Jacob Haagenson is Ph.D. candidate in the Classical Studies program specializing in ancient Greek philosophy, with particular interests in Plato’s ethics, epistemology, and the ways in which these go together.
His dissertation studies language and knowledge in the Platonic Alcibiades I and explores the implications of this study for making better sense of curious passages in other dialogues of Plato. It argues that attention paid to the account of language learning in Alcibiades I yields insights into Platonic conceptions of self-knowledge, knowledge of objects other than the self, and philosophical progress.
Jacob wrote his M.A. thesis on Aristotle’s treatment of sunesis in Nicomachean Ethics. In addition, Jacob has researched a range of topics in preparation for his MPhil exams in ancient ethics and epistemology, in particular concerning Plato's Meno and Republic, as well as the sophists Protagoras and Gorgias.
Jacob has enjoyed teaching Contemporary Civilization (a “great books” course that surveys a range of texts from Plato to contemporary social writings) and Intensive Elementary Greek. He has also served as a teaching assistant for courses on early Greek Stoicism and the history of Ancient Philosophy (with a focus specifically on early Greek philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Skepticism).