Section Info: PHIL-254-01

Course Title: Philosophy in the Ancient World

Start Date: 01/27/2026 End Date: 05/12/2026

Term: Spring Semester 2026

Description: This course is a study of texts and ideas from four of the oldest written philosophical traditions: the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, classical China, ancient Greece, and early India. The course focuses primarily on texts in moral philosophy and epistemology, including such classics as "The Eloquent Peasant," the Zhuangzi, Plato's Apology, and the Upanishads. Students will develop their skills of reading ancient philosophical texts in translation, analyzing arguments, and understanding ideas in historical and cultural context. The principal aim, however, is to take these views and arguments seriously and ask how they might be defended, adopted, or critiqued today.

Distribution(s): I - Humanities , MP - Multicultural Perspectives , WI - Writing-Intensive

Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate

Credits:4.00

Faculty	Phone	Email address
James Harold	413-538-2366	jharold@mtholyoke.edu

Meeting Dates	Method	Meeting days	Meeting times	Building name	Room	Frequency
01/27/2026 - 05/12/2026	Discussion	Tuesday and Thursday	03:15PM - 04:30PM	SKNR - Skinner Hall	212	Weekly

REGISTRATION DETAILS

Requisite Courses
None

Comments

Additional Comments

Course Tags

Cross-listed Sections

None

Course Availability
Section status: Waitlisted	Capacity: 18	Enrollment: 20	Available: 0	Waitlist: 2

Please note: The "Available" count will equal 0 in a Waitlisted course where spaces in the course have recently opened and students have not yet been moved into them from the waitlist.

BOOK INFORMATION

Book List	Required	Publisher Full Price
To be determined.

Additional Book Comments

This is NOT the complete book list for this class.