Lorraine Pangle

Course Description

This course will consist in a close reading of Xenophon’s Education of Cyrus and selections from Machiavelli’s Prince and Discourses. In the Education of Cyrus we have Xenophon’s rich fictional depiction of a virtuous ancient polis and the process by which a talented man of boundless ambition might easily subvert it. In place of the virtuous republic, Xenophon’s Cyrus creates a progressive, dynamic, multi-ethnic society, aimed at wealth and expansion and glory, in which merit is rewarded and a self-sacrificing view of justice is replaced by a frank pursuit of the good things of this world. Yet in exploring this entrancing vision, Xenophon gives clear reasons why, in the end, he rejects it as the best model for a healthy society. Machiavelli had the highest opinion of Xenophon and gave all his works the closest study. Yet he came to the opposite conclusion from Xenophon, and devoted his writings to promoting the progressive, expansive political vision and the embrace of ambition that Xenophon had rejected. What did Machiavelli see that Xenophon did not, or what did Xenophon see that Machiavelli did not? How can these contrasting works help us understand and assess the deepest differences between ancient and modern republicanism and the fundamental presuppositions of modern liberalism?

Course Requirements and Grading Policy

5 bi-weekly 1-2 page papers (maximum 500 words) on a passage not yet discussed in class, due at the beginning of class on alternate Mondays for the first 10 weeks of term (5% each).

5 bi-weekly question sets, elucidating a few of the most important problems in a section of the text not yet discussed in class, and submitted by e-mail before Monday’s class in alternate weeks for the first 10 weeks of term (5% each).

Term paper of 10-15 pages on a topic of your choosing (35%).

Class Participation: 15%.

Texts

Xenophon, Education of Cyrus, trans. Ambler, Cornell University Press,

ISBN 0-8014-8750-1. Required.

Xenophon, Memorabilia of Socrates, trans. Bonnette, Cornell University Press, ISBN 0-8014-8171-6. Recommended.

Machiavelli, Prince, trans. Mansfield, Chicago, ISBN 0-226-50038-1 Required.

Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, trans. Mansfield, Chicago, ISBN 0-226-50036-5 Required. 

Prerequisites

Some previous study of political philosophy is recommended.

Course Description

This course will explore the themes of morality and leadership in the writings of two great political philosopher, the ancient Athenian Xenophon and the renaissance Florentine Machiavelli. First, we will read Xenophon’s Education of Cyrus, a rich fictional depiction of a virtuous ancient polis and the process by which a man of boundless talents and ambition easily subverts it. In place of the virtuous republic, Xenophon’s Cyrus creates a progressive, dynamic, multi-ethnic society, aimed at wealth and expansion and glory, in which merit is rewarded and a self-sacrificing view of justice is replaced by a frank pursuit of the good things of this world. Yet in exploring this entrancing vision, Xenophon gives clear reasons why, in the end, he rejects it as the best model for a healthy society. Thus we will turn next to Xenophon’s Memorabilia of Socrates, in which he presents an alternate model of human excellence, that of the philosopher Socrates. Machiavelli had the highest opinion of Xenophon and gave all his works the closest study. Yet he came to the opposite conclusion from Xenophon, and devoted his writings to promoting the progressive, expansive political vision and the embrace of ambition that Xenophon rejected. We will read next Machiavelli’s two great masterpieces, the Prince and Discourses on Livy. What did Machiavelli see that Xenophon did not, or what did Xenophon see that Machiavelli did not? How can these contrasting works help us understand and assess the deepest differences between ancient and modern republicanism and the fundamental presuppositions of modern liberalism?

Grading Policy

Attendance, quizzes, and participation- 20%

5-page paper on Xenophon- 25%

5-page paper on Machiavelli- 25%

Final exam- 30%

Texts

Xenophon, Education of Cyrus, trans. Ambler, Cornell University Press, ISBN 0-8014-8750-1.

Xenophon, Memorabilia of Socrates, trans. Bonnette, Cornell University Press, ISBN 0-8014-8171-6.

