Course Instructor Contact:  Professor S. Rodde
roddesw@yorku.ca

Office Location:  S417 Ross Building
Phone number:  (416) 736-2100 Ext. 40901

Many Stoic philosophers believed that there is a close connection between medicine and philosophy. Like the physician, the philosopher tries to heal those who are suffering, but the philosopher uses reason and argument instead of drugs and surgery. But this therapeutic conception of philosophy raises a number questions, not just about the views of these Stoic thinkers, but also about the medical model of philosophy more broadly. Among these questions are: How does a therapeutic philosophy develop and defend a particular conception of psychic health? What must the cause of human suffering be, if argument is an effective way of treating it? Must a therapeutic philosophy hold that the virtues of argumentation (consistency, clarity, avoidance of ambiguity, etc.) only have instrumental value? And what is the nature of the philosopher/pupil relationship, and how similar is it (or should it be) to the physician/patient relationship?

This course will look at the Stoic therapeutic model of philosophy. Our main objectives are to gain an understanding of this important ethical system, and to reflect more broadly on some of the assumptions which underlie a therapeutic conception of philosophy.

This is an experiential education course. In addition to studying the main features of Stoic ethics, students are encouraged to reflect critically on their experiences to establish connections with course content.

Technical requirements for taking the course: This course will be delivered in-person. You will need an internet connection to upload homework and assignments

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to Moodle

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices 

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.]

Times and locations: This course will be delivered in-person. The lectures are on Mondays, 14:30-17:30 in N230A.

Office hours: In-person office hours will be on Mondays at 1730 in Ross S417. I can also meet students online if they are not available to meet in person.

Long, A.A., Sedley, D.N. The Hellenistic Philosophers, vol 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.

Online Commentaries (10) . . . . . .10% (Due before material covered in lecture)

Discussion Forums (2) . . . . . . . . . 20%

Stoic Week Discussion Forum . . . 15%

Essay Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5%

Essay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35%

Final Exam. . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%

The lectures in this course will be delivered in person. The final exam will be scheduled by the Registrar.

By the end of this course you will have read important texts by the Hellenistic and Roman Stoics, as well as a number of texts by other ancient Greek or Roman philosophers. In addition you should have developed your abilities to:

• Read and understand difficult and challenging texts
• Critically assess the strength and weakness of the arguments in these texts
• Apply the ideas in these texts to concrete problems
• Appreciate unfamiliar points of view
• Express yourself clearly in discussion
• Write clearly, concisely and effectively in support of your claims

Course policies

• At the end of term you will have the opportunity to complete a course evaluation. These evaluations are taken seriously. They enable us to improve the course design, and they figure prominently in the evaluation of instructors.
• The late penalty for the essay or the essay proposal is 2%/day. We will not accept late submissions of online commentaries, discussion forum posts or Stoic Week discussion posts.
• Academic honesty requires that persons do not falsely claim credit for the ideas, writing or other intellectual property of others, either by presenting such works as their own or through impersonation. Similarly, academic honesty requires that persons do not cheat (attempt to gain an improper advantage in an academic evaluation), nor attempt or actually alter, suppress, falsify or fabricate any research data or results, official academic record, application or document. Finally, academic honesty requires that persons do not aid or abet others to commit an offence of academic dishonesty, including intentional acts to disrupt academic activities.
• Posting material on Course Hero or other Notes Sharing Websites is considered a breach of York’s Academic Honesty Policy
• Students may not use ChatGPT or other forms of generative AI on any assignments. Students who do so, will be in breach of York’s academic honest policy
• The university recognizes that persons with disabilities may require reasonable accommodation to enable them to perform at their best. The university encourages students with disabilities to register with Student Accessibility Services to discuss their accommodation needs as early as possible.