This one-credit Greek readings course focuses on linguistic problems in Aristotle's Metaphysics. Students will read key passages from the original Greek text and compare English translations. Over the semester, students will orally translate passages in class and complete written assignments analyzing differences between translations. Their work will be evaluated based on accurately identifying passages, documenting Greek sources, noting interpretive differences, framing their own translations, and developing rubrics to evaluate translations. The goal is to equip students to critically read Aristotle in Greek and evaluate scholarly interpretations of his work.

1. GK 3980 LINGUISTIC PROBLEMS IN THE ARISTOTELIAN METAPHYSICS
Department: Languages
Benedictine College
Dr. Macierowski
GK 3980 meets R 1:00 – 1:50 p.m. in Ferrell Academic Center 209
1. Course Description
GK-3980-A (1 credit hour) Greek Readings. To celebrate the 2400th
anniversary of the birth year
of Aristotle, this course will focus on linguistic problems in the Greek text of Aristotle's
Metaphysics. Prerequisite: GREK-1020 Beginning Greek.
2. Course Objectives
The principal purpose of this course is to help students of the Greek language to read key
passages of Aristotle’s Metaphysics in the Greek original and to familiarize them with basic
resources needed for future study and research. We shall focus upon texts of major doctrinal
importance for a separate 3 credit-hour philosophy seminar PH 4980 Aristotle’s Metaphysics,
which will focus upon his doctrine of being. By the end of this course, students, equipped with a
controlled inventory of texts, will be able
(a) to correctly identify the portion of a given English version corresponding to a given Greek
text of Aristotle’s Metaphysics (50%);
(b) to find the standard Bekker, column, and line for documenting the Greek source in a
critical edition (+5%);
(c) to underscore or mark how the translator renders key Greek words or phrases (+5%);
(d) to distinguish and note major differences in interpretation for these key terms, where they
exist (+5%);
(e) to identify various interpretive goals for translations (+5%);
(f) to evaluate the translator’s interpretation critically based upon the lexical, syntactic, and
other grammatical grounds in the original text (+10%);
(g) to frame a tentative translation of their own for an assigned text (+5%);;
(h) to discuss the merits and demerits of their translation with others in the light of various
goals;
(i) to frame a rubric for evaluating different versions;
(j) to use the rubric consistently to compare several translations;
(k) to evaluate critically alternative rubrics.
3. Scope of Course: The principal texts for oral in-class translation will be Metaphysics Γ 2, and
Δ 6-8 ( ν, ν, ο σία). In written assignments, we shall focus upon problematic terms for beingἕ ὄ ὐ
discussed by Albert Schwegler in Excurs I in Metaph. Arist., IV, 369-379.
3. The teaching methods to be used:
Each student will be expected to prepare oral or written translations of the texts assigned for
class. There will be no final examination.
4. Attendance Policy
Any student who is absent more than twice from a class meeting one hour per week may
be withdrawn from the course by the instructor; a grade of "F" will be recorded if this occurs after
the official withdrawal period.

2. Absences for medical reasons will be excused with a note from a competent medical
authority. All other requests must be in my planner. If it is not written in my planner it is not
excused. Planned school required absences (athletics etc.) must be entered in my planner at least
two days in advance. Be sure that I record your attendance, especially if you are tardy; it may be
your only proof of active class participation.
Benedictine College complies with federal law requiring reasonable accommodations for
individuals with documented disabilities that may affect their performance in a class or
otherwise affect the individual’s ability to enjoy the programs and services offered by the
College. If a student requests accommodations, please contact Julie Romano, Coordinator of
Disability Services, in the Student Success Center located in Guadalupe Hall, at 913-360-7968.
5. The basic text or texts that will be used.
5.1 Required readings
5.11 Aristotle Metaphysics with commentary by W. D. Ross, 2 vols. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1924. (Available on line through the Perseus Project:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0051
and at BC library: B434.A2 R7.)
5.12 Handout: English translation from the German and Greek, with introduction, commentary
and notes by E. M. Macierowski with the assistance of Jonathan Shoulta of Τ τί στι, τὸ ἐ ὸ
τί ν ε ναι und der Gebrauch des Dativs in der Formel τ ν ε ναι (Excurs I fromἦ ἶ ὸ ἑ ὶ ἶ
Schwegler’s edition of Aristotle’s Metaphysics, vol. IV, 369-379.)
5.13 Handout: Translation Matrix with 41 Metaphysics citations from Schwegler with
corresponding English versions of Tredennick, Ross, and Barnes on the right and space
for transcribing and marking another assigned version on the left.
5.2 Recommended Readings
5.211 Kahn, Charles H. The Verb ‘Be’ in Ancient Greek, with a new introductory
essay. Indianaplis, IN: Hackett, 2003; orig. Dordrecht & Boston: D.
Reidel, 1973.
5.212 Owens, Joseph. The Doctrine of Being in the Aristotelian Metaphysics, 3rd
ed. Toronto:
Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1978, pp. 180-188, esp. n. 89: “Schwegler’s
Excurs I in Metaph. Arist., IV, 369-379, remains the best and most complete account of
the τ τί ν ε ναι.”ὸ ἦ ἶ
5.213 Schwegler, Albert (ed.). Die Metaphysik des Aristoteles, 4 vols. Tübingen:
Fues, 1847-1848; rpt. Frankfurt am Main, Minerva, 1960.
5.3 Special Lexical Tools for Reading Aristotle
Arpe, Curt. Das τί ν ε ναι bei Aristoteles. Hamburg: n.p. 1937; de Gruyter, 1938.ἦ ἶ
Bassange, F. “Das τ ν ε ναι, τ γαθ ε ναι, etc., etc. und das τ τί ν ε ναι beiὸ ἑ ὶ ἶ ὸ ἀ ῷ ἶ ὸ ἦ ἶ
Aristoteles,” Philologus, CIV (1960), 14-17; 201-222.
*Bonitz, Hermann. Index Aristotelicus. Berlin: Reimer, 1870 (in Prussian Academy
edition of Aristotelis Opera, v. V), available in BC library. Reprint, Graz: Akademische
Druck-u. Verlaganstalt, 1955. Also, Berlin: De Gruyter, 1961. The Greek terms are keyed
to I. Bekker’s text, by page, column, and line; glosses and annotations are in Latin.
Strongly recommended for serious students of Aristotle, though not required for this
course.

