskutieren, wobei hin und wieder auch andere Texte Miskawayhs hinzugezogen werden sollen. Ziel ist, diesen Text in seinem philosophiehistorischen Kontext kennenzulernen und zu verstehen, wie Miskawayh aus der (spät)antiken griechischen Philosophie überlieferte Ideen für seine eigene Zeit und Gesellschaft bearbeitet, ergänzt und fruchtbar macht.
  • Übung zu "Miskawayh’s Ethik" (= philosophisches Arabisch) (Hansberger)
    Miskawayhs Schrift Tahdhīb al-Akhlāq wird auszugsweise im arabischen Original gelesen. Die Übung ist nicht nur für Teilnehmer des Fortgeschrittenenseminars „Miskawayhs Ethik" gedacht, sondern steht allen Interessenten offen, die sich im Lesen arabischer philosophischer Texte üben wollen.
  • Vorlesung - Nikomachische Ethik (Brüllmann)
    Die Nikomachische Ethik des Aristoteles ist eine der interessantesten, einflussreichsten und meistdiskutierten Schriften zur praktischen Philosophie. In der Vorlesung werden wir uns erstens einen Überblick über dieses Werk verschaffen, wobei uns u.a. die folgenden Themen begegnen werden: das gute Leben, die menschliche Seele, die Tugenden des Charakters und des Verstandes, Gerechtigkeit, Freiwilligkeit und Verantwortung, Unbeherrschtheit, Lust, Freundschaft, Erziehung und Politik. Zweitens werden wir versuchen, die Nikomachische Ethik in ihren Kontext, d.h. in den Kontext der antiken Ethik und der Aristotelischen Philosophie einzuordenen. Drittens werden wir die wichtigsten Interpretationsprobleme und Debatten zu dieser Schrift kennenlernen. (Und wenn noch Zeit ist, werden wir uns viertens einige Gedanken dazu machen, wie sich die ethische Theorie des Aristoteles zu anderen Ansätzen der normativen Ethik verhält.)
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar und Übung - Antike Handlungstheorie (Brüllmann, Pfeiffer)
    Auch wenn Handlungen kein eigenständiges Thema der antiken Philosophie darstellen, äußern sich antike Autoren in unterschiedlichen Kontexten zu Fragen, die wir heute der Handlungstheorie zuordnen würden. Dazu gehören: 1. Wie verhalten sich Wissen und Handeln zueinander? 2. Wie lassen sich motivationale Konflikte erklären? 3. Wie lassen sich Handlungen innerhalb eines naturphilosophischen Rahmens (einer allgemeinen Theorie der Bewegung) beschreiben? 4. Unter welchen Umständen können Handlungen als Ausdruck von Charaktereigenschaften gelten? 5. Wie passen (freie) Handlungen in ein deterministisches Weltbild?
    Wir wollen diese und weitere Fragen mit Blick auf ausgewählte Philosophen (Sokrates, Platon, Aristoteles, Stoiker) diskutieren. Im Zentrum wird dabei die genaue und gemeinsame Textlektüre stehen. Darüber hinaus sollen aber auch klassische Aufsätze besprochen werden.

Summer semester 2016

  • Oberseminar - Ancient Philosophy: Research Seminar (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp)
    Current research projects in ancient philosophy.
  • Oberseminar - Aristotle's Metaphysics: The Middle Books (Part II) (Primavesi, Rapp)
    We will read and discuss Aristotle's Metaphysics starting from book VII, 13 (Z) on. This class continues a series of seminars held on Aristotle's Metaphysics. However, it is possible to join the seminar at the beginning of each semester.
  • Übung zum Oberseminar "Aristotle's Metaphysics: The Middle Books (Part II)" (Pfeiffer)
  • Vorlesung - Frauen in der antiken und mittelalterlichen Philosophie (Adamson)
    Der Beitrag der Frauen zu der Geschichte der Philosophie wird oft unterschätzt, insbesondere in der Vormoderne. Viele würden sich schwer tun, überhaupt eine weibliche Philosophin aus der Antike oder Mittelalter zu nennen. In dieser Vorlesung werden die Ideen von diesen Philosophinnen untersucht. Aus der Antike werden z.B. Frauen im Pythagoreanismus und die Neuplatonikerin Hypatia diskutiert, und auch die Rolle der Frauen in der frühen indischen Philosophie (u.a. die Darstellung der Frauen in den Upanisaden). In solchen Fällen soll auch erörtert werden, inwiefern die relevanten Quellen wirklich von philosophierenden Frauen berichten oder ob wir es eher mit pseudonymischen Werken von Männern zu tun haben. Im Mittelalter ist es weniger umstritten, dass zahlreiche Denkerinnen tätig waren, z.B. Hildegard von Bingen, Mechthilde von Magdeburg und Katharina von Siena. Neben einer Besprechung des Beitrags von Denkerinnen, sollen auch philosophische Ideen männlicher Denker über Frauen diskutiert werden, u.a. bei Platon, Aristoteles und Thomas von Aquin
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Philosophy and its Methods in Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (Adamson)
    Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d.1210) is one of the most influential and sophisticated philosophers of the post-Avicennan age in the Islamic world. He wrote not only commentaries on Avicenna but also one of the greatest of all commentaries on the Quran, and a series of comprehensive theological and philosophical treatises whose detailed argumentation seems to apply the dialectical methods of Islamic theology (kalam) to a wide range of philosophical problems. This seminar, which will benefit from the presence of visiting scholar Frank Griffel, will examine Fakhr al-Din’s approach to philosophy through a close examination of passages from his works. These passages will be read in the original Arabic; the seminar will be held in English.
  • Advanced Seminar - Plotinus on Time and Eternity (Adamson)
    This seminar will be devoted to a close reading (in Greek) of Plotinus, Enneads 3.7 [45], On Time and Eternity. Discussion will include comparison of Plotinus’ views to other ancient texts on time and eternity, notably Plato’s Timaeus and Aristotle’s Physics book 4. Participants will take it in turn to translate passages (approximately one chapter of the treatise per week).
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Alexander von Aphrodisias: De fato (Brüllmann)
    Die Frage, ob und wie uns in einer kausal determinierten Welt Verantwortung für unser Handeln zugesprochen werden kann, gehört zu den wichtigsten, interessantesten und ältesten Themen der Philosophie. Die Schrift De fato des Aristoteles-Kommentators Alexander von Aphrodisias (um 200 n.Chr.) bietet die wohl umfassendste Auseinandersetzung mit diesem Thema, die uns aus der Antike überliefert ist. In dieser Schrift argumentiert Alexander aus aristotelischer Perspektive gegen den Determinismus und Kompatibilismus der Stoa. In unserem Seminar werden wir den nicht immer einfachen Text von De fato gründlich lesen und diskutieren. Außerdem werden wir versuchen, die Stoische Position (für die De fato eine wichtige Quelle darstellt) zu rekonstruieren und den aristotelischen Anleihen in Alexanders Argument nachzugehen. Nicht zuletzt wollen wir De fato zu den modernen Debatten um Freiheit und Determinismus in Beziehung setzen.
  • Advanced Seminar - Gems of “Eastern Wisdom”: The Conquest of Knowledge in Ibn Ṭufayl’s Alive, Son of the Awake (Di Giovanni)
    The Spanish philosopher Muḥammad Ibn Ṭufayl (Abubacer, d. 1185) promises to disclose “the secrets of the Eastern wisdom” by firing up its seekers with “a brief glimpse of the road that lies ahead.” What he provides is a brilliant, superbly crafted tale recounting the story of a self-taught philosopher by the suggestive name of “Alive, Son the Awake” who, by the sole use of natural reason, arrives at the loftiest truths about the world, the self, and God. Alive, Son the Awake constitutes a pocket exposition of all of Graeco-Arabic philosophy, clothed in an exquisite virtuoso piece of artistic writing that is addressed to the general public as much as professional philosophers and literati. At the same time, the novel draws a rich tapestry of Islamic culture and society at the crucial space/time coordinates of its encounter with the West. The course addresses the various layers that constitute the story of Alive through reading and analysis, situating the work and problematique in its historical and philosophical context.
  • Vorlesung - 2400 Jahre Aristoteles (Primavesi, Rapp)
    Aristoteles wurde nach antiken Quellen im Jahr 384 v.Chr. geboren, so dass sich im Jahr 2016 n.Chr. sein Geburtstag zum 2.400sten Mal jähren müsste (denn: 384 + 2.016 = 2.400). Aus diesem Anlass finden in diesem Jahr überall auf der Welt Jubiläumskonferenzen statt. Unser Beitrag zu diesen Aktivitäten ist eine Überblicksvorlesung zu Aristoteles, die den Philosophen zugleich aus Sicht der Philosophie und der Klassischen Philologie beleuchten soll. Das bedeutet, dass neben den philosophischen Grundthemen der Aristotelischen Philosophie (Ethik, Politische Theorie, Logik, Argumentationstheorie, Wissenschaftstheorie, Theorie der Seele, Metaphysik, Handlungstheorie, Anthropologie) auch die Quellen zum Leben des Aristoteles, die Zusammensetzung seines (nur zum Teil erhaltenen) Werks, die Überlieferung seiner Schriften, usw. behandelt werden sollen.
  • Kolloquium für Habilitanden, Doktoranden, Magistranden, Masterstudenten
    Vorstellung und Diskussion von Projekten der Teilnehmer. Die Diskussionen erfolgen sowohl in deutscher als auch in englischer Sprache. Presentation and discussion of the participants' current projects. The Discussions will be held either in German or in English.

