Chang School of Continuing Education

CPHL 187 FA0 Classical Philosophy Summer 2025

Draft Outline

Instructor: Gary Toop

E-mail: gtoop@[Link]
Classroom & Times: Tuesday & Thursday 9am-12pm on Zoom.
Office Hours: By Zoom (student’s choice) 11:35am-12pm Tuesday and Thursday.

Course Description
This course is a LOWER-LEVEL Liberal Studies course.
This course explores major themes in Ancient Greek thought. The course covers some of the philosophical ideas
introduced by the Presocratic Philosophers and later developed by Plato and Aristotle to answer a wide range of
questions, e.g., What is the good life for a human being? What is knowledge? How should we distinguish reality from
appearances? What kinds of things exist? What is the soul? Is the soul immortal?

Course Objectives
At the end of this course students will be expected to be able to:
1. Understand and explain in writing the ways the philosophers studied approach the questions above in the course
readings.
2. Read, analyze, and evaluate philosophical reasoning of the kinds used in the readings.
3. Support analyses of philosophical writing with appropriate reasoning.

Teaching Methods
This course will use a combination of Zoom Lectures and Question & Answer (Q & A) sessions and text-based Chat-Room
Office Time at the end of the class. Full text transcripts of the Zoom Lectures will be available on the course website
within 24 hours of being live – technology permitting. (Zoom sometimes is slower than 24 hours in providing transcripts.)
All recordings, transcripts of Zoom Lectures and Q & A sessions, will be removed from the course website 10 days after
being posted or less- none will be available during the Midterm or Final Exam. Students are expected to make their own
careful notes from the recordings before that time.

Required Text, Readings

The Zoom Lectures and Q & A sessions will be addressed to people who have done the readings carefully prior to class
and work to improve the understanding developed on that basis. Students are responsible for the contents of all
required readings, PowerPoints, Zoom lectures and Q & A sessions. The course will provide a range of materials for
student use, which means that notetaking is an essential skill.

There is one required textbook for the course: Curd and McKirahan. A Presocratics Reader. 2nd Ed. Hackett Pub. Co.
2011. You can order it at the following link in various e-book formats. These are offered at a range of prices. The Kindle
version is $17.17 (CAN) [Link]

Other required readings will be found in Library E-Reserve, on the course website, shortly after the term begins.

Evaluation
Assignment Due % of Final Mark
Reflection #1 July 9-14 10%
Midterm Test July 17
25%
(Essay format, everything to end of previous class) 9:10am-10:40am
Reflection #2 July 30-Aug 5 25%
Final Exam (Essay Format, Entire course) 9:10am-12pm 40%
Grades will be available 10-14 days after the due date (unless they have been submitted after the dates noted above).
Changes
Any changes to course requirements, deadlines, assignment formats or weightings will be discussed in class and
announced before being implemented.

Sources for Reflections, Mid-Term, and Final Assignment

A more detailed explanation of the requirements for the reflections will be posted by the end of the third class. In brief,
each student will be given 24 hours (Reflection #1) /48 hours (Reflection #2) to write an essay responding to a question
given by the instructor about the course readings. The Reflections will be open for 5 days (for Reflection #1), 7 days (for
Reflection #2), so that students can choose the 24/48-hour period for writing the Reflection. They will not see the
question until they open the Reflection, which will be available as a Quiz. Responses to the first Reflection will be limited
to 500 words, responses to the second to 900 words, not including the list of Works Cited or direct quotations.

Students should use only the Required Readings, materials available on the course website, and their own insight, for the
Reflections, Midterm, and Final Exam. All sources, both on and outside of the course website must be properly noted.
Sources from off the course website are used at the student’s own risk: students are responsible for any errors or
misunderstandings that enter their work from any sources not on the course website. All materials in E-Reserve and
under Course Information can be used – including the 3 Encyclopedias of Philosophy. However, students should keep in
mind that all graded work will test the student’s comprehension of the assigned reading, and not of the supporting
material.

Communication
Students should use email for any communication that discloses private information and use the Public Q & A Discussion
Forum for all other questions: students who email questions appropriate to the Public Q & A Discussion Forum to the
instructor may be asked to post them to the Public Q & A Discussion Forum, both out of consideration to other students
and in the interest of time-management. The instructor will read and respond to email and Discussion Board posts from
Monday morning to Friday afternoon and may respond on weekends, time permitting.

