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SYLLABUS

OF

THE LECTURES

ON

THE HISTORY OF GREEK PHILOSOPHY,

DELIVERED BY MR. RENOUF, IN THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DURING THE SUMMER TERM OF 1858.1

INTRODUCTION.

Conception of the History of Philosophy. Ancient and modern historians of Philosophy. General characteristics of Greek Philosophy-are foreign influences to be admitted? Greek conception of Philosophy-its principal periods-how determined? The Greck Mind contrasted with the oriental, Roman, etc. Relation of Philosophy to other departments of Greek culture. Politics, Commerce, Literature, Art, Science, and Religion in the sixth century B.C.

Sources: 1. Original works; 2. Fragments or references in Plato, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch, early Christian writers, Sextus Empiricus, Diogenes Laertius, Stobæus, Simplicius, etc. Respective values of these authorities. Spurious productions.

Chronology of the Greek Philosophers.

FIRST PERIOD.

FROM THALES TO SOCRATES:

1. The Ionian queiolóyor. Why is Philosophy made to date from Thales? Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Diogenes of

Apollonia.

1 Gentlemen following these Lectures will do well to provide themselves with "Historia Philosophiæ Græcæ et Romanæ ex fontium locis contexta. Locos col legerunt, etc., H. Ritter, L. Preller", 2nd Edit., Gotha, 1853.

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2. The Pythagorean School. Its external history. Authorities for the life and doctrines of its founder. The Pythagorean principle mits development. Harmony and Arithmetic. God, Nature, and the human soul. Ethics.

3. The Eleatic Speculation. Its beginning, systematic formation, completion, and dissolution. Xenophanes of Colophon, Parmenides and Zeno of Elea, Melissus of Samos.

4. HERACLITUSὁ σκοτεινός. Should he be included among the “Ionians”? Relation of his system to the Eleatic—and Pythagorean. ἐκ πάντων ἓν και ἐξ ἑνὸς παντα-πῦρ νοερόνῥοήπόλεμος πατὴρ πάντων- τῶν διαφερόντων ἁρμονία — είμαρμένη λόγος ἐκ τῆς ἐναντιοδρομίας—ὁδὸς ἄνω, κάτω.

5. EMPEDOCLEs of Agrigentum. τέσσαρα ριζώματα-σφαιρος φιλία, νέικος-κόσμος αἰσθητός, νοητός.

6. THE ATOMISTS, Leucippus and Democritus—τὸ πλῆρες ἄτομον— κενόν—συμπλοκή —ἀλλοιώσεις—ἀνάγκη, τύχη—παλμὸς, ἀντιτυπία—δίνη-είδωλα-γνώμη γνησίη, σκοτίη—the three κριτήρια εὐθυμία. Relation of this school to earlier and contemporary schools. [Parallel relation of Leibnitz to Spinoza.] What truth is there about its Empiricism, Materialism, and Atheism ? Democritus on Marriage and Patriotism. His Ethics.

7. ANAXAGORAS. Νοῦς-τὰ ὁμοιομερῆπεριχώρησις-διάκρισις, σύμμιξις, ἀπόκρισις-οὐδεν γίνεσθαι. Which of the fundamental notions in the system is the dominant, which secondary? Relation of this system to earlier and contemporary systems. Plato and Aristotle on Anaxagoras.

8. THE SOPHISTS. Protagoras, Gorgias, Diagoras, Prodicus, and other remarkable Sophists. Their relation to the general culture of the age-to public life. Their place in the history of Greek Philosophy. Intellectual culture of Greece in the fifth century B.C.

SECOND PERIOD.

SOCRATES, PLATO, AND ARISTOTLE.

Character of this, as distinguished from the foregoing and following Periods. Process of its development.

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SOCRATES. His Life, Judgment, and Death.

Authorities for his doctrine. Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle, later writers-how reconciled? "Worth of Socrates as a Philosopher". His idea of Science-its development. The Socratic ἄγνοια, μαιευτική, ἔρως, εἰρωνεία. Induction. The δαιμονίον. His criticism on former systems of Physics-and Theology. His own ethical system. Virtue an ἐπιστήμη [ὥσθ' ἅμα συμβαίνειν εἰδέναι τε τὴν δικαιοσύνην και εἶναι δίκαιον.] Duties of Man (1) to himself, ȧvopeía, ¿yкpáтεa, etc.; (2) to others, dikaιooúvn; (3) to the Divinity, εὐσέβεια. Virtue and happiness inseparable. εὐτυχία and EUTрažia. The soul immortal and divine through reason.

MINOR SOCRATIC SCHOOLS.

1. The School of MEGARA. Euclid, Eubulides, Diodorus Cronos, Stilpo, Menedemus. Schools of Eretria and Elis. Socratic, Eleatic, Sophistic elements in the Megarian doctrine. Germs of the doctrine of Ideas.

2. The CYNICs. Antisthenes, Crates, Diogenes, Hipparchia. Affinity with the Megarians. Difference between the two schools. Stilpo.