Winter semester 2015/16

  • Oberseminar - Ancient Philosophy Research Seminar (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp)
    Current research projects in ancient philosophy. Command of English and Ancient Greek required.
  • Oberseminar Aristotle's Metaphysics: The Middle Books (Part I) (Primavesi, Rapp)
    We will read and discuss Aristotle's Metaphysics starting from book VII (Z) Command of English and Ancient Greek required.
  • Discussion Section for the Oberseminar "Aristotle's Metaphysics: The Middle Books (Part I)" (Pfeiffer)
  • Advanced Seminar - Proclus' Elements of Theology" (Adamson)
    A key work of later Neoplatonism, the "Elements of Theology (Stoicheiōsis theologikē)" by Proclus offers a construction of Platonist metaphysics using an axiomatic Euclidean mathematical structure. In this seminar, we will read selections of this work in the original Greek, discussing Proclus' argumentation and the relation of the "Elements" to earlier versions of Platonism in antiquity.
  • Advanced Seminar - The "Harmony of the Two Philosophers" ascribed to al-Farabi (Adamson)
    One of the most familiar and influential ideas of late antiquity wasthat Plato and Aristotle agreed in all the fundamentals of their philosophy. This idea (called "perfectly crazy," but fruitful, by Richard Sorabji) lived on in the Arabic-speaking world, and was explicitly defended in a work called "Harmony of the Two Sages." This is ascribed to al-Farabi, though doubts have been raised about its authenticity in recent literature. In this seminar we will read selections of the text in the original Arabic and discuss the philosophical viewpoint taken by the author; ideally, it will also be decided by the end of the seminar whether Farabi is in fact the author.
  • Advanced Seminar and Discussion Section - Ancient Moral Psychology (Anagnostopoulos, Noble)
    How does a conception of the good figure in moral deliberation and action. What kinds of desires play a role in them and how do they do so? Can these desires conflict with one another in the moral agent? In what sense can we be motivated by reason to act morally? What is distinctive about moral deliberation in comparison with other kinds of thinking? Do we ever act contrary to our beliefs, and if so, what explains this fact? What conclusions can we draw about the structure of the mind on the basis on moral decision making? In this course we will examine ancient philosophers’ answers to these and other questions about the relationship between human psychology and ethical behavior and understanding. We will engage in a close reading of ancient texts in translation together with discussion of selected scholarly literature - roughly one article each week. The course will focus on the theories of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Some previous coursework in ancient philosophy is recommended. All readings and discussion will be conducted in English. Knowledge of ancient Greek is not required.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Al-Fārābīs Lehre vom Intellekt (Hansberger)
    In der Philosophie des Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī (ca. 870-950 n. Chr.) kommt dem Begriff des „Intellekts“ in mehrfacher Hinsicht zentrale Bedeutung zu. Nicht nur ist er das Vermögen, das den Menschen im Besonderen auszeichnet, da er ihn als einziges Lebewesen zum Denken befähigt; auch das oberste Seinsprinzip, „das Erste“, ist selbst Intellekt und steht an der Spitze einer Reihe von himmlischen Intellekten, die die Grundstruktur der kosmischen Ordnung bilden.In seiner Schrift „Über den Intellekt“, der als primäre Textgrundlage des Seminars dienen wird, geht al-Fārābī der Frage nach, auf welche unterschiedlichen Arten das Wort „Intellekt“ gebraucht wird. Der allgemeine Sprachgebrauch wird dabei ebenso einer Betrachtung unterzogen wie derjenige der zeitgenössischen muslimischen Theologen. Vor allem aber bezieht sich al-Fārābī auf die Intellektlehre des Aristoteles. Er greift die Diskussion auf, die sich an dessen kryptischen Aussagen über den „aktiven Intellekt“ („De Anima“ III.5) entzündet hatte, und entwickelt im Rahmen einer Interpretation des Aristoteles seine eigenen Gedanken zur Intellektlehre.
  • Vorlesung - Aristoteles' Rhetorik (Rapp)
    Aristoteles' Werk "Rhetorik" bietet die erste systematische Argumentationstheorie und stellt dabei wichtige Verknüpfungen mit Teilen seiner Philosophie hier. Die wichtigste Idee ist die, dass Rhetorik auf Dialektik - der philosophischen Methode zur Prüfung von Thesen jeglicher Art - beruht. Außerdem enthält die Rhetorik die erste systematische Entwicklung einer Theorie der Emotionen. Schließich ist die Rhetorik auch als Quelle für die praktischen Philosophie (Ethik, Politik, Moral Psychology) des Aristoteles bedeutsam.
  • Discussion Section - Questions & Answers on Aristotle's Rhetoric (Rapp)
    Questions and answers on the content of my lecture "Aristoteles, Rhetorik" in English.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Aristoteles Politik (Rapp)
    Aristoteles’ Schrift Politik gilt als einer der Grundtexte der politischen Philosophie und der politischen Theorie. Wichtige Strömungen der politischen Philosophie im 20. Jahrhundert versuchen explizit, an Aristoteles’ Schrift anzuknüpfen. Oft wird an Aristoteles’ politischem Denken hervorgehoben, dass es – anders als viele moderne Ansätze – unmittelbar an das Ziel der Ethik, nämlich der Bestimmung des glücklichen Lebens, anknüpft und dieses auf die politische Ebene überträgt. Bei näherer Betrachtung zeigt sich allerdings, dass die Aristotelische Schrift eine durchaus komplexe Theorie, bestehend aus mehreren eigenständigen Ansätzen, enthält. Im Seminar soll diesen Ansätzen im Einzelnen nachgegangen werden: Herrschafts- und Gemeinschaftsformen, Erwerbskunde, Verfassungslehre und -kritik, politische Tugenden, Gerechtigkeit in der Polis, Aufbau, Erhalt und Zerstörung unterschiedlicher Staatsformen, Idealstaatsentwurf und Erziehung.
  • Kolloquium - Doktorandenkolloquium (Rapp)