3. Eucken, Rudoph. De Aristotelis Dicendi Ratione. Pars Prima. Observationes de
Particularum Usu. Göttingen: Hofer, 1866.
https://ia902302.us.archive.org/16/items/dearistotelisdi00euckgoog/dearistotelisdi00euckg
oog.pdf
-----. Über den Sprachgebrauch des Aristoteles. Beobachtungen über die Präpositionen.
Berlin: Weidmann, 1868.
https://ia802300.us.archive.org/27/items/ueberdensprachg00euckgoog/ueberdensprachg00
euckgoog.pdf
Höffe, Otfried; Geiger, Rolf; Brüllmann, Philipp. Aristoteles-Lexikon. Stuttgart : Alfred
Kröner, 2005 (ISBN: 9783520459015).
Kappes, Matthias. Aristoteles-Lexikon: Erklärung der philosophischen Termini technici
des Aristoteles in alphabetischer Reihenfolge. Paderborn: Schöningh, 1894.
Kiernan, Thomas P. Aristotle dictionary. New York : Philosophical Library, 2013. (ISBN:
9780806536842).
Wente, W. H. Aristotle’s Discrimination of Synonyms. Chicago private edition, distributed
by the University of Chicao Libraries, 1935.
5.4 Bibliography
Radice, Roberto and Richard Davies, et al. Aristotle’s METAPHYSICS: Annotated
Bibliography of the Twentieth-Century Literature. Leiden, New York, Köln: Brill, 1997.
6. The requirement of oral or written work
The average successful college student should spend two hours outside of class
preparing for each hour in class.
NOTICE: Students with special needs (including documented learning disabilities) should
set up an appointment with the professor during the first week of class, or as soon as
you notice any special problem, so that we can work out appropriate accommodations.
Please note the policy regarding Academic Honesty in the Benedictine College Course
Catalogue. Violations of the policy have sanctions ranging from failure for a particular
assignment and referral to the Dean’s Office all the way to expulsion.
7. The number of examinations during the semester: None.
8. Grade determination: On what will you base the grade for the course?
The class will consist of two parts of equal weight, one written and one oral:
I. In the written component, each student will be presented with a different English version
of Aristotle’s Metaphysics. Each will also be given a handout containing some 40 Greek
texts from Aristotle’s Metaphysics selected by Albert Schwegler. I have underlined the
key Greek terms and done the same with three English versions: Tredennick (in the Loeb
Classical Library) and the original Oxford translation by W. D. Ross and the recent
revision thereof by Jonathan Barnes.
II. In the oral component, each student will translate in class selected texts including also
passages from Metaphysics Γ 2, and Δ 6-8 ( ν, ν, ο σία).ἕ ὄ ὐ

