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Course Description

In this course, we will take up a close reading of Plato’s dialogue, Phaedrus. One of Plato’s most complex and rewarding works, Phaedrus discusses the role of speech and argument in persuasion, the psychology and significance of erotic love at both the individual and cosmic levels, the immortality and reincarnation of the soul, and the question whether philosophy can be communicated in written form at all. Other Platonic dialogues may be read to support our discussion of this one. Other documents as well may be provided by the instructor in PDF form, such as other speeches on erotic love by orators, texts by sophists, and parallel passages from the Upanishads.

Course Outline

Plato, Phaedrus. Nehamas and Woodruff, trans. Hackett Publishing. 978-0872202214.
NB: this is the translation included in:
Plato, Complete Works. Cooper, ed. Hackett Publishing. 978-0872203495.
Reference to the text will be to Stephanus page number, which every translation includes. You may use just about any
translation you desire, but the Nehamas/Woodruff one, or the one by Hackforth, will give you the best reading
experience.
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