Summer semester 2015

  • Oberseminar - Aristotle, Metaphysics Lambda (Book XII) (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp)
    We will read and discuss Aristotle's "Metaphysics Lambda" (i.e. Book XII of the "Metaphysics"). This treatise is dedicated to an inquiry into ousia (substance). In its first five chapters Aristotle attempts to give an account of the principles of alterable and sensible substance. From chapter six onwards he turns to a more controversial type of substance, which is required to be without any alteration or motion. In the course of the following chapters this immovable type of substance is identified with the first unmoved mover which again is argued to be the first principle of everything. In a way, then, the treatment of the first unmoved mover concludes the overall project of Aristotle’s entire "Metaphysics", which he himself characterized as an inquiry into the first causes and principles. It also represents (essential parts of) Aristotle’s philosophical theology and provides important insights into his astronomy. The seminar will be held in English; knowledge of Ancient Greek is required
  • Oberseminar - Alexander of Aphrodisias' Metaphysics Commentary in Averroes (Adamson, Di Giovanni, Primavesi)
    This seminar, which continues from two previous semesters of work, concentrates on the fragments of Alexander of Aphrodisias' otherwise lost commentary on Book Lambda of the Metaphysics, which are preserved in Arabic in the Metaphysics commentary of Averroes. Each fragment is discussed with reference to the underlying Aristotelian passage and Averroes' response to Alexander, with attention given to both philological and philosophical aspects of the material. Arabic competence is not required for participation in the seminar; discussion is held in English
  • Doktorandenkolloquium (Rapp)
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Aristotelian Emotions (Rapp)
    Nowadays the theory of emotions and of related moral-psychological phenomena became one of the most flourishing fields of philosophy. One of the milestones within the development of this new branch of philosophy was the discovery of ‘cognitive’ accounts of emotions, i.e. the ideas that emotions are crucially connected with cognitive efforts, such as opinions, judgments, memory, anticipation, and that emotions themselves can be seen as expressing evaluative judgments. In philosophy, such ideas derive, to a considerable extent, from the interpretation of Aristotle; for Aristotle seems to be the first who systematically laid bare the connections between our attitudes towards certain objects and the individuation of various types of emotions. In the seminar we will read and discuss selected passages from Aristotle’s De Anima, Rhetoric, Nicomachean Ethics and Poetics.
  • Vorlesung: Aristoteles, Poetik (Primavesi)
    7In der Vorlesung werden die wichtigsten Kapitel der Poetik interpretiert. Komplementär zum Verständnis des Textes ist das Hauptseminar zu verstehen.
  • Hauptseminar: Textkritische Übung zu Aristoteles, Poetik (Primavesi)
    Do. 14:00 bis 16:00 c.t. woch 16.04.2015 bis 16.07.2015 Leopoldstr. 11A + B - 433
    Dieses Hauptseminar versteht sich als textkritische Komplementärveranstaltung zur Aristoteles-Vorlesung. Nach einer Einführung in die methodischen Grundlagen der Textkritik wollen wir uns anhand ausgewählter Einzelstellen ein Urteil über zwei kritische Textausgaben der Poetik bilden, nämlich die Edition von R. Kassel aus dem Jahre 1965 und die Edition von L. Tarán und D. Gutas aus dem Jahre 2012. Anmerkung: Griechischkenntnisse im Umfang des Graecum werden für diesen Kurs vorausgesetzt.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Aristotle on Nature and Causes: Physics II in the original Greek. (Anagnostopoulos)
    In this seminar, held primarily in English (presentations and contributions in German are welcome) we will focus primarily on the Greek text of Aristotle's Physics, book II. The central topics include: the definition of nature (phusis), the status of form and matter as natural principles, the fourfold division of causes, luck and the accidental, and natural teleology. In addition to the Greek text, we will occasionally have a look at some recent secondary literature. Students should be prepared to offer one presentation (either on the translation of the Greek text or on a piece of secondary literature).
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Boethius' Theological Tractates (Adamson)
    Boethius is well known as the author of the "Consolation of Philosophy," but he also wrote several theological treatises, which became highly influential in the middle ages. In these treatises he applies the tools of Aristotelian logic and metaphysics to the question of God's nature and His relation to the universe. We will read the two most influential treatises, De Hebdomadibus and On the Trinity, both of which were for instance commented upon by Thomas Aquinas. The texts will be read in Latin but an English translation will also be made available. Text and translation: Boethius, Theological Tractates and Consolation of Philosophy, trans. H.F. Stewart E.K. Rand, and S.J. Tester (London: 1973).
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Suhrawardi (Adamson)
    In this seminar we will read a work by Suhrawardi, the founder of the Ishraqi ("Illuminationist") tradition of philosophy in the Islamic world, concentrating on the transition from his earlier "Peripatetic" philosophy to the Ishraqi system. We will read the original Arabic text and discuss its linguistic and philosophical features. Text: Suhrawardī, al-Muqāwamāt, in H. Corbin, Oeuvres philosophiques et mystiques, 3 vols (Tehran: 1876-77), vol.1, 123-92.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - The Islamic Afterlife of Aristotle’s Metaphysics (Di Giovanni)
    The course features some of the most representative documents on the Metaphysics written in Arabic: commentaries, paraphrases, epitomes, and other elaborations based on the work of Aristotle. Through a selection of pertinent readings a thematic path will be traced into fundamental questions debated by Islamic thinkers in reference to the Aristotelian text, such as the nature and method of metaphysics, the kinds and numbers of metaphysical principles, the finiteness of causal chains. Selected authors include Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb al-Kindī (d. after 870), Abū ʿAlī ibn Sīnā (d. 1037), and ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baġdādī (d. 1231). All texts will be read in the original language and subjected to textual and linguistic analysis alongside philosophical discussion and doctrinal evaluation. Knowledge of Classical Arabic at an intermediate level, or higher, is required.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar und Essaykurs - Erinnerung, Vorstellungskraft und Traum bei Avicenna und in der griechisch-arabischen Überlieferung (Hansberger)
    Warum bleiben uns Dinge, die wir wahrgenommen haben, im Gedächtnis, so dass wir sie uns in Erinnerung rufen können? Warum können wir uns andererseits auch Dinge vorstellen, die wir noch nie gesehen haben oder die es gar nicht gibt? Und was passiert, wenn wir träumen — wobei ja ähnliche Vorgänge abzulaufen scheinen, jedoch ohne dass wir sie bewusst steuern können? Wie und wodurch werden all diese geistigen Funktionen ausgeübt? Und in welcher Beziehung stehen sie zu unserer Fähigkeit, rational zu denken?
    Mit diesen Fragen beschäftigte sich Avicenna (arabisch Ibn Sīnā, gest. 1037 n. Chr.) eingehend in mehreren seiner zahlreichen Schriften. Dabei konnte er auf eine zweifache antike Überlieferung zurückgreifen: Sowohl die griechischen Philosophen (allen voran Aristoteles) als auch die griechischen Ärzte und Anatomen (zu nennen wäre vor allem Galen) waren von diesen geistigen Funktionen fasziniert gewesen. Als Arzt und Philosoph war Avicenna daher besonders gut positioniert, um sich diesem Thema zu nähern. Tatsächlich entwickelte er ein ausgeklügeltes und philosophiegeschichtlich sehr einflussreiches System von fünf geistigen Vermögen, „innere Sinne“ genannt, mit dem er geistige Funktionen wie Vorstellen, Erinnern und Träumen (und andere mehr) erklären konnte.
    Im Seminar werden wir uns intensiv mit der Avicennischen Theorie der „inneren Sinne“ auseinandersetzen. Außerdem werden wir den antiken und spätantiken geistesgeschichtlichen Hintergrund des Themas beleuchten, um zu verstehen, warum die genannten geistigen Funktionen gerade durch das Zusammentreffen von Philosophie und Anatomie problematische Fragen aufwarfen. Beachtung soll weiterhin die vom griechischen Original stark abweichende arabische Fassung von Aristoteles’ „Parva Naturalia“ finden, die philosophiegeschichtlich hier eine entscheidende Rolle gespielt zu haben scheint.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar und Essaykurs - Sein und Werden: Parmenides und Heraklit (Thanassas)
    Parmenides und Heraklit wurden von Platon zu Antipoden stilisiert: Jener behaupte eine All-Einheit des Seins und negiere mit seinem rigiden Monismus die Welt, während dieser umgekehrt mit seiner Flusslehre jede Konstante in Frage stelle. Dieses antithetische Verhältnis wurde oft hinterfragt, ebenso aber bekräftigt durch die Annahme, dass der angeblich spätere Parmenides in einigen seiner Fragmente Heraklit scharf kritisiere. Am anderen Ende der Tradition steht Martin Heidegger, dessen eigenwillige Auslegungen von der Annahme ausgingen, dass beide Denker „dasselbe“ sagen, also ausschließlich das eine Sein denken und benennen. Wir werden diese Auslegungsperspektiven in Kenntnis nehmen, zugleich aber versuchen, hinter ihnen den beiden Denkern in ihrer Eigenheit näherzukommen und sie als die beiden wichtigsten und auch originellsten Gestalten der Frühgriechischen Philosophie auffassen.

