Information Package / Course Catalogue
Philosophical Texts I
Course Code: FEL123
Course Type: Area Elective
Couse Group: First Cycle (Bachelor's Degree)
Education Language: Turkish
Work Placement: N/A
Theory: 2
Prt.: 0
Credit: 2
Lab: 0
ECTS: 3
Objectives of the Course

This course aims to analyze and evaluate Plato's major concepts and arguments through a detailed study of his texts.

Course Content

Plato's texts in the context of love of wisdom, Socratic virtue, Irony, Aporia, Theory of Ideas, Immortality of the soul, Soul-body dualism and Purification doctrine.

Name of Lecturer(s)
Res. Assist. Selvihan SELVİ
Learning Outcomes
1.To be informed about the development of ancient philosophy.
2.To have insight into how philosophical texts are positioned in the history of thought and culture.
3.To have insight into the multidimensional and dynamic relationships between philosophers and their texts.
4.To engage with Plato's philosophical thought through a detailed study of his texts.
5.To improve the ability to understand, evaluate and discuss philosophical texts.
Recommended or Required Reading
1.İlkçağ Felsefe Tarihi Sofistlerden Platon’a, Arslan, Ahmet. (2006). İstanbul: İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları.
2.The Oxford Handbook of Plato (2011) Ed. Gail Fine. New York: Oxford University Press.
3.Plato: Complete Works (1997) Ed. John M. Cooper ve D. S. Hutchinson. Hackett Publishing Co.
4.A History of Philosophy, Vol 1 Greece and Rome, From the Pre-Socratics to Plotinus, Copleston, C., F. (1993): USA: Image Books.
5.Platon Filozof Şaire Karşı, Havelock, A., E. (2015) Çev. Adem Beyaz. İstanbul: Pinhan Yayıncılık.
6.Sokrates’in Savunması, Platon (2016) Çev. Ari Çokona. İstanbul: Türkiye İş bankası Kültür Yayınları.
7.Şölen - Dostluk, Platon (2018) Çev. Sebahattin Eyüboğlu- Azra Erhat. İstanbul: Türkiye İş bankası Kültür Yayınları.
8.Phaidon, Platon (2012) Çev. Nazile Kalaycı. İstanbul: Kabalcı Yayıncılık.
9.Devlet, Platon (2010) Çev. Sebahattin Eyüboğlu- M. Ali Cimcoz. İstanbul: Türkiye İş bankası Kültür Yayınları
10.Sokrates’in Savunması, Platon (2017) Çev. Eyüp Gören. İstanbul: Alfa.
11.Şölen, Platon (2015) Çev. Eyüp Çoraklı. İstanbul: Alfa.
12.Ateş ve Güneş Platon Sanatçıları Neden Dışladı, Murdoch, I. (1992) Çev. Serdar Rifat Kırkoğlu. Ayrıntı Yayınları.
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
Week 1 - Theoretical
An Introduction to Plato's thought. Plato's relationship with myth bards, natural philosophers and sophists.
Week 2 - Theoretical
Plato's influence on the history of thought and culture.
Week 3 - Theoretical
Discussion of the classification of Plato's thought into periods.
Week 4 - Theoretical
The figure of the intellectual and moral philosopher presented by Plato in the person of Socrates in his dialogue “The Defense of Socrates”.
Week 5 - Theoretical
Discuss the meaning and significance of Socrates' activity based on Socrates' view of wisdom, his conception of virtue, his analogy of the “horsefly” and his statement that “the untested life is not worth living” as discussed in Plato's dialogue “The Defense of Socrates”.
Week 6 - Theoretical
Discussing the structure of Plato's early or Socratic dialogues in terms of Socrates' method, Socratic irony and aporia based on Plato's dialogue “Friendship”.
Week 7 - Theoretical
Aporia and the need for a radical change of point of view.
Week 8 - Theoretical
Plato's mature thought and the theory of ideas/forms. The analogy of the divided line and the allegory of the cave in Plato's “State”.
Week 9 - Theoretical
Various types of love and the relationship between love and the good in Plato's dialogue “The Symposium”. Comparison of “Friendship” and “The Symposium” in terms of the way the concept of love discussed..
Week 10 - Theoretical
Explaining and discussing the relationship between philosophy and the search for immortality.
Week 11 - Theoretical
The concept of the soul, the relationship between soul and body, and the similarity between soul and idea as discussed in Plato's “Phaidon” dialogue.
Week 12 - Theoretical
Detailed analysis and evaluation of the arguments for the immortality of the soul presented in Plato's “Phaidon” dialogue.
Week 13 - Theoretical
The relationship between the immortality of the soul and the doctrine of purification in Plato's dialogue “Phaidon”. The devaluation of the sensual, bodily and material.
Week 14 - Theoretical
General Review and Evaluation.
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Type of AssessmentCountPercent
Midterm Examination1%40
Final Examination1%60
Workload Calculation
ActivitiesCountPreparationTimeTotal Work Load (hours)
Lecture - Theory140228
Reading140114
Midterm Examination115217
Final Examination118220
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours)79
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
PÇ-1
PÇ-2
PÇ-3
PÇ-4
PÇ-5
PÇ-6
PÇ-7
PÇ-8
PÇ-9
PÇ-11
OÇ-1
5
5
5
4
5
OÇ-2
5
4
5
4
OÇ-3
3
3
3
3
OÇ-4
4
4
4
5
OÇ-5
5
5
5
5
5
Adnan Menderes University - Information Package / Course Catalogue
2026