DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY AND CLASSICS AT UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
Course Descriptions
PHCL 101: Civilisations of the Ancient World
A study of the multiple sources of contemporary civilisations, demonstrating that certain lifestyles
and life-conditions in antiquity conduce to our biological species more effectively than do certain
modern lifestyles and conditions, and that increasingly globalised standards of excellence in the
arts, sciences and technological enterprise date back many centuries and are the common heritage
of humankind.
PHCL 102: Philosophical Questions
Designed to stimulate thought and discussion through the reading of extracts from primary texts
that address central problems in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy. The
aim is to help the student develop analytic skills by distinguishing problems that are philosophical
from those that are social, political, scientific, historical, theological, or doctrinal.
PHCL 201: Problems of Philosophy
Introduces excerpts of seminal texts to reveal lasting controversies and questions that concern
basic assumptions central to the canons of metaphysics, epistemology, foundations of morality,
social commentary and political thought.
PHCL 202: Outlines of Graeco-Roman Literatures
An historical account of key genres in ancient Greek and Roman literary works, traced from their
folkloric orality and prototypes to their conscious classical developments, as illustrated through
critical discussion of sample texts.
PHCL 203: Outlines of Graeco-Roman Civilisations
A broad and general study of ancient Graeco-Roman civilisations, highlighting processes in the
development of material culture and the major trends and developments in social (including
religious), constitutional (including political), and literary (including philosophical) history.
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PHCL 204: Elements of Formal Logic
Introduction to propositional logic, elementary techniques of natural deduction, basic concepts of
validity and soundness, distinguishing the syntactic analysis of reasoned argument from the varied
criteria used for assessing other uses of language.
LEVEL 300 PHILOSOPHY
PHIL 301: Deductive Logic
Provides practical familiarity with quantificational first order predicate logic, and a cursory survey
of some basic features of formal systems such as consistency, adequacy, and the significance of
undecidable formulas.
PHIL 302: Socratic Philosophy
A critical introduction to Plato’s Socratic Dialogues, with special emphasis on analyses and
discussions of the enduring scholarly issues in Socratic method(s), epistemology, ethics, politics
and religion.
PHIL 303: Moral Philosophy
Distinguishing normative reasoning from meta-ethics, this course will study the foundations,
nature, and function of morality, covering scepticism, naturalist and subjectivist vs. realist theories
of morality, varieties of ethical relativism and objectivism, ethics of care, virtue ethics, notions of
integrity, moral weakness and moral responsibility, free will.
PHIL 304: Social and Political Philosophy
An examination of principles central to the normative appraisals of human agency and institutions
involving the concepts of justice, legitimate authority, sovereignty, power, self-determination,
democratic governance, representation, participation, obligation, equity, civil liberty, human
rights, and ideology.
PHIL 305: Philosophy of Mind
An examination of modern and classical problems connected with the notion of mind as it
emerged from the European Enlightenment’s mechanistic worldview, including the place of
consciousness in the physical world, diagnostic methods for treating metaphysical confusion
emanating from everyday psychological vocabulary, artificial life and intelligence, action and
intentionality.
PHIL 306: Empiricism
Critical survey of classical and modern texts that propose knowledge is somehow based upon
sense experience. Discussion focuses upon works in the British empiricism of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries: Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Reid, and subsequent work that their views inspired,
e.g. the critiques of Kant.
PHIL 307: Rationalism
Addresses the legacy of the seventeenth century European Enlightenment and its antecedents in
the Abbasid Empire, when the reliance upon the individual’s systematic reasoning to understand
the world took precedence over appeal to authority of ancient texts. The seminal influences of Ibn
Al-Haythem, René Descartes, Gottfried Leibniz, Spinoza and others will be introduced.
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PHIL 308: Philosophy of Aristotle
A logical and exegetical analysis of the key ideas and concepts that constitute the framework of
Aristotle’s philosophy, in the areas of investigative methodology; metaphysics, ethics, humanity,
and theology.
PHIL 309: Philosophy of History
Introducing the realist (naturalist) vs. idealist (subjectivist) debate about the subject matter of
history, the structure of historical explanation, methods and criteria for studying antiquity, the
controversy concerning Black Athena.