Winter semester 2014/15

  • Oberseminar - Theophrastus, Metaphysics (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp)
    We will read and discuss the treatise "Metaphysics" by Theophrastus. In this brief treatise Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle's, inquires into what he calls the first priniciples. The style and purpose of this work often resembles parts of Aristotle's "Physics" and "Metaphysics" (in particular, it takes up questions that were discussed in Aristotle's famous book Lambda of the "Metaphysics"). The treatise also refers to many positions that were held by members of Plato's Academy; it thus became an important source for the reconstruction of early Academic and Peripatetic theories. The seminar will be held in English; knowledge of Ancient Greek is required
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Aristoteles, Über die Bewegung der Lebewesen (De Motu Animalium) (Rapp)
    In der kleinen Schrift "De Motu Animalium" unternimmt es Aristoteles, die Prinzipien der Fortbewegung aller Lebewesen darzulegen. Damit ein Lebewesen sich fortbewegen kann, bedarf es nach Aristoteles bestimmter äußerer und innerer Ruhepunkte; außerdem braucht das Lebewesen ein unterscheidendes Vermögen, wie z.B. die Sinneswahrnehmung oder das das Denken, sowie schließlich die Fähigkeit, nach dem für gut Befundenen zu streben. In einer der allgemeinen Formeln, die Aristoteles für die Fortbewegung gibt, heißt es daher, dass die Fortbewegung immer drei Elemente erfordere: Ein unbewegt Bewegendes (z.B. der erstrebte Gegenstand), ein bewegt Bewegendes (z.B. das Streben, das durch ein für gut befundenes Objekt in Bewegung gesetzt wird) und ein Bewegtes (der sich bewegende Körper des Lebewesens). Aristoteles erörtert, inwiefern dieselbe Trias von Unbewegt-Bewegendem, Bewegt-Bewegendem und Bewegtem auch bei der Bewegung des Kosmos gegeben ist. Außerdem befasst er sich mit der Physiologie des Strebens (körperliche Erwärmung, Abkühlung, Leistung des Pneumas, Funktion der Gelenke) und mit dem internen Ausgangspunkt der Bewegung: der Seele. Auf diese Weise vereint die Schrift "De Motu Animalium" auf einzigartige Weise Aspekte von Handlungstheorie, Theorie der Seele und des Körpers, Zoologie, Metaphysik und Kosmologie.
  • Vorlesung - Antike Philosophie der Lebenskunst (Rapp)
    In maßgeblichen Strömungen der antiken Philosophie wurde das Philosophieren nicht primär als Theorie, sondern als eine Art von Praxis und insbesondere auch als eine Lebensform verstanden. Von der Philosophie wurde erwartet, dass sie uns dabei unterstützt, ein glückliches Leben zu führen, und dass das Philosophieren selbst ein wichtiger Teil der geglückten Lebensführung darstellt. Unter "Lebenskunst" versteht man in diesem Zusammenhang die Fähigkeit und die Bemühung, durch eine reflektierte, in der Regel Philosophie-basierte Lebensführung ein besseres Leben zu erlangen.
    Die Vorlesung untergliedert sich in drei Hauptteile: Zuerst soll der Gedanke der Philosophie als Lebenskunst bei Sokrates und den frühen Sokratikern (den Kyrenaikern, den Kyniker und den Megarikern) nachgewiesen werden. Sodann soll die spezifische Ausprägung einer Philosophie der Lebenskunst bei Epikur erörtert werden. Schließlich soll - stellvertretend für die Schule der Stoa - anhand des Philosophen Epiktet eine stoische Variante der Lebenskunstphilosophie vorgestellt werden.
  • Oberseminar - Averroes, Long Commentary on Metaphysics Lambda and Alpha Elatton
    The so-called "Long Commentary" of the great Muslim commentator Averroes (d.1198) is a major text in the history of philosophy, for several reasons. Most obviously, it contains brilliant and incisive discussion of the meaning of Aristotle's text. Also it preserves further commentary from earlier thinkers, particularly otherwise lost material from the greatest ancient commentator on Aristotle, Alexander of Aphrodisias. Finally, the Arabic text can be used as a witness for the textual tradition of the Metaphysics itself. In this seminar we will examine the Long Commentary on Book Lambda, in which Aristotle presents his philosophical treatment of immaterial substances, including God; and then move on to his commentary on Alpha Elatton, which for Averroes was the first book of Aristotle's Metaphysics. An English translation of Averroes' Commentary on Book Lambda can be found in: C. Genequand, Ibn Rushd's Metaphysics (Leiden: 1984). See also Averroes' Epitome of the Metaphysics: R. Arnzen, Averroes: On Aristotle's Metaphysics (Berlin 2010). This is a continuation of a seminar already begun in SoSe 2014, hence we will begin in the midst of the commentary on Lambda.
  • Advanced Seminar - Plotinus Enneads VI.8
    One of the greatest treatises in Plotinus' Enneads is 6.8, "On Free Will and the Will of the One." Here Plotinus sets out to discover the sense in which the First Principle, or One, is "free" or "wills" the production of all other things. For a Greek-English facing page edition and translation see vol.7 of the Loeb series of Plotinus volumes, by A.H. Armstrong (published by Harvard University Press).
    And for background see E. Eliasson, The Notion of “That Which Depends on Us in Plotinus and its Background (Leiden: 2008). This is a continuation of a seminar already begun in SoSe 2014, hence we will begin in the midst of the treatise. The seminar will mostly be taught in English but participants who would rather discuss and translate in German are also welcome. However participation requires some facility with Ancient Greek, as participants will take it in turns to present the text.
  • Advanced Seminar with Reading Session - Ancient Theories of Psychology (Pfeiffer, Noble)
    What is a soul? How are souls related to bodies? Is there just one type of soul, or do souls differ in kind? In what sense, if any, do souls have parts? Are souls immortal, or can they come into and go out of existence? In this course we will survey ancient philosophers’ answers to these and other questions about the nature and basic operations of soul through a close reading of ancient texts in translation together with selected scholarly literature. Particular attention will be paid to the explanatory function of souls in ancient psychology and cosmology, and to systematic considerations used by ancient philosophers to argue for their preferred account of soul’s nature and constitution. This course will focus in the first instance on Plato’s and Aristotle’s theories of soul, with some attention being paid to the Presocratic antecedents of their theories as well as to subsequent developments in the Hellenistic Period (Stoics, Epicureans) and Late Antiquity (Neoplatonism). Previous coursework in ancient philosophy is recommended. All readings and discussion will be in English. Course participants should read the following article, which provides a helpful overview the topics to be discussed in the course, in advance of the first meeting: Lorenz, Hendrik, "Ancient Theories of Soul", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2009/entries/ancient-soul.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Ibn Bajja's "Governance of the Solitary" (read in original Arabic) (Adamson)
    Tues. 10:00 - 12:00 Leopoldstr. 11b - Raum 433
    Ibn Bajja (d. 1139) was, along with Ibn Tufayl and Averroes, one of the three great Muslim thinkers responsible for a blossoming of Aristotelian philosophy in Muslim-controlled Spain in the 12th century. This seminar will be devoted to his best-known, though still rarely studied, work "Governance of the Solitary," which relates closely to the philosophy of al-Farabi. We will read the original Arabic text and discuss its linguistic and philosophical features. Literatur: Ibn Bajja (Avempace), La conduite de l'isolé et deux autres épîtres, ed. and trans. C. Genequand (Paris: Vrin, 2010). Voraussetzungen: The seminar will mostly be taught in English but participants who would rather discuss and translate in German are also welcome. However participation requires some facility with Arabic, as participants will take it in turns to present the text.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar und Essaykurs - Al-Farabi, Die Prinzipien der Ansichten der Bewohner der vortrefflichen Stadt (Hansberger)
    Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī (ca. 870-950 n. Chr.) ist einer der bedeutendsten und einflussreichsten Köpfe der arabisch-islamischen Philosophietradition. Genannt der „zweite Lehrer“ (nach dem „ersten Lehrer“ Aristoteles), bestimmte er mit seiner spezifischen Art der Aneignung, Interpretation und Weiterentwicklung des griechischen philosophischen Erbes maßgeblich die Richtung, welche die Philosophie in der islamischen Welt einschlagen sollte. Die Prinzipien der Ansichten der Bewohner der vortrefflichen Stadt ist eines der bekanntesten Werke al-Fārābīs. In ihm legt er dar, welche philosophischen Standpunkte in einer idealen Gesellschaft zu bestimmten Fragen vertreten werden sollten – wie der Frage nach Gott, nach der Ordnung des Kosmos und der materiellen Welt, nach der Stellung und den besonderen Fähigkeiten des Menschen, nach der bestmöglichen menschlichen Gesellschaft, sowie nach dem Verhältnis von Religion und Philosophie. Mit diesem Katalog greift al-Fārābī Themen auf, die in der zeitgenössischen Theologie als „Grundlagen der Religion“ diskutiert wurden. Das heißt allerdings nicht, dass die Prinzipien eine theologische Schrift wären. Im Gegenteil macht al-Fārābī deutlich, dass diese Themen in erster Linie Gegenstand philosophischer Erkenntnis sind; die Aufgabe der Religion besteht hingegen darin, dieselben Inhalte in symbolischer und gleichnishafter Form an solche Menschen zu vermitteln, die der philosophischen Erkenntnis nicht fähig sind.
  • Kolloquium für Habilitanden, Doktoranden, Magistranden, Masterstudenten (Rapp)
    Vorstellung und Diskussion von Projekten der Teilnehmer. Die Diskussionen erfolgen sowohl in deutscher als auch in englischer Sprache
  • Übung - Philosophisches Arabisch: Al-Fārābī, Mabādiʾ ārāʾ ahl al-madīna al-fāḍila (Die Prinzipien der Ansichten der Bewohner der vortrefflichen Stadt) (Hansberger)
    Al-Fārābīs Schrift Mabādiʾ ārāʾ ahl al-madīna al-fāḍila wird auszugsweise im arabischen Original gelesen. Die Übung ist nicht nur für Teilnehmer des Fortgeschrittenenseminars „Al-Fārābī, Die Prinzipien der Ansichten der Bewohner der vortrefflichen Stadt“ gedacht, sondern steht allen Interessenten offen, die sich im Lesen arabischer philosophischer Texte üben wollen.

