UCL Summer School in Ancient Philosophy 2026

NB: This course will be available both in person and online

How did philosophy start in Ancient Greece? What were the Ancients thinking about, 2,500 years ago? Is Ancient Philosophy still relevant today? These are all questions one may reasonably have when starting a course on Ancient Philosophy.

The purpose of this course is to give an overview of the central figures and issues of Ancient Philosophy, to those with little familiarity of the subject. Following the Ancient way of doing philosophy, we shall not restrict ourselves to one specific area of study (like metaphysics or epistemology), but tackle philosophical problems in their complex nature, that is, by looking altogether at their ethical, metaphysical, epistemological and political dimensions.

In doing this, we will spend day one in discussing some of the theories held by the Pre-Socratic Philosophers. Days two and three will see us move on to Socrates and Plato, before spending day four on Aristotle. We will conclude on day five by learning about some of the theories held by the Ancient Stoics. Being an introductory module, the course is open to anyone with an interest in, but little familiarity of, Ancient Philosophy.

What exists, really? Do the things we observe and interact with in nature really exist? If they do, are they just as they appear to us, or are they composed of more fundamental building blocks? Also, how can things change while, in some sense, remaining the same? And why do they change in the ways they do, and not in some other ways? These are some of the central questions that metaphysics has grappled with, from Classical Greece to the present day.

This module explores the birth and infancy of Western metaphysics. We shall examine the questions that shaped the Ancient Greek philosophical debate, and the answers that were proposed, along with their strengths and weaknesses. Our objective will be to reflect on the deepest features of the world we inhabit, many of which we often take for granted — do things really move, for instance? To guide our inquiry, we will turn to the greats of the Greek tradition, including Parmenides, Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus, among others. The module will thus serve both as an introduction to central topics in metaphysics, and as an overview of how the founders of Western philosophy conceived of the nature of reality.

Participants need only bring their first-hand experience of the world, and their capacity to reason — after all, some would say that’s all one needs to do metaphysics.

When we think of Greek Philosophy, we usually immediately think of Plato. His influence on the history of philosophy can hardly be underestimated - indeed it is this influence that led Alfred North Whitehead to declare that the European philosophical tradition consists entirely in a series of “footnotes to Plato”. What, however, caused Whitehead to make such a claim? Why exactly is Plato so important? What did he actually say? What can his millennia-old theories still teach us? If you find yourself asking these questions, then this is the course for you!

The course will introduce you to some of the most important topics of Plato’s philosophy, including metaphysics, ethics, politics, and epistemology. The course is open to anyone with an interest in Plato and, more generally, ancient philosophy. There are no requirements to enrol in this module.

What is happiness and how can it be achieved? Is virtue necessary, or even sufficient, for a good life? How much does fortune matter? And can pleasure play any legitimate role in living well? These are some of the central ethical questions that interested ancient Greek philosophers. If you’ve ever wondered about such questions, or are simply interested in ancient philosophy, this is the course for you.

You will be introduced to the major views on happiness (eudaimonia) developed by Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus and the Stoics. We will read and discuss key passages directly from their works, including Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, and Epicurus’ Letters. We will explore how these thinkers understood the good life, and consider whether their ideas have any relevance for us today. Whether you are completely new to philosophy or are looking to deepen your understanding of ancient Greek philosophy, this course allows you to engage with the major ancient Greek views on happiness. No prior knowledge is required.

This introductory course surveys discussions of women, gender, and sexuality in the corpora of Plato and Aristotle, and examines the receptions of these ancient philosophers in modern feminist theory. We will read a range of Platonic and Aristotelian texts, looking specifically at their attention to women, sexual difference, society, and power. Patriarchy is, of course, enduring, and spans well beyond the ancient world into our own. In this course, therefore, we will ask how Platonic and Aristotelian conceptions of women and gender influence or contradict modern patriarchy and, more specifically, how contemporary feminist philosophers receive and reread Plato and Aristotle with their feminist projects in mind.

This course includes both rigorous close readings of ancient philosophy and a broader survey of its significance to the present day, and creates space for going back to the ancient world with dissidence and creativity. There are no prerequisites for this course – we will spend some time getting thoroughly acquainted with both feminist theory and ancient philosophy, and we will read the classical texts in translation.