PHIL 310: African Philosophy
A cross cultural examination of African traditional thought about fundamental aspects of human
existence as reflected in conceptions of God, nature, personhood, destiny, morality, the good
society.
PHIL 311: Aesthetics
Concerning fundamental issues in philosophy of the arts; problems examined include the nature of
art and aesthetic experience, the relationship of art objects to the reality they represent, artistic
expression, and authenticity.
PHIL 312: Existentialism
A study of nineteenth and twentieth century Western philosophical ideas about moral agency in
everyday life, the existence of God, and the nature of the self, based on the works of Kierkegaard,
Sartre, Camus, and others.
PHIL 313: Philosophy of Gender
Reappraises basic principles assumed in mainstream philosophical canons to reveal their gendered
context: public vs. private domains, essential vs. accidental qualities, innate vs. learned behaviour,
human rights vs. women’s rights—exposing implications of the fact that both men and women
inhabit a social world which is bifurcated by gender; exploring the various connotations of
masculinity vs. femininity, and the nature of prejudice.
PHIL 314: Personhood
A study of questions arising about the concept of person in seminal texts that focus on the
foundations of morality, political theory, cognitive science, psychology, theology, the interface
between philosophy of mind, of language, and cross cultural metaphysics.
PHIL 315: Philosophy and Literature
Philosophical reflection is conveyed in a variety of genres and styles of expression beyond the
treatise form. African literature written in English and in French translated into English will be
examined as a vehicle of social protest and transformative political critique, as spiritual
inspiration, as a conveyance for moral precepts and lessons of history.
PHIL 316: Philosophy of Education
The general notion of education is investigated as a process and an activity, through a
confrontational examination of the notion of pedagogy, drawing upon both classical and modern
texts, such as Plato, J.S. Mill, John Dewey, Franz Fanon.
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LEVEL 300 CLASSICS
CLAS 301: Presocratic Philosophy
A historical, philological and logical study of the early beginnings of Western science and
philosophy, concentrating on the construction and assessment of arguments based on the extant
fragments and/or testimonia from Thales, through Parmenides and the atomists to Diogenes of
Apollonia.
CLAS 302: Socratic Philosophy
A critical introduction to Plato’s Socratic Dialogues, with special emphasis on analyses and
discussions of the enduring scholarly issues in Socratic method(s), epistemology, ethics, politics
and religion.
CLAS 303: Greek Epic and Drama
Selected texts of epic and drama (tragedy and comedy) analysed and discussed in terms of their
themes and social function; plot and structure, setting, characterisation, use of language and other
literary devices, and general literary qualities.
CLAS 304: Roman Epic and Drama
A study of Roman epic with emphasis on Virgil’s Aeneid, and of Roman drama, focusing on
Plautus and Terence. Content will concentrate on the Greek influence in the production process;
the themes and their political and social context, audience and occasion; the analyses of language
use, setting, plot and structure, characterisation, literary devices, and general literary qualities.
CLAS 305: Africa in the Ancient Greek World
An account of the encounter between the ancient Greeks and Africans and the social, economic,
military and political consequences as well as the attitudinal reactions of the Greeks to the
encounter, as reflected in their plastic and literary arts.
CLAS 306: Africa in the Ancient Roman World
A study of the encounter between the ancient Romans and Africans and the consequences. Topics
include the physical presence of Africans, and African animals and products in the Roman world;
trade relations; the social, economic, military and political dimensions of the encounter; and
Roman attitudes to the encounter, as reflected in their plastic and literary arts.
CLAS 307: History of the Archaic and Classical Periods
A study of a watershed period in early Western history, highlighting the evolution of the city-state,
the development of literacy, democratic constitutions, the philosophic and scientific temper, the
major wars, and the Hellenisation of a significant part of the ancient world.
CLAS 308: Slavery in Graeco-Roman Antiquity
A critical examination of the concept and institution of slavery in Graeco-Roman antiquity,
focusing on forms of economic slavery; politics and slavery; the effects of slavery on society and
the economy; slavery and human development.
CLAS 309: Arts of Government in Ancient Greece
A study of the various forms of government that defined the political character and attitude of the
ancient Greeks, focusing on an examination of Spartan communism and the evolution of
democracy in Athens.
