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2019　Philosophy B

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Academic unit or major
Humanities and social science courses
Instructor(s)
Kokubun Koichiro 
Class Format
Lecture     
Media-enhanced courses
Day/Period(Room No.)
Tue5-6(H111)  Fri5-6(H111)  
Group
-
Course number
LAH.H201
Credits
2
Academic year
2019
Offered quarter
1Q
Syllabus updated
2019/3/18
Lecture notes updated
-
Language used
Japanese
Access Index

Course description and aims

When you apologize, are you active or passive? You may say: “active”. No one, however, denies that what is essential in apologizing is that feelings of regret, penitence or whatever emerge in your mind, which is not what you perform actively. As for the other answer, it goes without saying that it is not what you just passively undergo, for, when you apologize, it is, indeed, you who apologize. The distinction between active and passive is so familiar to us that we regard it as necessary, universal and indispensable. But if you take a good look at it, it will appear to be rather awkward, “unnatural”, or, at least, inadequate for describing what happens around us. Starting by questioning the active / passive distinction, this course conducts an investigation into an ancient--in a sense, no longer existing--grammatical category, the middle voice, from various points of view, such as linguistic, historical, political, medical, ethical and, mainly, philosophical.

Student learning outcomes

Although a lecture on philosophy, this course is not such that just deals with “what philosopher said what”. Based on the ancient grammatical category of the “middle voice’ and making use of various concepts created by philosophers, it will tackle problems of our contemporary society.
At the end of this course, students will be able to have an understanding of how philosophy is practiced, namely, of what philosophy is. They will also be able to look at the society with a critical eye, because every one of the above-mentioned concepts is essential when you give consideration to today’s society.

Keywords

Language, linguistics, grammar, activity, spontaneity, freedom, free will, responsibility, power, violence, agreement, Emile Benveniste, Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault, Ancient Greece, Spinoza.

Competencies that will be developed

✔ Specialist skills ✔ Intercultural skills Communication skills ✔ Critical thinking skills Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

The class will be conducted in a lecture format. At every session, handout will be provided.

Course schedule/Required learning

  Course schedule Required learning
Class 1 Introduction: activity, will and responsibility. Understand the course aims.
Class 2 Problem of the Free Will: on the famous experiment of Benjamin Libet. Understand the vague character of the concept of Free Will.
Class 3 Ancient Greek grammatical studies: Plato, Aristotle, Stoics and Thrax. (Part I) Learn how grammatical studies developped in Ancient Greek Philosophy.
Class 4 Ancient Greek grammatical studies: Plato, Aristotle, Stoics and Thrax. (Part II) Learn how grammatical studies developped in Ancient Greek Philosophy.
Class 5 Semantics of the Middle Voice: Émile Benveniste's Linguistcs. (Part I) Understand Benveniste's definition of the Middle Voice.
Class 6 Semantics of the Middle Voice: Émile Benveniste's Linguistcs. (Part II) Understand Benveniste's definition of the Middle Voice.
Class 7 Ancient Greece and the concept of Will. Understand the concept of Will
Class 8 Midterm review of the course and exam. Revise the first half of the course.
Class 9 Power and Violence: Michel Foucault and Hannah Arendt (Part I) Understand the concepts of Power and Violence in Foucault and Arendt.
Class 10 Power and Violence: Michel Foucault and Hannah Arendt (Part II) Understand the concepts of Power and Violence in Foucault and Arendt.
Class 11 How did the middle voice vanish ? Learn the history of language.
Class 12 Middle Voice and the Japanese language. Understand the middle voice in Japanese.
Class 13 Middle Voice and Philosophy (Part I) Learn how the middle voice is important in interpreting some philosophers' thought.
Class 14 Middle Voice and Philosophy (Part II) Learn how the middle voice is important in interpreting some philosophers' thought.
Class 15 Epilogue: Reading Herman Melville's novella "Billy Budd" Understand the course aim again through reading of Melville's famous narrative.

Textbook(s)

None required.

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Koichiro KOKUBUN, The World of the Middle Voice, Igaku-shoin, 2017.

Assessment criteria and methods

Students' course scores are based on midterm (50%) and final exam (50%).

Related courses

  • LAH.H101 ： Philosophy A
  • LAH.H201 ： Philosophy B

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

Curiosity!

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