NB: This course is available in online format only

Philosophers in antiquity devoted significant attention to the nature of the affective relations that draw human beings together. Why do people establish interpersonal bonds in the first place? What is distinctive of love (erôs) as opposed to friendship (philia)? What makes these attachments long-lasting or otherwise short-lived? Plato’s and Aristotle’s views on these issues has remained the starting point for any philosophical enquiry into the the nature of love and friendship. As is often the case, Plato and Aristotle come out with interestingly different answers to a set of shared questions, which makes it all the more interesting to compare and contrast their respective views. Most notably, Plato assigns a fundamental role to love, while Aristotle confines himself to a few pronouncements on that theme and, by contrast, has a lot to say about friendship. 
  
In this module we will look at the main texts on love and friendship by Plato and Aristotle. First, we will start with Plato’s Symposium: in this most famous work by Plato, participants in a drinking party deliver a series of speeches in praise of love. The apex of the dialogue is reached with Socrates’ own speech (201d-212c), which is based in large part on the teachings of a mysterious priestess called Diotima. Second, we will move on to Plato’s other great dialogue on love, the Phaedrus: here, too, the apex of the dialogue is reached when Socrates offers a speech in praise of love.

Next, we shall look at Plato’s dialogue on friendship, the Lysis, together with a selection of passages from other works (e. g. Republic, Giorgias, Laws). The second part of the module will be devoted to Aristotle’s examination of friendship: this occurs in books VIII and IX of his Nicomachean Ethics as well as in book VII of his lesser-known ethical work, the Eudemian Ethics. Roughly speaking, one fifth of Aristotle’s ethical reflection in either ethical work is taken up by his examination of friendship, which speaks to the importance he attaches to this theme. We shall look in detail at how Aristotle goes about investigating this topic. Particular attention will be paid to some of the tenets he advocates, e.g. that friends wish one another well for their own sakes; that there are three species of friendship, but primary friendship is based on the other’s virtuous character; and that a friend is another self (allos autos). 
  
There are no requirements for enrolment in this module. All the texts will be read in English translation with occasional references to, and explanations of, key Greek terms. Here and there we will draw on literature (ranging from Shakespeare to Bob Dylan) and movies bearing on love and friendship. Select podcasts will be used as teaching aids. 

This course has been designed to enable students without any knowledge of Greek to begin to read and write the language in the original using Plato's Meno. We will use Frank Beetham's book Learning Greek with Plato - A beginner's course in Classical Greek, Liverpool University Press, 2014 and we expect to cover at least up to section 12 (p. 147) of this book.

We will start with the alphabet and accentuation and move on to examine basic rules of grammar and syntax concerning cases, the declension of nouns and the fundamental system of verb endings as well as the content of some selected passages from Plato's Meno. In our classes we will also discuss new vocabulary and we will aim to practice through exercises.

By the end if the course the student will be able to:

• understand the main rules of Greek grammar and syntax
• appreciate Plato's style and language
• begin to read Classical philosophy in Greek
• relate a translation of the text and follow a commentary on the basic ideas

The course is open to anyone interested in Platonic ideas and ancient philosophy in the original Greek. No prior knowledge of Greek is required for this course.

This course introduces students to a central debate in Contemporary Philosophy by exploring its roots in Ancient Philosophy: Are we ultimately material bodies or immaterial souls? This question has exercised some of the greatest thinkers in the history of philosophy and remains as relevant today as it was in ancient times. In this course, we will first examine the main positions defended in ancient Indian and Greek Philosophy and then consider how they relate to live debates about personal identity and consciousness in Contemporary Philosophy. Students will gain a grasp of core concepts in metaphysics, ontology, epistemology and logic that will prepare them for further exploration of both Indian and Western philosophical traditions and approaches. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required.

What is the ideal political state? How should it be governed—through democracy, autocracy, or something else? Who should lead it? What happens when states become corrupt, or even tyrannical? Is corruption inevitable, or can it be prevented? What is the duty of a citizen, and how does one act as a good citizen? Can personal interests ever conflict with civic responsibilities? How should society treat those who break the laws?

These questions are familiar to any political philosophy class and dominate news headlines every day. Yet over 2,000 years ago, ancient philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were asking—and attempting to answer—these very questions, often for the first time. Their ideas continue to shape political thought and society today.

This course will introduce you to the political philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. We will explore questions such as why Socrates chose to respect the laws of Athens rather than escape when sentenced to death, Plato’s famous argument that philosopher-kings should rule the city, and Aristotle’s vision of how the polis (city) can help citizens achieve happiness (eudaimonia).