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CLAS 311: History of the Hellenistic Period
A study of the 300 years between the reign of Alexander (336-323 BC) and Augustus, the first
Roman Emperor (31 BC-AD14), focusing on the conquests of Alexander, the post-Alexandrian
Greek kingdoms and the Hellenisation process.
CLAS 312: Republican Rome
Based on a critical evaluation of the sources, this is a study of the birth of the Roman Republic, the
development of the Republican constitution, Rome’s rise to the centre of a world empire, the
intervention of the military in politics, the causes of the decline and fall of the Republic.
CLAS 313: Hellenistic Philosophy and Science
An examination of the central tenets of Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Pyrrhonian scepticism, and
an account of the main trends of Greek science, from its beginnings in cosmological speculations
to its empirically and experimentally based approaches in the development of mathematics,
mechanics, engineering, medical and other sciences.
CLAS 314: The Principate
An examination of the powers and functions of the emperor up to the reign of Domitian,
consideration of the issue of separation of powers, the role of the emperor’s household in empiregovernance,
procuratorial service, and the role of the law in imperial governance.
CLAS 315: Greek Religion
A study of Greek religion from its prehistoric origins, through the natural theology of the
Presocratics, to the philosophical encounter between Greek and Jewish religions in the Hellenistic
Period.
CLAS 316: Roman Religion
A study of Roman religion from its polytheistic prehistoric origins to the advent of Christian
monotheism.
CLAS 317: Greek Art and Architecture
A cultural-historical and aesthetical study of Greek art and architecture, designed to develop skills
in the critical analysis of objects through the cultivation of visual literacy.
CLAS 318: Roman Art and Architecture
A study of Roman art and architecture from their prehistoric Etruscan, Italian, and Greek origins.
The aesthetical component of the study reflects various technical achievements and improvements,
and involves the assessment of works of art and architecture on the basis of their moral and
intellectual value, the issue of artistic creation or insight, stylistics, works of art and mimetic
illusionism.
CLAS 319: Egypt, Near East, and the Origins of Greek Civilisation
A study of the issue of Greece’s indebtedness to the civilisations of Egypt and the Near East, it
also critically reviews some Afrocentrist theses on the subject and the issue of the racial identity of
the Egyptians from the pre-dynastic era in Nubia and Egypt (5500-3100 BC) to the Macedonian
occupation of Egypt (332-30 BC).
CLAS 321: Gender in Ancient Greece
This involves a critical evaluation of the sources of information on classes of women, their
position and role in the family and society; social and psychological barriers to the human rights
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of women, especially the law on women, as it relates to their education, employment, marriage,
rights of succession and inheritance, participation in public decision-making; women and religion;
sexism and male chauvinism in Greek literature; women achievers.
CLAS 322: Gender in Ancient Rome
A study of gender issues with emphasis on women, covering the conception, images and roles of,
as well as the assumptions about, women in ancient Roman society, literature and art.
CLAS 323: Reading Greek I
A study of classical Greek, focusing on phonology, punctuation, morphology, declension of
nouns, pronouns and adjectives, and the conjugation of verbs, with exercises in transliteration and
pronunciation.
CLAS 324: Reading Latin I
The study concentrates on classical Latin. Morphology covers the various verb types and their
conjugations, plus the declensions of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, with exercises in reading
and translation of basic sentences.
CLAS 325: Reading Greek II
This stage of Greek studies focuses on basic syntax, with exercises in reading and translation,
covering word-order: positioning clitic particles, tmesis and pronouns; using the definite article to
attribute, predicate or nominalise adjectives, participles, infinitives, and whole sentences; and
constructing simple-sentences.
CLAS 336: Reading Latin II
Focuses on the introduction of basic syntax: word-order, comparative constructions, constructions
showing agreement; and the constructions of questions (single, double, deliberative), commands,
and wishes.
CLAS 327: Graeco-Roman Mythology
A critical study of the origins of myths in Graeco-Roman antiquity, their oral functions and
structure, literary uses, attitudes to and theories of interpretation.
