PHV129 Plato without Ideas

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Josef Petrželka, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Josef Petrželka, Ph.D.
Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! PH0190 Plato without Forms
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
To introduce another topics of Plato's thought besides the central motive of his philosophy - the ontological conception of forms.
To explain Plato's philosophy of nature, his psychology, political philosophy, theory of arts.
To indicate the significance of Plato's conceptions in these topics for the history of thinking.
Learning outcomes
After the completion of the course, student should be able to:
- give a more comprehensive survey of Plato's thought and his writings;
- interpret choosed Plato's dialogues;
- explain Plato's contribution to the development of the four topics (viz. the synopsis).
Syllabus
  • 1. Plato on the order of the cosmos
  • A. Cosmos in the context of Plato's writings
  • B. The material structure of the world
  • a. The four elements
  • b. The geometrical foundation of the elements
  • c. The fifth element?
  • C. The cosmological structure
  • D. Order and finality
  • a. The demand of teleological exposition
  • b. The teleological exposition of the cosmos
  • c. Finality and necessity
  • E. Plato's cosmos in the context of history of cosmology
  • 2. Plato on the soul
  • A. Soul in Plato's thinking
  • B. Soul in the physics and cosmology
  • a. Soul and cosmos
  • b. Soul and motion
  • C. Soul in ethics and politics
  • a. Soul and man
  • b. Soul and city
  • D. Immortality of the soul
  • E. Plato's exposition about the soul in the historical context
  • 3. Plato on society and state
  • A. Plato and politics
  • B. The city of philosophers
  • C. The city of laws
  • D. Plato's cities in the historical context
  • 4. Plato on art
  • A. Art in Plato's writings
  • B. Art and the polis
  • a. Art as evil for polis
  • b. Art as good for polis
  • C. Art as mania
  • D. Plato the artist
  • E. Plato's conception of art in the context of history of thought
Literature
    required literature
  • PETRŽELKA, Josef. Platón bez idejí (Plato without Forms). 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2013. ISBN 978-80-210-6260-3. url info
    recommended literature
  • PLATÓN. Timaios ;Kritias. 3. opr. vyd. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2008, 127 s. ISBN 80-86005-07-0. info
  • PLATÓN. Ústava. Translated by František Novotný. 4., opr. vyd. Praha: OIKOYMENH, 2005, 427 s. ISBN 8072981420. info
  • PLATÓN. Zákony. Translated by František Novotný. 2. vyd. Praha: OIKOYMENH, 1997, 383 s. ISBN 80-86005-31-3. info
  • PLATÓN. Faidón. Translated by František Novotný. 6., opr. vyd. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2005, 107 s. ISBN 8072981587. info
  • PLATÓN. Faidros. 4. opr. vyd. Praha: ISE, 1993, 85 s. ISBN 80-85241-33-1. info
  • PLATÓN. Epinomis ;Minós ; Kleitofón ; Pseudoplatonika ; Epigramy. 2. vyd. Praha: Oikoymenh, 1997, 239 s. ISBN 80-86005-42-9. info
  • PLATÓN. Hippias Větší ;Hippias Menší ; Ión ; Menexenos. 1. vyd. Praha: Oikoymenh, 1996, 142 s. ISBN 80-86005-03-8. info
  • PLATÓN. Filébos. 3. opr. vyd. Praha: ISE, 1994, 100 s. ISBN 80-85241-35-8. info
  • PLATÓN. Politikos. Čtvrté opravené vydání. Praha: OIKOYMENH, 2005, 95 stran. ISBN 8072981595. info
  • Plato :complete works. Edited by John M. Cooper. Indianopolis: Hackett publishing company, 1997, xxx, 1808. ISBN 0-87220-349-2. info
  • Plato's Laws : a critical guide. Edited by Christopher Bobonich. 1st pub. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, viii, 245. ISBN 9780521884631. info