Machiavelli, Prince, trans. Mansfield, Chicago, ISBN 0-226-50038-1

Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, trans. Mansfield, Chicago, ISBN 0-226-50036-5

In this course we will look at the problem of justice as it was explored in some of the greatest literary and philosophic works of ancient Greece. In the first part of the course, we will explore the challenges posed to political authority by three famous rebels: Achilles, a man of outstanding courage; Antigone, a woman who chose to obey the gods rather than a human king; and Socrates, a philosopher whose pursuit of the truth brought him to be condemned for impiety and corruption of the youth by the city of Athens. After reading their stories in Homer’s Iliad, Sophocles’ Antigone, Aristophanes’ comedy The Clouds, and Plato’s Apology, we will turn to Plato’s masterpiece on justice, The Republic. In this dialogue we will see how Socrates defends justice to the young, skeptical Glaucon by creating in speech a perfectly just city. This city, ruled by philosopher-kings, is an attempt to do justice to every claim to authority based on human excellence, inspiration, and wisdom, so as to win the loyalty of every reasonable person. In the course of creating the city in speech, Socrates explores the problem of justice from every angle and shows why a “perfect” political order may not even be desirable.

Prerequisites: thirty hours of coursework.

Required Texts:

Homer, Iliad

Sophocles, Antigone

Aristophanes, Clouds

Plato, Apology, Republic

Course Requirements:

Three short (3-5 pp.) papers, final exam.

Course Description:

This seminar will proceed through a close reading of Plato's Laws, examining it as an ancient alternative to modern liberal conceptions of the just society. What is the proper relation of religion to government? Can and should laws be framed so as to teach virtue and not merely to restrain citizens from harming one another? How can a penal code be framed so as to reflect a rational understanding of moral responsibility? What type of education and way of life is best for the happiness of male and female citizens, for the cultivation of political leadership, and for philosophy?

Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor

Course Requirements and Grading Policy:5 bi-weekly 1-2 page papers (maximum 500 words) on a passage not yet discussed in class, due at the beginning of class on alternate Mondays for the first 10 weeks of term (5% each).

5 bi-weekly question sets, elucidating a few of the most important problems in a section of the text not yet discussed in class, and submitted by e-mail before Monday’s class in alternate weeks for the first 10 weeks of term (5% each).

Term paper of 10-15 pages on a topic of your choosing (35%).

Class Participation: 15%.

Texts: Plato’s Laws, trans. Pangle (Chicago). Required.

Platonis, Opera, Volume V, J. Burnet, ed. (Oxford Classical Texts). Recommended for all students who know any Greek.

This course will study Rousseau’s Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts and Emile, followed by Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil. Our aim will be to understand both thinkers’ radical and comprehensive critiques of the Enlightenment or the modern rationalist project of reforming politics and society. Major themes will be human nature and its relation to history, the character of human excellence, freedom, and the relationship of the philosopher to the rest of society. Special attention will be given to Rousseau’s and Nietzsche’s contrasting assessments of compassion, equality, democracy, and the Christian faith. Throughout the course, we will reflect on the impact that the revolutionary teachings of these philosophers have had on the political world in which we live.Some previous study of political philosophy is strongly recommended.

Course Description:

This course will proceed through a close reading of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, the foundational work for his political philosophy and in many ways for all subsequent political thought. Themes will include human nature; the relation of virtue to happiness; the character of moral education; courage and the other moral virtues; reciprocal, distributive, and corrective justice; natural right; moral and criminal responsibility; practical wisdom or prudence; friendship; and the relative merits of the political and philosophic lives.

Grading Policy:
5 bi-weekly 1-2 page papers (maximum 500 words) on a passage not yet discussed in class, due at the beginning of class on alternate Wednesdays for the first 10 weeks of term (5% each).

5 bi-weekly question sets, elucidating a few of the most important problems in a section of the text not yet discussed in class, and submitted by e-mail before Monday’s class in alternate weeks for the first 10 weeks of term (5% each).

Term paper of 10-15 pages on a topic of your choosing (35%).

Class Participation: 15%.


Recommended Texts:

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, trans. Joe Sachs (Focus). Recommended for literalness.

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, trans. Martin Ostwald (Macmillan). Recommended for clarity.

All students who know any Greek at all are strongly urged to buy a Greek text and consult it continually as you read. Best is:

Aristotelis, Ethica Nicomachea, ed. I. Bywater (Oxford).
 
Three useful collections of articles are:

Bartlett, Robert and Susan Collins, eds., Action and Contemplation: Studies in the Moral and Political Thought of Aristotle (SUNY).

Lord, Carnes and David O’Connor, eds., Essays on the Foundations of Aristotelian Political Science (California).

Rorty, Amelie, ed., Essays on Aristotle's Ethics (California).