LEVEL 400 PHILOSOPHY
PHIL 401: The Philosophy of Plato
A study of Middle Period Plato, with particular attention to his theories of forms, justice, soul and
political leadership.
PHIL 402: Methodology of the Sciences
Introducing the notion, origin, and principles of modern scientific rigour, the contribution of
scientific activity to post modern notions of truth, the role of science in society, the development
and retirement of the analogue of political revolutions to account for change in received scientific
theory.
PHIL 403: Modern Analytic Tradition
Study of the goals of a unified theory, the innovations of Frege, the construction and abandonment
of a formal language for science, the reformation of philosophy dubbed ‘the linguistic turn’,
efforts to protect philosophy from political co-optation by the European logical empiricists
working with Carnap, Schlick, Neurath, the influences of Wittgenstein and of Quine.
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PHIL 404: Philosophy and Contemporary African Experience
Conceptual analysis and evaluation of the shared post-colonial experience. Examines the
relevance of traditional African values, practices, and institutions to contemporary life, including
modern expressions of ethnicity, nationhood, democracy, communitarian moral and political
theory, ideology, political morality, economic transformation, science and technology, and the
phenomena of globalisation.
PHIL 405: Value Theory
Investigates general theories that analyse the variety of solutions to problems arising in ethics and
aesthetics. Examines the criteria of moral value in contrast with tests for veracity of empirical
judgment.
PHIL 406: Theories of Justice
The nature, purpose and genesis of concepts of justice, studying texts of Marx, Rawls and other
seminal writers.
PHIL 407: Philosophy of Kant
The profound and lasting influence of this eighteenth century German’s contribution to
epistemology and normative reasoning is accessible through an introduction to a selection of his
works.
PHIL 408: Applied Ethics
Deals with fundamental questions of practical concern about living in human society, analysing
specific moral questions about personal relationships and responsibility, e.g. abortion, euthanasia,
punishment, sex, the social implications of science and technology, functioning with integrity in
corporate environments, health care rights and state obligations.
PHIL 409: Philosophy of Law
Explores the relationship between the law, judiciary, and politics, competing theories of law
including legal realism and positivism, Hart on legal precedent and Dworkin on constitutional law.
PHIL 410: Further Studies in African Philosophy
Critical treatment of issues and questions that remain contemporary and pressing, many of which
generate from indigenous African intellectual traditions, concerning human existence, conceptions
of God, nature, ontology, personhood, destiny, views of morality, the good society, truth.
PHIL 411: Contemporary Metaphysics
Recent developments in the new sciences of the atomic age and their impact upon contemporary
debates in philosophy of mind, logic, ontology and studies in the foundations of mathematics.
PHIL 412: Philosophy of the Human Sciences
Considers the possibility of self-understanding through modern scientific methods, and problems
peculiar to the idiographic sciences—varieties of relativism, essentially contestable categories,
pseudo precision, reason-giving explanation and presuppositions about rationality.
PHIL 413: Phenomenology
Elucidation of key phenomenological terms including ‘truth adequation’ and ‘knowledge
fulfilment’ in the transcendental phenomenology of Husserl. A study of the two basic principles
of his transcendental subjectivity and ‘Lebenswelt’, as a basis for the hermeneutics of Heidegger,
Gadamer, Ricoeur, and Derrida.
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PHIL 414: Philosophical Thought of Kwame Nkrumah
An introductory exploration of the philosophical content and significance of Nkrumah’s published
and extant writings, in the evolution of Africans’ domestic political debates, the way Africa
features in contemporary global politics, the theme of pan-Africanism, his philosophy of
nationalism, self-reliance and formation of identity, the notions of personhood and of good
governance that are spelled out in his works.
PHIL 415: Philosophy of Culture
Topics will include traditionalism versus modernism, cultural universalism and versions of
relativism, ethnicity and ethnocentrism, problems of nation-building and national integration,
national and cultural identity in Africa, multiculturalism and cultural liberty, globalisation and
cultural identities, culture and economic development.
PHIL 416: Selected Author/Text
Option to pursue a specific author or text in greater depth and scope than the standard term-length
undergraduate syllabi allow. Available in both semesters to facilitate a sustained study. Offered
only according to the discretion of the department faculty.
