The Program in Ancient Philosophy is administered jointly by the Departments of Philosophy and Classics, and members of the two departments cooperate in teaching and supervision. The program aims at training productive scholars and effective teachers of ancient philosophy who will also be competent and well-rounded classicists or philosophers. Students apply for admission to, and are accepted by, the Department of Philosophy or Classics, depending on their major interests and previous qualifications. The program is designed differently for students in the two departments, but encourages those enrolled in one department to strengthen their preparation by relevant work in the other.
Each student's program of study is decided in consultation with his or her Special Committee. All students must demonstrate adequate basic knowledge of PreSocratic philosophy, Plato, Aristotle, and ancient philosophy after Aristotle. Normally, students must know enough Greek, Latin, French and German for scholarly work in ancient philosophy.
Details of requirements are available on request; requirements are different for philosophers and classicists.
Normally, students applying to the Program in the Department of Philosophy should know enough Greek to read philosophical texts. This requirement may be waived in special circumstances. Knowledge of Latin is not a requirement for admission to the Program for philosophy candidates.
Faculty members offering instruction in ancient philosophy are Gail Fine (philosophy), Terence Irwin (philosophy), Scott MacDonald (philosophy), and Charles Brittain (classics). Inquiries about this program should be sent to one of them.
Further information can be found on the Classics Department website.