Paper Format and Academic Misconduct

All referencing in Reflections must conform to MLA format. Work that fails to meet the purpose of this kind of citation
will be penalized: all material from the course readings and other sources must be referenced with citations that include
page numbers for all materials that have page numbers, or more precise methods such as paragraph numbering,
enabling quotations and close paraphrasing to be verified. Information on MLA format can be found here: Purdue Online
Writing Lab - MLA Formatting and Style Guide. Students should have a list of “Works Cited” that conforms to MLA
format. Do not provide a title page.

Permission to use artificial intelligence tools to generate content for your essay is expressly denied by the instructor: that
is, students are strictly forbidden by course policy to use these tools to generate content for your essay. Toronto
Metropolitan University’s Policy 60: Academic Integrity prohibits “submitting work created in whole or in part by artificial
intelligence tools unless expressly permitted by the Faculty/Contract Lecturer” and “submitting work that does not
reasonably demonstrate your own knowledge, understanding and performance.” If you’re unsure of a resource you’ve
found, please ask in the thread on Reflections in the Public Q & A Discussion Board for guidance.
Students are reminded that failure to properly reference sources, including the course readings and on-line lectures, may
constitute Academic Misconduct, which can lead to serious penalties beginning with, but not limited to, a significant
grade reduction on the Reflection, Midterm and Final Exam, and extending to expulsion from the University. Students are
required to be familiar with Ryerson's Academic Integrity policies. More information can be found here:
[Link]

Reflections, Midterm and Final Exam Submission

While Reflections should be submitted both to the Assignments dropbox on D2L and to Quizzes, students should ensure
they have an appropriately backed up copy. Work submitted to the dropbox also will be submitted to Turnitin. Students
who do not want their work submitted to this plagiarism detection service must, by the end of the second week of class,
consult with the instructor to make alternate arrangements.
Late Reflections
Unless students can provide evidence of a medical reason, conflict with religious observance, or evidence that there are
compassionate grounds for an extension, late work be penalized. Reflections that exceed the 24/48-hour time limit will
be penalized at the rate of 10% per day. Work that falls within those limits but is submitted after the deadline will be
penalized 5% per day. Students requiring an extension or requesting an Accommodation must request it at least 72 hours
(3 days) in advance of the start date, unless it is impossible to do so for documentable reasons.

Missed Test or Exam

As with Reflections, requests for Accommodations for the Midterm and Final Exam must be made at least 72 hours (3
days) before they begin. Students missing either the Midterm or the Final Exam must contact the instructor as soon as
possible. They must be able to document medical or compassionate reasons for missing it or show that writing it
conflicts with a religious observance. Students who cannot provided a documented reason for writing a late Midterm or
Final Exam will be subject to a minimum 10% late penalty for the Midterm and minimum 15% for the Final exam. In the
interest of fairness, this policy will be strictly enforced.

Online Discussion Protocol

• We will show philosophical respect for all opinions and ideas in this class. “Philosophical respect” means that all
speakers will be treated with courtesy and respect. Time permitting, ideas will be subject to close logical scrutiny.
• However, we will not tolerate sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist or similar types of comments.
• Part of respecting each other’s opinions means generally one person speaks at a time while the rest listen
attentively. (Every effort will be made to facilitate this technologically!)
• Distributing recordings of the class and any other class materials without permission from the instructor is strictly
forbidden as this violates the privacy of both students and the instructor.

Academic Consideration Requests

You can submit an Academic Consideration Request when an extenuating circumstance has occurred that has
significantly impacted your ability to fulfill an academic requirement. You may always visit the Senate website and select
the blue radio button on the top right-hand side entitled: Academic Consideration Request (ACR) to submit this request.
For Extenuating Circumstances, Policy 167: Academic Consideration allows for a once per semester ACR request without
supporting documentation if the absence is less than 3 days in duration and is not for a final exam/final
assessment. Absences more than 3 days in duration and those that involve a final exam/final assessment, always require
documentation. Students must notify their instructor once a request for academic consideration is submitted. See
Senate Policy 167: Academic Consideration.
Academic Accommodation Support
Academic Accommodation Support (AAS) is the university's disability services office. AAS works directly with incoming
and returning students looking for help with their academic accommodations. AAS works with any student who requires
academic accommodation regardless of program or course load.
• Learn more about Academic Accommodation Support.
• Learn how to register with AAS.
• Learn about Policy 159: Academic Accommodation of Students with Disabilities
Academic Accommodations (for students with disabilities) and Academic Consideration (for students faced with
extenuating circumstances that can include short-term health issues) are governed by two different university policies.
Learn more about Academic Accommodations versus Academic Consideration and how to access each.

