FYS 1287 - Socrates and the Invention of Philosophy

Credits: 4
This course will explore the origins of what the Greeks called philosophía—’love of knowledge’—by focusing on a key question: why was Socrates, Plato’s beloved mentor and friend, tried and executed in 399 BCE? We will conduct a new trial of Socrates in 2025 and our investigation will be far reaching. Why did Plato abandon his own career plans to devote his life to Socrates? What was the ‘Socratic method’ and what were Socrates’ goals in questioning his fellow citizens? Why did Plato write only in the form of dialogues—conversations with Socrates—and how do we distinguish his ideas from those of his teacher? And we will consider how the invention of ‘philosophy’ was related to the cultural achievements of Athens in the 5th century BCE: its poetry and drama, art and architecture, politics and democracy.
McDaniel Plan: First-Year Seminar