[Aristotle] PHILOSOPHY 395:
ARISTOTLE
Spring 2001
Dr. Julie Ward
Office.............. Crown 352
Office Phone... (773) 508-2297
Email............... jward@luc.edu
Office Hours.... T/Thn 10:15-11:15 am, 1:30-2:30 pm, and by app't

Course Description
This course is intended for Philosophy majors, and will be conducted primarily as an undergraduate seminar (graduate students are, of course, welcome). The topic of the class will be Aristotle's theory of substance, specifically, the theory of sensible substance that he advances first in the Categories and then in the central books of the Metaphysics. As a background to Aristotle's theory, we shall discuss some passages in Plato that illuminate his views on substance, and then we shall turn to Aristotle's works. In addition to the primary texts, we shall be reading and discussing various scholarly papers and articles on aspects of Aristotle's theory. These are not contained in the regular text books, but will be placed in the Philosophy Lounge (=PL ) in Crown Center, 3rd floor (next to the dept. secretary's office) on the shelves in marked folders. Students are responsible for making their own copies of these materials; please return these materials to the lounge so that other students may use them.

Required Texts
1. Aristotle Categories and De Interpretatione, Trans. with Notes, J. L. Ackrill (Clarendon Press).
2. Aristotle's Metaphysics, Trans. with Commentary, H. G. Apostle (Indiana U. Press).
3. Reserve Readings: secondary articles, papers, in Philosophy Lounge (PL ).

Course Requirements
In addition to regular class discussion, students are required to lead one class discussion (students need to sign up for a topic in advance), and to complete two course writings (see syllabus) due weeks seven and fifteen.

Syllabus

Week

Date

 Topic and Reading(s)
1 Jan 16-18 Inroduction: The Platonic background, Forms, separation, eponymy
Phaedo, 73e-75d,78b-79b,100d-101a, 102e-103c
Republic, 476a-480a,
Symposium, 210a-211e
2 Jan. 23-25 Cat. 1: The theory of homonymy, synonymy, paronymy.
Plus Ackrill, 71-73; T. Irwin, "Aristotle on Homonymy," xerox, PL
3 Jan. 30-Feb. 1 Cat. 2-5: kinds of predication, the categories, on substance.
4 Feb. 6-8 Ackrill 72-91
G. E. L. Owen, "Inherence," in Logic, Science, Dialectic , 252-258
J. Moravcsik, "Aristotle's Theory of Categories," in Aristotle: Critical Essays , in PL
5 Feb. 13-15 Qualities: Cat. 6-15, focus, 7, 8, on relatives
Plus Ackrill, 91-112.
6 Feb. 20-22 Aristotle's criticisms of Platonic Forms, focusing on "Third Man."
Metaphysics I, 6-7, focus 9; XIII, 4-5, 9 (1086a1-b10), 10.
7 Feb. 27-Mar. 1 Meta . IV, focus 1,2: Being and substance, first philosophy as science of "being qua being."
Plus T, Irwin, "Aristotle's Discovery of Metaphysics," xerox, in PL.
Paper # 1 Due: see topic end of syllabus.
8 Mar. 6-8 Mid-Semester Break.
9 Mar. 13-15 The focal analysis of being, priority of substance.
Meta . VII, 1, plus IV, 2 (1003a33-b10), and IX.1 (1045b30- 1046a5)
10 Mar. 20-22 The nature of substance: as matter, form, compound or universal
Meta. VII, 2, 3, 10, 13, 17.
11 Mar. 27-29 Meta. VII, 4-6, 10-12,15: The unity and definability of substance
Meta. VII, 14-16: Criticism of Forms.
Plus Alan Code, "The Aporematic Approach to Primary Being in Meta. Zeta," (xerox), and
M. J. Woods, "Problems in Meta. Zeta, 13," (xerox), in PL .
12 Apr. 3-5 Meta. VIII (all): Matter as poten'ty, form as act'y of sensible substances; the unity of definition.
13 Apr. 10-12 Meta. IX, 1-5: Potentiality
Meta. IX, 6-9: Actuality vs. poten.'ty vs. motion.
14 Apr. 17-19 John Driscoll, "Eide in Aristotle's Earlier and Later Theories of Substance," (xerox), in PL .
15 Apr. 24-26 G. E. L. Owen, "Logic and Meta. in Some Earlier Works of Aristotle," (xerox), and
E. Hartman, "Aristotle on the Identity of Substance and Essence," (xerox), both in PL .
15-16 Apr. 27 - Mon. Apr. 30 Paper #2 Due: see topics end of syllabus.

Notes on Papers
1. Undergraduate papers: paper # 1: min. 6-7 pages; paper # 2: min. 8-9 pages.
2. Graduate papers: paper # 1: min. 8-9 pages, paper # 2: min. 10 pages.
3. In general, papers should give primary focus to Aristotle's text, using scholarly papers as secondary support.

Paper Topics

  Paper #1
  What is Aristotle's account of primary substance in Categories 5? First, explain what features it has, and how secondary substance is related to it. Lastly, consider whether secondary substance is only homonymously called substance (cf. Cat . 1; Irwin).
  Paper #2
  1. Are the conceptions of primary substance in theCategories and the Metaphysics consistent, or does Aristotle develop a further conception in the central books of Meta .? (Cf. Driscoll, Owen).

2. If no universal is substance, and no particular is definable, yet primary substance is particular (a "this"), does it follow that primary substance is not definable? Discuss this puzzle of Aristotle using Meta . Zeta (VII) (cf. Code, Woods, Hartman).

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