  • PLATÓN. Theagés ; Charmidés ; Lachés ; Lysis ; Euthydémos ; Prótagoras ; Gorgias ; Menón ; Hippias Větší ; Hippias Menší ; Ión ; Menexenos. Edited by Platón, Translated by František Novotný. Vyd. 1. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2003, 540 s. ISBN 8072980661. info
  • PLATÓN. Plato's Timaeus. Edited by Peter Kalkavage. Newburyport, MA: Focus, 2001, x, 163. ISBN 9781585100071. info
  • PLATÓN. Parmenidés ; Filébos ; Symposion ; Faidros ; Alkibiadés I, II ; Hipparchos ; Milovníci. Edited by Platón, Translated by František Novotný. Vyd. 1. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2003, 430 s. ISBN 8072980637. info
  • PLATÓN. Euthyfrón ; Obrana Sókrata ; Kritón ; Faidón ; Kratylos ; Theaitétos ; Sofistés ; Politikos. Edited by Platón, Translated by František Novotný. Vyd. 1. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2003, 558 s. ISBN 8072980629. info
  • PLATÓN. Minós ; Zákony ; Epinomis ; Listy ; Výměry ; O spravedlivu ; O zdatnosti ; Démodokos ; Sisyfos ; Eryxias ; Axiochos ; Ledňáček ; Epigramy. Edited by Platón, Translated by František Novotný. Vyd. 1. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2003, 685 s. ISBN 8072980688. info
  • Platónova Ústava a Zákony :sborník příspěvků z platónského symposia konaného v Praze ve dnech 4.-5.dubna 1997. Edited by Aleš Havlíček, Translated by Štěpán Blahůšek. Vyd. 1. Praha: Oikoymenh, 1999, 203 s. ISBN 80-86005-88-7. info
  • HAVLÍČEK, Aleš and Filip KARFÍK. Plato's Phaedo :Proceedings of the Second symposium Platonicum Pragense. Prague: Oikoymenh, 2001, 474 s. ISBN 80-7298-031-9. info
  • The Blackwell guide to Plato's Republic. Edited by Gerasimos Xenophon Santas. 1st pub. Malden: Blackwell, 2006, ix, 292. ISBN 9781405115643. info
  • Plato's Timaeus as cultural icon. Edited by Gretchen J. Reydams-Schils. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2003, xiv, 334. ISBN 0268038724. info
  • One book, the whole universe : Plato's Timaeus today. Edited by Richard D. Mohr - Barbara M. Sattler. Las Vegas: Parmenides, 2010, 406 s. ISBN 9781930972322. info
  • ŠPINKA, Štěpán. Duše a řeč. 1. vyd. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2009, 279 s. ISBN 9788072983902. info
  • THEIN, Karel. Myšlení v nás : tři platónské studie. Vyd. 1. Praha: Filosofia, 2010, 362 s. ISBN 9788070073292. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, on-line study materials, on-line tests.
Assessment methods
Oral colloqium on one from four main topics of the course choosed by student. You will elaborate written preparation for your own use at the colloquium. The preparation should be based on the study text and on a Plato's dialogue, which is important for the topic choosen (eventually of further literature as well).
To participate in the colloquium you need
  • either to pass all the "training" tests in ELF (only for your more comprehensive acquaintance with the course content, the result of the tests will not play any role in the colloquium),
  • or regularly actively participate in class work (activity will be recorded).

    • Before the colloquium you have to test your understanding of the choosed topic in the course with the same name in the ELF (password non_ideje). The result will show you if you are ready for the colloquium.

    ECTS: oral colloquium
    Language of instruction
    Czech
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    Study Materials
    The course is taught once in three years.
    The course is taught: every week.
    Information on the extent and intensity of the course: kombinovaná forma: 16 hodin/semestr.
    Teacher's information
    http://is.muni.cz/elportal/?id=1081099
    The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2022.
    • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/PHV129