Academic Catalogs

PHIL A125: History of Ancient Philosophy

Course Outline of Record
Item Value
Curriculum Committee Approval Date 03/22/2023
Top Code 150900 - Philosophy
Units 3 Total Units 
Hours 54 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 54)
Total Outside of Class Hours 0
Course Credit Status Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee No
Basic Skills Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable No
Grading Policy Standard Letter (S), 
  • Pass/No Pass (B)
Associate Arts Local General Education (GE)
  • OC Humanities - AA (OC1)
Associate Science Local General Education (GE)
  • OCC Humanities - AS (OSC2)
California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC)
  • Cal-GETC 3B Humanities (3B)
Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)
  • IGETC 3B Humanities (3B)
California State University General Education Breadth (CSU GE-Breadth)
  • CSU C2 Humanities (C2)

Course Description

This introductory course surveys ancient philosophy. It explains the philosophical positions of the ancients, their religious attitudes, and the cultural milieu out of which ancient philosophical thought arose. Recommended for philosophy majors, historians, and those interested in the roots of modern civilization. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC. C-ID: PHIL 130.C-ID: PHIL 130.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

  1. Differentiate among the philosophical positions of ancient philosophers and critically evaluate the merits and demerits of their respective views.

Course Objectives

  • 1. Discuss the roles of the Greek gods in the development of ancient philosophy.
  • 2. Identify specific contributors and their contributions to ancient philosophy.
  • 3. Discuss how the quantitative pluralists differed from the atomists.
  • 4. Discuss how the Pythagoreans differed from the Hippocratics.
  • 5. Explain and give examples of the contributions of the Sophists.
  • 6. Describe the contributions of the Eleatics to ancient philosophical thought.
  • 7. Describe the contributions of the Scientist-Philosophers of Miletus.
  • 8. Identify contributions that have formed the foundations of modern philosophical thought.
  • 9. Identify the viewpoints of the instructor and the textual authors as interpreters of ancient, philosophical thought.
  • 10. Explain the philosophical positions of the ancient thinkers.
  • 11. Explain the historical, religious and sociological context from which ancient philosophy arose.
  • 12. Demonstrate philosophical vocabulary and techniques for interpreting philosophical stances.
  • 13. Demonstrate the skills for argumentative and interpretive writing in the philosophical disciplines.
  • 14. Compare and contrast the various systems of thought of the ancients.
  • 15. Compare and explain the relations between cultural thought and philosophical development.

Lecture Content

Ancient Social Organization in Greek City-States The Polis Custom and Law Politics and Economics The Family Everyday Life in the Polis Early Religious Thought In Greece Homer, Hesiod, and Theoginis Illiad and Odyssey Theogony and Works and Days Eligies The Gods The Twelve Olympians Redional Cults and Minor Deities The Dead, Heroes and Chthonic Gods Mysteries and Asceticism Philosophical Religion The Philosophers             The Scientist-Philosophers of Miletus Thales Anaximenes Anaximander Heraclitus of Ephesus Xenophanes of Colophon The Eleatics Parmenides Zeno Melissus The Qualitative Pluralists Empedocles Anaxagoras The Atomists Leucippus Democritus Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans Pythagoras Pherecydes of Syros The Pythagoreans Philolaus Hippocrates and the Hippocratics The Growth of Greek Medical Thought The Sophists Protagoras Gorgias Prodocis Hippias Antiphon Thrasymachus Critias Antisthenes Alcidamas Lycophron Philosophy Matured Socrates Plato Aristotle Ancient China and Eastern Thought History growth of the early dynasties the Zhou dynasty the warring states period The Qin and Han dynasties Conf ucius the virtues the political theory comparison to Aristotles ethics Taoism ethics: yin and yang and wu wei politics: wu wei philosophy of language and comparison to Platos semantic theory of the Forms

Method(s) of Instruction

  • Lecture (02)
  • DE Live Online Lecture (02S)
  • DE Online Lecture (02X)

Instructional Techniques

1.   Lecture and explanation of the course topics and concepts. 2.   Classroom discussion of the concepts. 3.   Objective evaluation of student achievement on written papers. 4.   Student training in argument recognition and analysis. 5.   Classroom presentations, group and/or individual.

Reading Assignments

Students will spend 2-3 hours per week reading assigned texts.

Writing Assignments

Students will spend on average 2 hours per weke on three papers.  a.    Papers will be 3-5 pages in length.b.    Papers will take an interpretive stance on a philosophical issue, and argue that stance in 3 arguments in the body of the paper.

Out-of-class Assignments

Students will spend on average 2 hours per week on: Reflections on reading Written analyses of texts Argumentative essays

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

1.    The students will write papers.2.    Classroom participation will require students to discuss theory and formulate interpretations of the materials covered in class and reading assignments.3.    Formal and informal feedback in the classroom.

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

1.    Students will write three brief papers.a.    Papers will be 3-5 pages in length.b.    Papers will take an interpretive stance on a philosophical issue, and argue that stance in 3 arguments in the body of the paper.

Eligible Disciplines

Philosophy: Masters degree in philosophy OR bachelors degree in philosophy AND masters degree in humanities or religious studies, OR the equivalent. Masters degree required.

Textbooks Resources

1. Required Kirk, Raven, and M. Schofield. . The Presocratic Philosophers, ed. Cambridge: : Cambridge University Press, 2016 Rationale: - 2. Required Kaplan, Justin. The Pocket Aristotle, ed. Atlanta: Waterhouse, 2012 Rationale: - 3. Required Plato. Five Dialogues, 2nd ed. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Press, 2002 Rationale: primary source, not updated regularly 4. Required Plato. Republic, Latest ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1992 Rationale: primary source, not updated 5. Required Aristotle. Politics, ed. Hackett, 2017 Rationale: latest edition 6. Required Aristotle. De Anima, ed. Oxford, 2016 Rationale: latest edition 7. Required Aristotle. Nichomachean Ethics, 3rd ed. Hackett, 2019 8. Required Confucius. Analects, ed. Pretorian, 2020 9. Required Laotzu. Tao te Ching, ed. none - OER, 2019