4. The grading rubric for the course will apply approximately as follows, with the first percentage
applying to the written and the second to the oral weighting:
(a) to correctly identify the portion of a given English version corresponding to a given Greek
text of Aristotle’s Metaphysics (20%--0%);
(b) to find the standard Bekker, column, and line for documenting the Greek source in a
critical edition (+10%--10%);
(c) to underscore or mark how the translator renders key Greek words or phrases (+10%--
0%);
(d) to distinguish and note major differences in interpretation for these key terms, where they
exist (+10%--10%);
(e) to identify various interpretive goals for translations (+10%--10%);
(f) to evaluate the translator’s interpretation critically based upon the lexical, syntactic, and
other grammatical grounds in the original text (+20%--40%);
(g) to frame a tentative translation of their own for an assigned text (0%--+5%);
(h) to discuss the merits and demerits of their translation with others in the light of various
goals competently (5%--5%);
(i) to frame a rubric for evaluating different versions (0%--10%);
(j) to use the rubric consistently to compare several translations (0%--5%);
(k) to evaluate critically alternative rubrics (0%--5%).
In the interest of pedagogical effectiveness, the professor reserves the right to make
adjustments to the syllabus in consultation with the students of the class.
Grading Scale: A 94-100, A- 90-93; B+ 87-89, B 84-86, B- 80-83; C+ 77-79, C 74-76, C- 70-
73; D 60-69; F 59 and below.
9. Location of office and office hours.
Office: 322 FAC. MWF 9-9:50 a.m.; TR 4-5 p.m. Other times by appointment only.
Office telephone number: 913-360-7497; email address: edwardm@benedictine.edu.
10. Outline of the material to be covered in the class:
Fall 2016 CALENDAR
Weeks
Remain-
ing
Professor’s Actions Student’s Action
Written Assignment Oral Assignment in class
14 Distribution of syllabus.
Distribution of Handouts
by Blackboard or by
email.
Distribution of various
hard-copy versions.
Distribute text for
translation in class.
Begin translating Γ 1-2
13 Submit transcription of first ten
texts on matrix.
Continue translating Γ 2
Verify transcription by
email

5. 12 Submit transcription of second
ten texts on matrix.
Continue translating Γ 2
Verify transcription by
email
11 Submit transcription of third
ten texts on matrix.
Continue translating Γ 2
Verify transcription by
email
10 Submit transcription of final
quarter of the texts on the
matrix.
Begin translating Δ 6 ( ν)ἕ
Verify transcription by
email
9 Identify key terms in assigned
version by underlining.
Begin translating Δ 6 ( ν)ἕ
Verify identifications by
email
8 Distribute completed
assignments to all
students.
Compare and contrast versions
of key terms and return
remarks to professor by email.
Design an evaluation rubric
and apply it to all three
published versions.
Continue translating Δ 6 ( ν)ἕ
7 Summarize and evaluate
results and return
summary to students.
Discuss variations and your
evaluations.
Finish translating Δ 6 ( ν)ἕ
6 Record completion of
rubrics.
Use your rubric to evaluate
other students’ translations and
email result to professor.
Begin translating Δ 7 ( ν)ὄ
5 Summarize, record, and
return the results to each
student by email.
Use your rubric to evaluate
two published translations
and email the result to the
professor.
Continue translating Δ 7 ( ν)ὄ
4 Finish translating Δ 7 ( ν)ὄ
3 Begin translating Δ 8 (ο σία).ὐ
2 Continue translating Δ 8 (ο σία).ὐ
1 Using your study of the various
versions, explain which version
is best and why? Which rubric
best measures the quality of the
translations? Discuss.

6. 12 Submit transcription of second
ten texts on matrix.
Continue translating Γ 2
Verify transcription by
email
11 Submit transcription of third
ten texts on matrix.
Continue translating Γ 2
Verify transcription by
email
10 Submit transcription of final
quarter of the texts on the
matrix.
Begin translating Δ 6 ( ν)ἕ
Verify transcription by
email
9 Identify key terms in assigned
version by underlining.
Begin translating Δ 6 ( ν)ἕ
Verify identifications by
email
8 Distribute completed
assignments to all
students.
Compare and contrast versions
of key terms and return
remarks to professor by email.
Design an evaluation rubric
and apply it to all three
published versions.
Continue translating Δ 6 ( ν)ἕ
7 Summarize and evaluate
results and return
summary to students.
Discuss variations and your
evaluations.
Finish translating Δ 6 ( ν)ἕ
6 Record completion of
rubrics.
Use your rubric to evaluate
other students’ translations and
email result to professor.
Begin translating Δ 7 ( ν)ὄ
5 Summarize, record, and
return the results to each
student by email.
Use your rubric to evaluate
two published translations
and email the result to the
professor.
Continue translating Δ 7 ( ν)ὄ
4 Finish translating Δ 7 ( ν)ὄ
3 Begin translating Δ 8 (ο σία).ὐ
2 Continue translating Δ 8 (ο σία).ὐ
1 Using your study of the various
versions, explain which version
is best and why? Which rubric
best measures the quality of the
translations? Discuss.