Ph 05 Fall ‘08 Honors Section David Banach
Nature and Man
Many wonders, terrible wonders walk the world but none as terrible and wondrous as man. (Sophocles, Antigone, 332)
Will not the good man, insofar as he is good, be found to be sufficient for himself?
...
And if he does not want anything he will not cherish
anything. ... And that which does not cherish will not love.
(Plato, Lysis 215a-b)
[Human excellence aims to be] like the stars: pitiless, passionless, perfect.
(Seneca)
But human excellence/ Grows like a vine tree
Fed by the green dew/ Raised up, among wise men and just,
To the liquid sky.
We have all kinds of needs for those we love--
Most of all in hardships, but joy, too,
Strains to track down eyes that it can trust.
(Pindar, Nemean Ode VIII 37-44)
The Course:
This course examines the basic problems of philosophy by looking at human nature and how it fits into nature as a whole. It attempts to answer the questions 'What am I?', 'What am I doing here?', and 'How do I fit in?'. We will be concentrating on the problem of how our subjective view of ourselves (how it feels to be us from the inside), fits into our objective conception of the universe, as viewed from the outside. In particular, we will be interested in how philosophic theories concerning humanity and nature arose from this tension between the objective and subjective viewpoints and the problems it leads to in our attempts to lead fulfilling, meaningful lives. We will also consider how the philosophic theories of nature and human nature that we look at give rise to alternative solutions to the problem of leading a fulfilling human life.
The course has three main sections:
I. Classical theories of man: Here we look at how Greek philosophy arose from an attempt to see how man could lead a fulfilling life in the face of the contingencies imposed upon him by nature. We will look at the solutions proposed by Plato and Aristotle.
II. Modern Theories of man:
A. Christian theories of man: Here we concentrate on differences between the classical and Christian conceptions of God and the virtues. We will be especially interested in the religious attempt to synthesize the objective and subjective viewpoints.
B. Scientific views of man: We will briefly consider the main points of some scientific views of man and nature concentrating on the re-interpretation of nature beginning in the scientific revolution and the re-interpretation of man's place in nature in Darwin's theory of evolution.
C. The problem of personal identity, free will, and the relationship of mind and body: We will consider the tension between Christian and scientific views of man and its philosophic manifestations beginning with Descartes.
III. The meaning of life reconsidered: Finally, we will reconsider the problem of the meaning of life in light of the various theories of human nature we have considered. We will reconsider the solutions that Plato and Aristotle proposed, those given by Christianity, and those suggested by Existentialism and Romanticism.
Office: Bradley House 309 Office phone: 641-7062
email- dbanach@dbanach.com personal webpage: dbanach.com course webpage: dbanach.com/ph5
Department of Philosophy: anselmphilosophy.com
Texts:
1. Plato, Great Dialogues of Plato, Trans. by WHD Rouse.
2. Descartes. Meditations.
3. Albert Camus. The Fall.
4. J.D. Salinger, Franny and Zooey
5. Film outside of class :A Room with a View
6. Readings and study guides on Webpage.
Exams: There will be two midterm exams. the first will consist of two essay questions and some short answer questions. The second will be an oral examination schedule during the week of November 17. There will also be a short quiz at the end of the year to cover material after Presentation 7. See schedule for dates.
Final: The Final Exam is a cumulative essay exam. You will receive the question in advance. Besides being 30% of your grade it is also the primary factor in deciding borderline cases. In cases of extraordinarily good performances on the final exam, I retain the option of raising the final course grade to accord more with the final exam grade. The Final Exam must be taken when scheduled. Under no circumstances may it be taken after the scheduled date.
Quizzes: There may be intermittent quizzes in class. These may be announced or unannounced. There will also be a short quiz at the end of the year to cover material after Presentation 7. See schedule for dates. Missed quizzes may be made up without excuse with a 30% penalty up to one week after the quiz is handed back. There will be no makeup after one week. Excuses for missing a quiz must be presented in writing and must clearly indicate the date(s) covered by the excuse. Makeups for excused missed quizzes must be taken within one week of the date covered by the excuse. There will be no makeup after one week.
Presentations: There will be regular class discussions of philosophic questions. Students lead these discussions by making presentations in a debate type format. Each student must sign up for two presentations. This will involve presenting the problem, raising objections to other positions, defending your position, and answering questions. (Refer to the sheet on Presentations for more details) There will be a limited number of opportunities for presentations. You should sign up for one and make sure you are present to give it. It is your responsibility to sign up for a presentation slot. If you wait too long there may not be a slot available. Failing to show up for a presentation or failing to sign up for one is like skipping an exam. There is no adequate replacement for the actual debate. Writing a paper is not an adequate substitute. There will be no makeup of this requirement if you fail to meet it.
Grading:
Your grade will be determined as follows:
Midterm 1 20%
Oral Exam 20%
Quizzes 10%
Presentations 20%
Final 30%
|
A 93.5% |
A- 90% |
|
|
B+ 87.5% |
B 83.5% |
B- 80% |
|
C+ 77.5% |
C 72.5% |
C- 70% |
|
D+ 67% |
D 60% |
|