Summer semester 2014

  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Plotinus, Enneads 6.8 (Adamson)
    One of the greatest treatises in Plotinus' Enneads is 6.8, "On Free Will and the Will of the One." Here Plotinus sets out to discover the sense in which the First Principle, or One, is "free" or "wills" the production of all other things. In the process of answering this question he gives a subtle account of the freedom possessed by lesser entities, including us. The seminar will mostly be taught in English but participants who would rather discuss and translate in German are also welcome. However participation requires some facility with Ancient Greek, as participants will take it in turns to present the text.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar und Übung - Aristotle: Physics III-IV (Anagnostopoulos, Castelli)
    We will explore Aristotle's Physics III & IV, which investigate basic concepts of his natural philosophy, such as change, time, and place. Discussion and most readings will be in English. Participants are expected to undertake one presentation. We will regularly read secondary literature alongside the primary text. An optional 2-hour session in which we read the text in the original language will be held immediately after.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Al-Ghazālī, The Incoherence of the Philosophers (Tahāfut al-Falāsifa) (Di Giovanni)
    This seminar features a classic of Arabic philosophy that will be read in the original language and commented upon both linguistically and philosophically. The work selected is the Tahāfut al-Falāsifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers) by the greatest theologian of Islam: Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (d. 1111). In this refutation of various philosophical claims and attendant excommunication (takfīr) of philosophers al-Ghazālī appropriates notions and argumentative patterns used by his opponents, and his critique turns out to be so elaborate as to compete with the level of sophistication demonstrated by professional falāsifa. At the same time the Tahāfut al-Falāsifa lies at the crossroads of philosophy and theology (kalām) insofar as it provides a philosophical description of Ghazālian standards for ‘orthodoxy’ and, conversely, apostasy from Islam. Concurrent with doctrinal analysis, the text of al-Ghazālī will be subjected to linguistic and grammatical examination. Participants must read Classical Arabic, appreciate its fundamental phonological, morphological and syntactical principles, as well as recognize the formal structures which underlie the Arabic language. Knowledge of Classical Arabic at an intermediate level or higher is a prerequisite for the class along with active participation in analysis and translation. The course may ideally - but need not - be taken as a complement to the Essaykurs "Metaphysics in Islam". Knowledge of English and Classical Arabic (intermediate) required.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar – Eleatismus (Rapp)
    Als "Eleatismus" bezeichnet man eine Strömung innerhalb der frühgriechischen Philosophie, die ausgehend von dem süditalienischen Ort "Elea" vor allem durch den Philosophen Parmenides maßgeblich geprägt wurde. Der Eleatismus ist eine der erstaunlichsten Bewegungen der Philosophiegeschichte. Er behauptet, dass das Seiende - das, was ist - nur eines ist, unentstanden ist und auf unbewegliche und unveränderliche Weise existiert. Damit leugnet der Eleatismus de facto so wichtige Phänomene wie Bewegung, Entstehen/Vergehen und Vielheit. Das widerspricht klarerweise dem gesunden Menschenverstand - und doch beeinflusste der Eleatismus die Philosophiegeschichte in wichtigen Hinsichten: Platon z.B. verteidigt in Anlehnung an den Eleatismus die Auffassung, dass das wahrhaft Seiende - für Platon die Ideen - ewig und unveränderlich sein muss. Auch der philosophische Atomismus übernimmt von den Eleaten die Auffassung, dass das letztlich Seiende, nämlich die Atome, unentstanden und unveränderlich ist. Das Seminar befasst sich mit der bis heute äußerst kontroversen Deutung der Eleaten und wirft einen Blick auf die Rezeption eleatischen Denkens in der antiken Philosophie.
  • Oberseminar - Aristotle's Physics, Book I (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp)
    We will read and discuss the first book of Aristotle's Physics. This book includes a famous discussion of the number and kind of principles that the philosopher of nature must grasp. It also provides in-depth discussions of the accounts of presocratic philosophers. The seminar will be held in English; knowledge of Ancient Greek is required
  • Oberseminar - Alexander of Aphrodisas, On Providence (Adamson)
    In this work, lost in Greek but preserved in two Arabic translations, the great ancient commentator Alexander of Aphrodisias sets out a theory according to which the heavens are the instruments of divine providence. He also seeks to absolve them of blame for evils that occur in the earthly realm. We will translate and discuss the Arabic text. The seminar will mostly be taught in English but participants who would rather discuss and translate in German are also welcome. However participation requires some facility with Arabic, as participants will take it in turns to present the text.
  • Oberseminar - Averroes' Commentary on Metaphysics Book Lambda (Adamson)
    The so-called "Long Commentary" of the great Muslim commentator Averroes (d.1198) is a major text in the history of philosophy, for several reasons. Most obviously, it contains brilliant and incisive discussion of the meaning of Aristotle's text. Also it preserves further commentary from earlier thinkers, particularly otherwise lost material from the greatest ancient commentator on Aristotle, Alexander of Aphrodisias. Finally, the Arabic text can be used as a witness for the textual tradition of the Metaphysics itself. In this seminar we will discuss all three of these aspects, as we examine the Long Commentary on Book Lambda, in which Aristotle presents his philosophical treatment of immaterial substances, including God.
  • Kolloquium - Kolloquium für Habilitanden, Doktoranden, Magistranden, Masterstudenten (Rapp)

Winter semester 2013/14

  • Oberseminar - The Book "Alpha elatton" in Aristotle's Metaphysics (Adamson, Primavesi, Rapp)
    We will read and discuss the text of book Alpha elatton in Aristotle’s Metaphysics. In addition, we will deal with the tradition of ancient and medieval commentaries on this particular book. The seminar will be held in English; knowledge of Ancient Greek is required
  • Oberseminar - Late Antique Philosophy: Alexander of Aphrodisias On Fate (Adamson)
    In this seminar we will read, in ancient Greek, the treatise On Fate by the 2nd c. AD commentator Alexander of Aphrodisias. In this treatise Alexander uses materials from a range of Aristotle's works to attack Stoic determinism, which according to Alexander prevents anything from being "up to us." Alexander also sets forth a novel, though supposedly Aristotelian, theory according to which fate is equivalent to nature.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Antike Moralpsychologie (Brüllmann)
