This course is an opportunity to read and discuss the most significant political statements of three foundational figures in the Western political tradition: Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. Throughout the course, we'll be paying attention to both historical context and philosophical argument and aiming to stimulate reflection on key terms in the modern political lexicon (e.g. politics, democracy, republic, justice, citizenship) by engaging with their Greek and Latin origins. Of special interest will be conceptualizations of and relationships between a) the good (to agathon), the just or rightful (to dikaion), the common (koinon), and the advantageous or beneficial (to sympheron), and b) the honorable (honestas) and the useful (utilitas).
We'll be reading Plato's Republic and Laws; Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, and some of the Rhetoric; and Cicero's Republic, Laws, and some of the On Duties. It will be a lot of reading but the debates between these authors are some of the most intellectually powerful and rewarding around. If you enjoy engaging with philosophical ideas about politics and can put some time and energy into the reading, it'll be worth it. Please email daniela.cammack@berkeley.edu if you'd like to know more.