PHIL 322 Philosophy and Poetry in Ancient Greece
This course explores the quarrel between philosophy and literature that has its beginnings in Ancient Greece. Although philosophers and poets are often regarded as adopting different methods and pursuing incompatible ends, this course asks whether and how they might be rivals engaged in a common project. We also examine why some philosophers have preferred to adopt a literary style. Core texts include: Plato's Ion; Aristotle's Poetics; Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus; Euripides' Bacchae; Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy; and Plato's Symposium or Phaedrus. Philosophical themes include: self-knowledge, desire, love, conflict, suffering, and death.