    Untersuchungen im Bereich der Ethik führen zwangsläufig auf Fragen der Moralpsychologie. Und dies aus durchaus unterschiedlichen Gründen. So sollte zum Beispiel (1) sichergestellt sein, dass die Moral keine Forderungen an uns stellt, die wir psychologisch gesehen gar nicht erfüllen können. Unsere moralische Urteilspraxis ist zudem (2) oft mit impliziten psychologischen Annahmen verbunden (etwa zur Freiwilligkeit und Zurechenbarkeit von Handlungen), die explizit zu machen sind. Außerdem wird (3) die Frage, was moralisch richtig ist, nicht selten mit Hilfe psychologischer Begriffe beantwortet (etwa wenn behauptet wird, dass eine moralisch richtige Handlung aus einer bestimmten Motivation heraus erfolgen muss). Psychologische Fragen sind nicht zuletzt relevant (4) für den Bereich der Moralerziehung (wo es zum Beispiel um den Erwerb von Tugenden geht). Und insgesamt sollte (5) unsere ethische Theorie in eine angemessene psychologische Theorie eingebettet sein; schließlich sind auch moralische Handlungen Handlungen und auch Tugenden sind Charaktereigenschaften.Themen wie diese beschäftigen auch die antike Ethik seit ihren Anfängen bei Sokrates. In unserem Seminar werden wir versuchen, uns einen Überblick über die wichtigsten Fragen, Positionen und Argumente der antiken Moralpsychologie zu verschaffen. Dabei werden uns unter anderem begegnen: Sokrates‘ Thesen, dass Tugend Wissen ist und niemand freiwillig das Schlechte tut; Platons Lehre von den Seelenteilen und seine Konzeption einer Idee des Guten; Aristoteles‘ Zweiteilung der Tugenden, seine Theorie der phronêsis und seine Bemerkungen zur Freiwilligkeit und Zurechenbarkeit; sowie die Stoische Auffassung des richtigen Handelns in einer universell determinierten Welt.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar und Übung - Aristoteles Metaphysik: Die Substanzbücher (Christof Rapp, Christian Pfeiffer)
    Kommentar: In den Büchern VII und VIII der Metaphysik wendet sich Aristoteles der Frage nach der Substanz (ousia) zu, d.h. der Frage, was die ontologisch grundlegenden Dinge sind. In diesem Seminar werden wir versuchen, Aristoteles' Argumentation und Antwort auf die Frage nach der Substanz im Detail zu verstehen. Das Seminar ist vierstündig und besteht aus einem zweistündigen Seminar, in dem zentrale interpretatorische Fragen der einzelnen Kapitel diskutiert werden, sowie einer zweistündigen Übung, in der der Text im Griechischen Original gelesen wird. Dies ist die Fortsetzung des im Sommersemester begonnen Hauptseminars. Eine Teilnahme im letzten Semester ist aber keine Voraussetzung für die Teilnahme an dem Seminar. Es ist möglich, neu zu diesem Kurs hinzuzukommen.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Freiheit und Notwendigkeit. Gotteslehre bei Avicenna, Thomas von Aquin und Johannes Duns Scotus (Adamson zus. mit. Prof. Dr. Isabella Mandrella)
    Der im Mittelalter stattfindende Einfluss der arabischen Philosophie auf das Denken des lateinischen Westens rückt zunehmend in das heutige philosophische Forschungsinteresse und wird mittlerweile als gleichbedeutend mit der Wirkung betrachtet, die die griechische Philosophie hinterließ. Dieser Einfluss soll im Seminar anhand ausgewählter Texte des Avicenna, des Thomas von Aquin und des Johannes Duns Scotus am Beispiel des Gottesbildes aufgezeigt werden, das sowohl im christlichen als auch im arabischen Kontext im Spannungsfeld von Notwendigkeit und Freiheit kontrovers diskutiert wurde: Wirkt Gott als reine Vernunft mit Notwendigkeit oder hat er aufgrund seines Willens die Freiheit, kontingent wirksam zu sein? Diese Diskussion bietet gleichzeitig Gelegenheit zu einer Einführung in das Verhältnis von christlicher und arabischer Philosophie im Mittelalter.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Philosophy of Mind at the Crossroads of Ancient Greece and Italien Renaissance: Averroes's Theory of the Intellect (Di Giovanni)
    The Arabic philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes), a pre-eminent commentator of Aristotle, is at the origin of one dramatic crisis in the Western culture at its encounter with Islam. His philosophy of mind was highly acclaimed by philosophers from the Middle Ages until Italian Renaissance, but it upset the social and religious conservatives preoccupied with its unorthodox, subversive implications. This soon became a burning issue. The seminar presents this long-lived interpretation of Aristotle's noetics in a detailed, comprehensive, and progressive manner. It starts from the Aristotelian background, the philosophical antecedents of Averroes, and the evolution of the theory throughout the subsequent stages of Averroes's reflection. It brings out its philosophical contours and merits. Finally, it connects it with another concomitant doctrine: the view of beatitude as pure state of the mind and the product of philosophical exercise. Readings are taken from Aristotle’s treatise On the Soul, Averroes’s commentaries on this treatise (especially his Long Commentary on Book 3), as well as selected passages in Averroes’s essays dealing with the question of ‘conjunction’ between man and the supernal, as obtained through philosophy and realizing man’s felicity. Primary readings are complemented by selected pieces of secondary literature which cast light on especially difficult or controversial issues.
  • Kolloquium - Musaph Workshop (Rapp)
    This course is intended for doctoral students in the Munich School of Ancient Philosophy. We will discuss original texts and recent secondary literature with an eye towards improving research methods and writing. In addition, doctoral students will present their work. Topics will vary in accordance with the research interests of doctoral students.
  • Vorlesung - Aristoteles' Ethik Heute: Aristotelismus in der praktischen Philosophie der Gegenwart (Rapp)
    Kommentar: In der praktischen Philosophie der Gegenwart haben einige Thesen aus Aristoteles’ ethischen Schriften (der Nikomachischen Ethik, der Eudemischen Ethik, der Politik) eine überraschende Renaissance erlebt. Verschiedene Positionen der neueren Ethik, z.B. die Tugendethik, der neo-aristotelische Naturalismus, der Kommutarismus, knüpfen explizit an Aristoteles an. Autoren wie Elizabeth Anscombe, Alasdair MacIntyre, Martha Nussbaum, John McDowell, Michael Thompson und andere haben zu dieser Strömung beigetragen. Die Vorlesung stellt nach einem eingehenden Resümee der Aristotelischen Ethik einige dieser Positionen vor und diskutiert Bedeutung für die Ethik der Gegenwart.
  • Philosophisches Arabisch: al-Kindī, Fī ’l-Falsafa al-ūlā (ergänzende Übung zum BA-Seminar al-Kindi, Die Erste Philosophie) (Hansberger)
    Al-Kindīs Werk „Fī ’l-Falsafa al-ūlā“ wird im arabischen Original gelesen. Die Übung steht nicht nur Teilnehmern des LK/BA-Sem. „Al-Kindī, Die Erste Philosophie“ offen, sondern allen Interessenten, die sich im Lesen arabischer philosophischer Texte üben wollen. Die Ausdrucksweise al-Kindīs, der am Anfang der philosophischen Tradition im Arabischen steht und sich seine Terminologie erst erarbeiten mußte, ist in ihren Eigenarten von besonderem Interesse. Textgrundlage: al-Kindī, Kitāb ilā l-Mu‘taṣim bi-llāh fī ’l-Falsafa al-ūlā. Ediert in: Roshdi Rashed & Jean Jolivet (Hrsg.), Oeuvres philosophiques et scientifiques d’al-Kindī: Vol. 2: Métaphysique et cosmologie, Leiden 1998, S. 9-99; alternativ in M. ‘Abd al-Hādī Abū Rīda (Hrsg.), Rasā’il al-Kindī al-falsafīya, Kairo 1950, S. 97-162. Der Text ist auch enthalten in Al-Kindī, Die Erste Philosophie (arabisch-deutsch). Übersetzt und eingeleitet von Anna Akasoy, Freiburg 2011.