Readings – The list below will be completed for our First Class, Tuesday May 6.
While the discussion will concentrate on the selections noted, it may range over the entire selection in the course text.
Students are expected to have read the selections before the class on the date indicated and to read them more than
once. Links to a few supplementary resources are available on E-Reserve. Students are reminded that they will be
evaluated on their detailed understanding of the course readings, not on concepts as presented in secondary materials
 Cla Dates Reading
Topic
ss
1 June 24 Introduction Havelock: “The Homeric State of Mind”
2 June 26 Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Curd and McKirahan: Chaps. 2 & 4
Xenophanes of Croton
3 July 3 Pythagoras and Early Pythagoreanism Curd and McKirahan: Chaps. 3, 12, & 5,
Philolaus of Croton
Heraclitus
4 July 8 Heraclitus, Parmenides & Zeno Curd and McKirahan: Chaps. 5, 6 & 7
Melissus of Samos
July 9-14 Reflection #1
5 July 10 Empedocles Curd and McKirahan: Chaps. 8, 9, 10, 11
Anaxagoras
Leucippus and Democritus
6 July 15 Diogenes of Apollonia Curd and McKirahan: Chap. 13
The Sophists
7 July 17 Mid-Term (Thales-Democritus - short Curd and McKirahan: Chap. 14
essays)
Plato: Apology
8 July 22 Plato: Apology Library E-Reserve
Plato: Crito
9 July 24 Plato: Republic selections Library E-Reserve
Parmenides selection
10 July 29 Plato: Parmenides selection Library E-Reserve
Intro to Aristotle
Selections from Aristotle: Nicomachean
Ethics
July 30 – Aug 5 Reflection #2
11 July 31 Selections from Aristotle: Nicomachean Library E-Reserve
Ethics
12 Aug 5 Selections from Aristotle: Nicomachean Library E-Reserve
Ethics
Aug 7 In-Class Final Exam (Short Essays, covering entire course)

Important Resources Available at Toronto Metropolitan University

• The University Libraries provide research workshops and individual consultation appointments. There is a
drop-in Research Help desk on the second floor of the library, and students can use the Library's virtual
research help service to speak with a librarian, or book an appointment to meet in person or online.
• Student Life and Learning Support offers group-based and individual help with writing, math, study skills,
and transition support, as well as resources and checklists to support students as online learners.
• If taking a remote course, familiarize yourself with the tools you will need to use for remote learning. The
Remote Learning Guide for students includes guides to completing quizzes or exams in D2L Brightspace,
with or without Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor, using D2L Brightspace, joining online
meetings or lectures, and collaborating with the Google Suite.
• Information on Copyright for Faculty and students.
• Information on Academic Integrity for Faculty and students.

Wellbeing Support
At Toronto Metropolitan University, we recognize that things can come up throughout the term that may
interfere with a student’s ability to succeed in their coursework. These circumstances are outside of one’s
control and can have a serious impact on physical and mental well-being. Seeking help can be a challenge,
especially in those times of crisis.
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call 911 and go to the nearest hospital emergency room.
You can also access these outside resources at anytime:
• Distress Line: 24/7 line for if you are in crisis, feeling suicidal or in need of emotional support (phone:
416–408–4357)
• Good2Talk: 24/7-hour line for postsecondary students (phone: 1-866-925-5454)
• [Link]: 24/7 access to confidential support through counsellors via My SSP app or 1-844-451-
9700
If non-crisis support is needed, you can access these campus resources:
• Centre for Student Development and Counselling: 416-979-5195 or email csdc@[Link]
• Consent Comes First – Office of Sexual Violence Support and Education: 416-919-5000 ext 3596 or
email osvse@[Link]
• Medical Centre: call (416) 979-5070 to book an appointment
We encourage all Toronto Metropolitan University community members to access available resources to ensure
support is reachable. You can find more resources available through the Toronto Metropolitan University
Mental Health and Wellbeing website.