PHIL 417: Contemporary Issues in Philosophy
An occasional syllabus determined by current research focus of permanent faculty members or our
visiting scholars, offered under the discretion of the department faculty.
PHIL 418: Ethics and International Affairs
Topics include social responsibility for multinational corporations, accelerating debates
concerning the legitimacy of international law and the cogency of international human rights, the
ethics of international intervention, cross-border peace-keeping and reconciliation, global
environmental responsibility, the possibility of global justice, migration rights.
PHIL 419: Philosophy of Language
Studies of the nature of meaning and intentionality, the interpretation of speech, belief, and reality,
theories of reference, the semantic theory of truth and its adversaries, the metaphysical
preconditions of language acquisition and participation, non-representational meaning, and the
‘linguistic turn’ in analytic philosophy.
PHIL 420: Research Methods
The specific objective of this course is to equip the student with an ability to do and present
independent research work. The course falls into two complementary parts. The first addresses the
issue of thesis preparation; the second part is a lesson in critical thinking, designed to enable the
student appreciate deductive validity, inductive force, and how to identify, construct, and assess
arguments.
PHIL 421: Philosophy of Development
Critical analysis of policies set by the United Nations, international agencies, and multi-lateral
organisations based on competing definitions of human well-being. Considers the roles of
economics and culture in the measurement of social progress. Evaluates reflections of influential
African philosophers and global doctrines of the genre including the modernisation school,
dependency theory, neo-liberalism, the people’s development approach, the statist perspective.
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PHIL 422: Medieval Philosophy
A study of period themes in Scholastic works from Augustine to William of Ockham with
emphasis on Augustine’s Christian and Neo-Platonic synthesis, and the theologian philosophers of
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
PHIL 423: Topics in Philosophical Logic
Varied issues in this broad literature may be canvassed: truth and negation, classical and
intuitionistic interpretations of the law of bivalence, many-valued logics, logical deviancy, modal
logic, meaning and necessity, the semantics and syntax of ontology, competing interpretations of
the quantifiers, introduction to proof theory.
PHIL 424: Topics in Philosophy of Mathematics
Examines the early debates about the nature of sets, the ontology of number, rudiments of
Cantor’s transfinite set theory and notions of infinity, Hilbert’s formalism and the development of
meta-mathematic at the end of the 19th century, debates about the ontology of number theory, the
philosophical implications of non-Euclidean geometries, the influence of computer technology on
proof theory, implications of fractals and chaos theory for metaphysics, social philosophy and
philosophy of mind.
PHIL 425: Long Essay
A student who intends to write a long essay in classics must have taken the course CLAS 420 in
Research Methods, whose principles they are to apply in critical reflections on perennial human
issues in Greek or Roman studies. The research topic is to be determined by the student in
consultation with the supervisor and with the approval of the Head of Department. Only single
majors with CGPA of 3.0 or better are eligible to register for Long Essay.
LEVEL 400 CLASSICS
CLAS 401: The Philosophy of Plato
A study of Middle Period Plato, with particular attention to his theories of forms, justice, soul and
political leadership.
CLAS 402: Roman Philosophy and Science
An account of the ancient Romans’ practical extensions of Greek Stoicism, Epicureanism, and
their adaptation of Greek mathematics, medicine and agriculture.
CLAS 403: Greek Literature and Society
A critical study of the interface between society and literature (based on selected literary genres,
including historiography, lyric, elegiac, and epic poetry, and the satirical elements in the works of
Archilochus, Hipponax, and Aristophanes).
CLAS 404: Roman Literature and Society
A close study of the interface between literature (especially epic, historiography, satire, lyric, and
elegiac poetry) and Roman society (especially the Republican and Imperial Eras).
CLAS 405: Leaders of Ancient Greece
A biographical study of some of the leading personalities in ancient Greece (e.g., Solon, Lycurgus,
Themistocles, Pericles, Alcibiades, Timoleon, Pelopidas, Epaminondas, Aristides, Philopoeman,
Pyrrhus, Lysander). The study involves a critical examination of the sources, the methodological
approaches to biography, and an assessment of the judgments in character sketches.
