The Stoic worldview held sway for a millennium, influencing
writers as diverse as Cicero,
Some recent thinkers have suggested that, despite appearances, Stoic principles
are compatible with lives of rich relationships, of normal enjoyments, of
laughter. In this seminar, we will
examine to what extent Stoicism is adaptable to the 21st century
while remaining recognizably Stoic. No
prior familiarity with Stoicism is presupposed for this seminar, although prior
good sense is advisable.
II. Seminar requirements
Because the readings will be the
springboards for our discussions, and because our discussions will be the
primary focus of the seminar, you will be required to keep up with the
readings.
Your evaluation for the seminar will
be based on five items: four papers and a journal to be kept during Stoic Week.
Here are the point values (out of a semester total of 200) for the items:
Tutorials
The papers during the semester will be short (no more than seven pages) and
will be run as paired tutorials. You will be scheduled in pairs to come to my
office and read your paper to me and to the other student. We will talk about
your paper, interrupting you more than once. Then the other student will read
her or his paper in the same way. So that we may follow along as you read, hand
in three copies of your paper (including the original). Realize that it is your
paper that will be graded, not your reading of it or your answering any
questions which I or the other student may bring up. The purpose of having you
read the paper to me is that I can give you comments directly and suggest ways
to improve your future work. This is much easier for me to do, and much more
helpful to you, than having you read my comments in dried ink on a dead piece
of paper.
Stoic
Week journal
For seven days you will live as a
Stoic, and keep a journal of your reflections of where Stoicism seemed easy to
adopt, where the challenges were, what this tells us about Stoicism, or what
this tells you about you. (If you
already consider yourself a Stoic, then the only added work of this assignment
is the reflection journal.) Bear in mind
that keeping a reflective journal is not the same as a keeping a mere diary.
Varia
Since writing is central to the course, both in reading others' and in
creating your own, respect for writing will manifest itself even at the level
of writing mechanics. You will be expected to take stylistic and mechanical
concerns most seriously in your three papers. As a motivational aid to this
end, you will be allowed two grammatical, spelling, or punctuation mistakes per
page (partial pages counting as full), after which you will lose one point for
each pair of mistakes. For example, if you have a
44-point paper of five pages, and you have made thirteen mechanical errors,
then you will receive a 41 for the paper. N.B.: the same mistake (not
just similar) repeated will count as one mistake. You will be allowed to submit
a revised version with the mechanical errors corrected, and in these cases you
will be assigned the average of your original and revised grade.
You might consider spending a bit of time at my writing site.
As this is an upper-division seminar,
you will be expected to contribute to making this a seminar. This means more
than you being present, more than you speaking only when called upon, and more
than speaking up on your own only once every few weeks. It also does not mean
merely talking often, as if the more sound waves created, the better.
Late (even barely late) work
loses one full grade, and a further grade for each additional twenty-four hours
of lateness.
Academic integrity: The College’s definitions and policies
on this matter are laid out in the student handbook, To the Point, at “Student Code of
Rights and Responsibilities” (see
Article III: Academic Dishonesty). Ignorance of such matters is no excuse.
III. Seminar materials
These are the books we will use, in
the order in which we will use them.
1. Inwood and Gerson’s Hellenistic Philosophy: Introductory Readings, 2nd ed.
(Hackett Publishing)
2.
Epictetus’ Handbook (edited by Nicholas White, Hackett Publishing, 1983)
3.
Seneca’s Letters
from a Stoic, translated by Robin Campbell (Penguin Classic, 1969)
4. Marcus Aurelius’
Meditations (trans. by G.M.A. Grube,
Hackett Publishing)
5.
6.
Thomas
V. Morris’ The Stoic Art of Living: Inner Resilience and Outer Results (Carus
Publishing Company, 2004)
Other readings will be circulated to
you as handouts. Four other books to be
consulted as needed are:
a.
Tad Brennan’s The Stoic Life (
b. Martha Nussbaum’s The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics
(Princeton University Press, 1994)
c. Gretchen Reydams-Schils’ The Roman Stoics: Self, Responsibility, and
Affection (
d. Nancy Sherman’s Stoic Warriors: The Ancient
Philosophy behind the Military Mind (
Those of us in this seminar can send
e-mail to each other by addressing the message to stoicism-L@lists.smcm.edu
IV. Seminar schedule
Jan. 18—Hellenistic Philosophy [HP],
pp. 132-139
Jan. 20—HP, pp. 170-178 &
Epictetus on Diodorus’ Master Argument (p. 179)
Jan. 23—Epictetus’ Handbook &
Diogenes Laertius on Stoic ethics (HP,
pp. 190-203)
Jan. 25—John Stobaeus on Stoic ethics (HP,
pp. 203-232)
Jan. 30—varia on Stoic ethics (HP,
pp. 232-260)
Feb. 1—Stoics on fate (HP, pp.
179-190)
Feb. 6—No seminar, due to tutorials being scheduled.
Feb. 8—Seneca’s Letters 2-28
Feb. 13—Seneca’s Letters 33-90
Feb. 15—Seneca’s Letters 91-123
Feb. 20— Meditations, I-XII
Feb. 22— Michael & Caldwell’s “The Consolations of Optimism” (to be
distributed)
Feb. 27—Stockdale’s “The World of Epictetus” and others (to be distributed)
Mar. 1— No seminar, due to tutorials being scheduled
Mar. 6— Becker’s A New Stoicism, chs.
1-4
Mar. 8— Becker, ch. 5
-----Spring Break-----
Mar. 20—Becker, ch. 6
Mar. 22—Becker, ch. 7
Mar. 26-April 1—Stoic Week; no seminars March 27 & 29.
Apr. 3—Morris’ The Stoic Art of Living, part I
Apr. 5—Morris’ The Stoic Art of Living,
part II
Apr. 10—Morris’ The Stoic Art of Living,
part III; two-page prospectus of final paper due
Apr. 12—photocopy of Reydam-Schils’ ch. 4 “Parenthood”
Apr. 17—photocopy of Reydam-Schils’ ch. 5 “Marriage and Community”
Apr. 19—third paper due; no seminar, as tutorials will be scheduled.
Apr. 24—
Apr. 26—
Monday, May 7, 2:00-4:15 p.m.—last
paper due
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