3. The CYRENAICS. Aristippus. Division of Ethics: 1. Tepi τῶν αἱρετῶν καὶ φευκτῶν. 2. περὶ τῶν παθῶν. 3. περὶ τῶν πράξεων 4. περὶ τῶν αἰτίων. 5. περὶ τῶν πίστεων—ή μερική οι μονόχρονος ἡδονὴ man's τέλος, not εὐδαιμονία, why ? the two πάθη or three καταστάσεις περὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν σύγκρασιν. Notion of ηδονή-worth of actions. Principle of the Cyrenaic Ethics-its relation to the physical and dialectic theory. Is this school a true offshoot of the Socratic philosophy? Theodorus, Hegesias, Anniceris.

PLATO.

Plato's Life. His writings-genuine and spurious works-means of distinguishing between them. Classification of the dialoguesancient and modern attempts: (1) from internal philosophical cha racter, Thrasylus, Aristophanes of Byzantium, Sextus Empiricus— Diogenes Laertius-Serranus-Petit-Geddes-Eberhard-Schlei

ermacher-Ast-Van Heusde-Brandis; (2) from chronological

data, Tenneman-Socher-Hermann.

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Historical position of the Platonic system with reference to its predecessors-and to the Aristotelian.

Platonic method-its scientific characteristics, as distinguished from those of Socrates and Aristotle-its dialogic form.

Trichotomy of the system-Dialectics, Physics, Ethics-order of these divisions.

Preliminary investigations. Philosophic Thought as distinguished (I.) from unphilosophic, (a) theoretically, iπiorýμn contrasted with αἴσθησις, δόξα, μανία, ἐνθουσιασμός, (β) practically, true virtue contrasted with ἀρετὴ δημοτική. (II.) from ἡ σοφιστική. (ΙΙ.) considered in itself, (a) its starting point pws, (3) its development through the dialectic method functions of συναγωγὴ and διαίρεσις ἐξ ὑποθέσεως σκοπεῖν. (IV.) Progressive steps of the philosophical education from "music" to dialectics. Plato's conception of philosophy-its relation to other sciences-its possibility.

DIALECTICS. Elements of Plato's doctrine of Ideas in earlier philosophical systems. Definition and nature of the ɛion—according to Plato and Aristotle. The on wrongly taken (1) for sensible substances (alooŋrà áîðía), (2) for subjective conceptions (vonuara) of the human or divine Reason. Difference and plurality in the tion. The world of Ideas-its limits. What things have on corresponding. Relation of this plurality of Ideas to the unity of their essence. The system of Ideas-rò ȧyaðóv and its relation to other Ideas. The Ideas as ἀριθμοὶ νοητοὶ.

PHYSICS. The Phenomenal world and its relation to the Ideal. Four classes of Being-τὸ ἄπειρον, τὸ πέρας, τὸ ἐξ ἀμφοῖν τούτοιν ξυμμισγόμενον, ἡ αἰτία τῆς ξυμμίξεως. Matter according to the Philebus-and Timous. Evidence of Aristotle. Matter not a substance-nor yet something merely subjective (Ritter)—what it is. Immanence of sensible phenomena in the Idea. Deduction of the phenomenal from the doc. Contradiction in the Platonic doctrine. The Soul of the World. Origin of the World-question of its eternity-its elements. The world a perfect Zov. The human soul-mythical history of its origin, preëxistence, and future state. Divisions of the Soul-the Rational and Irrational-the Irrational divided into the ἐπιθυμητικὸν and the θυμοειδές. Free Will. Connection of the Ethics with the Physics.

ETHICS. Tò áуalòv-its nature and its elements. Virtue. Variations in Plato's doctrine. The different virtues-how determined.

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The Platonic compared with the Cyrenaic and the Cynic Ethics. POLITICS [Analysis of the Republic]. The State-its notion-its necessity-its component parts-its constitution. Education of the citizens-community of goods and wives. Plato's Republic not meant as a mere ideal State, in the modern sense. Its connection with the entire Platonic system. How far agreeing with the Hellenic conception of the State. To what extent explained by the political events of the period. ESTHETICS. Plato's views on Beauty and Art. [Raphael's letter to Castiglione.]

Relation of the Platonic philosophy to Religion. Idea of Divinity-personality of God-the popular religion and its gods.

Doctrinal differences between the "Laws" and all other writings of Plato-not greater in politics than in dialectics, physics, psychology, ethics-how accounted for.

The OLD ACADEMY. Plato's School-Speusippus, Xenocrates-Crantor and Polemo.-The Epinomis.

ARISTOTLE.

Aristotle's Life. His writings-their fate-ancient catalogues-exoteric and esoteric works. Present order and form of Aristotle's works-how explained. Composition of the Organon, Metaphysics, Physics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, Rhetoric, etc. works-tests of genuineness.

1. Doctrine of Science.

Spurious

Aristotle's conception of Science-how far agreeing with Plato's? its divisions—under which is Logic included? The Organon—origin of the name-connection and succession of the logical treatises according to the notions of Analytics and Dialectics. Place of the Categories".

(a). Analytics. Theory of the Proposition-arrangement of the treatise περὶ ἑρμηνείας.

Theory of the Conclusion-Prior Analytics, Books I. and II. Theory of Apodictic Proof-Analytical arrangement of the Posterior Analytics. Incompleteness of the theory-how explained.

(b). Dialectics. Plan of the "Topics" and "Sophistical Elenchi”– connection of the two treatises.

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