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CLAS 406: Leaders of Ancient Rome
A study of some leading statesmen of ancient Rome including some emperors. The study includes
a critical assessment of the sources, the methodological approaches to biography, and an
evaluation of the judgments in character sketches.
CLAS 407: Greek Historiography
This is a comprehensive introduction to Greek historiography, covering the contributions to the
genre and its varieties by classical, Hellenistic and post-Hellenistic authors. The focus will be on
the aims, themes, motivations, and approaches to history-writing; sources of data and methods of
data collection; theories of interpretation, explanation, standards of proof, and narrative
techniques.
CLAS 408: Roman Historiography
This covers the Greek influences, and the Roman contributors to the development of the genre; the
military and political background of the Roman historians; the aims, themes, motivations, and
approaches to history-writing; sources of evidence and methods of data collection; theories of
interpretation, explanation, and standards of proof.
CLAS 409: The Sophists
This studies the unique contribution of the sophists to the history of ideas and academic discipline,
by examining both sample texts associated with key sophists and their academic professions,
methods of persuasion, interests, and general outlook.
CLAS 410: Themes in Classical Studies
Certain aspects of human experience dominant in the Graeco-Roman context (e.g. military history)
are not covered in depth by any of the CLAS courses. This option will enable full time faculty
and visiting scholars to present specific research areas or the results of specialised scholarship in a
lecture format, without being restricted to a single author or particular text.
CLAS 411: Law, Individual, and Society in Ancient Greece
A study of statutory law in Greek antiquity, from Dreros and Gortyn in Crete in the 7th century BC
to the Athenian legal code commissioned in 410 BC. The focus is on the application of law in the
administration of justice in Athens.
CLAS 412: Law, Individual, and Society in Ancient Rome
A survey of the development of the Roman legal system from the Twelve Tables (450 BC) to the
Justinian Code (AD 528-34). Coverage includes discussions of the types, number and character of
judicial bodies; civil and criminal procedures; appeals, execution of judgment, and standards of
proof.
CLAS 413: Rhetoric in Ancient Greece
A study of the art of persuasion in Ancient Greece, covering the epical antecedents of oratory in
Homer, and the classical contributions to the genre by Plato, Isocrates, the Sophists, the
logographers, and Aristotle, with attention to persuasion and proof; creating the speech; arranging;
styling; delivering.
CLAS 414: Rhetoric in Ancient Rome
A study of rhetoric in Ancient Rome, covering the theoretical contributions to the art by Cicero,
Quintilian, Tacitus, and the anonymous Rhetorica ad Herennium. The study also examines the
application of rhetoric in politics, historiography, dialectic, memory theory, poetics, and ethics.
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CLAS 415: Reading Greek III
This level of Greek studies focuses on translation and practice in the construction of sentences,
both simple and complex.
CLAS 416: Reading Latin III
This focuses on translation and practice in the construction of complex sentences that build
reading proficiency.
CLAS 417: Reading Greek IV
This consolidates the lessons of the previous studies towards the acquisition of a working
proficiency through translation and the reading of prescribed primary texts in philosophy, fiction,
history, and various genres of poetry.
CLAS 418: Reading Latin IV
A consolidation of the lessons of the previous studies and on acquiring a working proficiency and
comprehension through the translation and the reading of prescribed primary texts in various
classical literary genres.
CLAS 419: Selected Author/Text
Option to pursue a specific author or text in greater depth and scope than the standard term-length
undergraduate syllabi allow. Available in both semesters to facilitate a sustained study. Offered
only according to the discretion of the department faculty.
CLAS 420: Research Methods
The specific objective of this course is to equip the student with an ability to do and present
independent research work. The course falls into two complementary parts. The first addresses the
issue of thesis preparation; the second part is a lesson in critical thinking, designed to enable the
student appreciate deductive validity, inductive force, and how to identify, construct, and assess
arguments.
CLAS 421: Long Essay
A student who intends to write a long essay in classics must have taken the course CLAS 420 in
Research Methods, whose principles they are to apply in critical reflections on perennial human
issues in Greek or Roman studies. The research topic is to be determined by the student in
consultation with the supervisor and with the approval of the Head of Department. Only single
majors with CGPA of 3.0 or better are eligible to register for Long Essay.