Summer semester 2013

  • Oberseminar: Aristoteles' Metaphysik B und die späteren Bücher der Metaphysik (Peter Adamson, Christof Rapp, Oliver Primavesi).
    This seminar will draw on discussions of book B in the previous semester and extend to the treatment of the puzzles raised in B in the subsequent books of the Metaphysics.
  • Oberseminar: Plotinus' Enneads (Peter Adamson)
    A weekly 2-hour group devoted to the Enneads of Plotinus, the founding text of Neoplatonism. The text will be read in ancient Greek, usually one chapter per week; members of the seminar take it in turns to translate into English and lead discussion of that week’s text. In SoSe 2013 the text to be read will be Ennead VI.4, which considers the question of how immaterial being can be omnipresent without losing its unity.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar: Aristoteles' Metaphysik. Die Substanzbücher (Christof Rapp, Christian Pfeiffer)
    In den Büchern VII und VIII der Metaphysik wendet sich Aristoteles der Frage nach der Substanz (ousia) zu, d.h. der Frage, was die ontologisch grundlegenden Dinge sind. In diesem Seminar werden wir versuchen, Aristoteles' Argumentation und Antwort auf die Frage nach der Substanz im Detail zu verstehen. Das Seminar ist vierstündig und besteht aus einem zweistündigen Seminar, in dem zentrale interpretatorische Fragen der einzelnen Kapitel diskutiert werden, sowie einer zweistündigen Übung, in der der Text im griechischen Original gelesen wird. Es ist überdies geplant, das Seminar im WS 2013/14 fortzusetzen. Griechischkenntnisse sind erwünscht. Kenntnis der Metaphysik von Aristoteles sowie aktive Teilnahme (Referat, Protokoll) und Bereitschaft, Sekundärliteratur auf Englisch zu lesen sind erwartet.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar: Aristotle’s Doctrine of Substance and the Commentators (Gabriele Galluzzo)
    One of the most difficult problems for both ancient and contemporary interpreters of Aristotle is to reconcile the two different accounts of substance that he presents in the Categories and in the central books of the Metaphysics. The main difficulty consists in making the Categories ontology of particular objects consistent with the matter-form analysis (hylomorphism) which Aristotle develops in the Metaphysics. For the analysis of particular objects in terms of matter and form seems to call into question the primacy that Aristotle assigns to them in the Categories. The class aims at exploring the way in which late ancient and medieval commentators have attempted a general reconstruction of Aristotle’s doctrine of substance. Particular attention will be devoted to Alexander of Aphrodisias, Averroes, Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus and John Buridan as representatives of different lines of interpretation of Aristotle’s text. The analysis of ancient and medieval texts will be conducted against the background of the contemporary debate over the significance of Aristotle’s doctrine of substance.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar und Essaykurs: Mind (Nous) in Ancient Philosophy (Andreas Anagnostopoulos and Chris Noble)
    In this seminar, held in English, we will discuss theories of nous (mind, reason) in Aristotle, Alexander, and Plotinus (and perhaps others). Central issues include the ontological status of nous, the relation between nous and its objects, the distinction between nous and other forms of cognition and the relation of nous to potentiality and actuality. Discussion will be structured around recent secondary literature. Participants are expected to undertake one presentation. Connected to the seminar, we will offer an optional session in which we will read the central primary texts in the original language (Tues. 18-20).
    Tuesdays Tuesdays 16:00-18:00 Ludwigstr. 25 4b and 18:00-20:00 Geschw.-Scholl-Pl. 1 - B 015
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar und Essaykurs: Philosophie in der islamischen Welt (Peter Adamson)
    Zu der philosophischen Tradition in der islamischen Welt gehören solche bedeutende Denker wie al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali, Averroes, und Maimonides. In diesem Seminar werden Werke u. a. dieser Philosophen gelesen, mit Blick auf den Hintergrund der Debatten in der islamischen Theologie (kalam) und der Überlieferung der altgriechischen Philosophie in der arabischen Sprache. Kenntnis der arabischen Sprache ist für das Seminar nicht erforderlich; Primärliteratur wird auf Deutsch und Englisch gelesen. Philosophische Themen, die besonders im Mittelpunkt stehen: Freiheit, Ewigkeit des Universums, Intellektstheorie, göttliche Attribute.
  • MUSAΦ Workshop (Christof Rapp, Andreas Anagnostopoulos).
    This course is intended for doctoral students in the Munich School of Ancient Philosophy. We will discuss original texts and recent secondary literature with an eye towards improving research methods and writing. In addition, doctoral students will present their work. Topics will vary in accordance with the research interests of doctoral students.

Winter semester 2012/13

  • Oberseminar - Aristotle’s Metaphysics Beta (Peter Adamson, Oliver Primavesi, Christof Rapp).
    This seminar will be devoted to a close reading of the third book of Aristotle's Metaphysics, book Beta. This is a book in which Aristotle sets out the problems to be dealt with in "first philosophy," that is, the science of metaphysics. Major themes include the nature and unity of a philosophical science, the subject-matter of first philosophy, the status of first principles, and the status of mathematical objects, as well as the question of whether we should accept the existence of Platonic Forms.
    Tuesdays 12-14, Leopoldstr. 11 B - 433
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Epistemology from Plato to Hellenistic Philosophy (Peter Adamson).
    This course will examine theory of knowledge in ancient philosophy, beginning with key dialogues of Plato including the Meno and Theaetetus. It will then proceed to discuss Aristotle and compare his views to those of Plato; here the focus will be on Aristotle's Posterior Analytics. Across these texts we will see that both Plato and Aristotle operate with a very demanding conception of knowledge, something that continues in the Hellenistic period. The course will look at the "Nachleben" of these ideas in Hellenistic schools, the Epicureans, Stoics and Skeptics. A further course by the same instructor will be offered in the following semester; this will pick up the story with the Neoplatonists and ask how knowledge and belief were understood in late ancient and medieval philosophy.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar - Aristotle, Posterior Analytics (Andreas Anagnostopoulos and Christian Pfeiffer)
    In this seminar (held in English), we will read and discuss the whole of Aristotle's Posterior Analytics, which provides an account of the structure of science and scientific knowledge. Our discussion will be guided by recent secondary literature -- roughly one article per week. Those participating should have some background in Aristotle and be willing to undertake a presentation of one piece of secondary literature. Credit is earned through a term paper. In addition, this seminar should ideally be taken alongside a reading course, in which we will work through the Greek text. The reading course will take place immediately afterwards.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar The Reception of Aristotle’s Metaphysics (Gabriele Galluzzo).
    The course will focus on the Arabic and Latin reception of Aristotle’s Metaphysics, with particular reference to the theory of substance outlined by Aristotle in the so-called ‘central books’ (VII-VIII-IX) of the Metaphysics. Ideally, the course will fall into two parts. The first will be devoted to introducing the key concepts of Aristotle’s mature ontology, including substance and accident, essence and definition, universals and particulars, and matter and form. In the second part, attention will be paid to the medieval interpretations of Aristotle’s theory of substance. In this context, particular emphasis will be put on Averroes’s and Aquinas’s commentaries on the Metaphysics, which present two influential and incompatible readings of Aristotle’s metaphysical thought. The course as a whole will have a theoretical orientation and aims to investigate the philosophical consequences of Aristotle’s views and of those of his interpreters. Moreover, classes will be introductory in character and presuppose no previous acquaintance with Aristotle’s Metaphysics.
  • Fortgeschrittenenseminar Late Medieval Philosophy (Gabriele Galluzzo).
    The course will examine the XIII-century reception of Avicenna’s doctrine of essence and will focus in particular on the works of Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, and John Duns Scotus. Avicenna’s doctrine of essence sets the stage for the Latin medieval discussion of a host of philosophical issues, including the relationship between essence and existence, the problem of universals, and the status of fictional and purely mental entities in general. By examining the different ways in which XIII-century philosophers understood Avicenna’s teaching on essence, the course aims to offer an introduction to some of the crucial themes of late medieval philosophy and to reconstruct their complex interplay. Particular attention will be paid to how the Avicennian model interacts and interferes with the Aristotelian paradigm in metaphysics, which becomes dominant in the Latin world at the beginning of the XIII century and centres on a notion of essence significantly different from the one that we encounter in Avicenna’s writings. The course presupposes no knowledge of Latin or of medieval philosophy.
  • MUSAΦ Workshop (Andreas Anagnostopoulos).
    This course is intended for doctoral students in the Munich School of Ancient Philosophy. We will discuss original texts and recent secondary literature with an eye towards improving research methods and writing. In addition, doctoral students will present their work. Topics will vary in accordance with the research interests of doctoral students.

Summer semester 2012

  • Oberseminar - Aristotle's De Motu Animalium 2.0 (Oliver Primavesi, Christof Rapp).
    This seminar builds upon the results of the seminar held in the Wintersemester 2010-11 and in addition is especially devoted to discussion of the proceedings of the Symposium Aristotelicum held at LMU in April 2011.
  • MUSAΦ Workshop (Andreas Anagnostopoulos).
    This course is intended for doctoral students in the Munich School of Ancient Philosophy. We will discuss original texts and recent secondary literature with an eye towards improving research methods and writing. In addition, doctoral students will present their work. Topics will vary in accordance with the research interests of doctoral students.
  • Hauptseminar - Platons Timaios (George Karamanolis).
    Platons Dialog Timaios ist ein Meisterwerk und hat die Philosophie bis zur Zeit der Renaissance stark beeinflusst. Der Dialog befasst sich mit der Entstehung der Welt durch Chaos. Die Hauptfigur des Dialogs erzählt einen Schöpfungsmythos. Nach diesem Mythos ist Gott, ein Intellekt, der Schöpfer der Welt. Gott ahmt die ewigen Modelle der Ideen in der Schöpfung der Welt nach. Das Produkt der Schöpfung ist die Welt, die von Rationalität und Intelligibilität gekennzeichnet ist. Ein Teil der Schöpfung der ganzen Welt ist auch die Schöpfung der Seele und des Körpers des Menschen, und es wird erklärt, wie die menschlichen Organe funktionieren. Wir werden den Timaios lesen und ihn mit Hilfe der Sekundärliteratur und der antiken Interpreter analysieren.
  • Hauptseminar - Aristotle's Metaphysics Θ (Andreas Anagnostopoulos).
    This course will be taught in English. In this course we will read book Theta of Aristotle's Metaphysics as well as recent secondary literature. The topic of this book is the study of one of the four aspects of being which Aristotle considers for separate study, namely, actual and potential being. The other three are being as substance, treated in books Zeta and Eta, which has received the majority of attention, being as truth, which is confined to one chapter, and accidental being, which does not merit separate study. Some of the main questions addressed are the nature of capacities for change, the relation between having a capacity and being something potentially, whether there exist unexercised capacities, and the priority of actuality over potentiality.

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