Philosophy 123: Philosophy of Human Nature (Honors)Philosophy 123: Philosophy of Human Nature (Honors)
Almost any philosophical inquiry begins with--or quickly turns into--the question, "What is it?" Whether we are asking about justice, about truth, about morality, we have to ask, "What is this thing we are talking about here?" This course looks in the mirror and asks, "Who is it that asks 'What is it?'?" There is something strange about the very possibility of asking such a question. The human dwells in this paradox: we appear both as a thing in the world and as a consciousness of that world in which each of us is a thing among other things. We will introduce ourselves to the study of philosophy by considering the question of what it means to be human, and we will especially approach this by looking at what various philosophers have said about human fulfillment, human happiness. Instead of focusing on the controverted question of how far the human has evolved from some beastly beginning, we'll look at the other end--where humans think they're going, and especially those destinations or ways of being they have designated as the highest and best ways to be human. Among the thinkers we will consider (time permitting) are Plato, Aristotle & Thomas Aquinas, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Friedrich Nietzsche, José Ortega y Gasset, and Simone de Beauvoir.
 | Plato, Phaedo. In Five Dialogues, translated by G.M A. Grube. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1994. |
| Plato, Symposium. Translated by Alexander Nehamas & Paul Woodruff. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1989. |
| Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, selected passages (web-accessed). |
| Thomas Aquinas, Treatise on Happiness. Translated by John Oesterle. South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1983. |
| Jean Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Translated by Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992. |
| Friedrich Nietzsche. Photocopied selections from various works. |
| José Ortega y Gasset, Some Lessons in Metaphysics (photocopy packet). Translated by Mildred Adams. New York: W.W. Norton, 1969. |
| (Possible) Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (photocopied portions). (Reissue edition). New York: Vintage Books, 1989. |
*Note: Reading for philosophy classes generally makes up in density for what it lacks in length. That means that an adequate job of reading the assignments will perhaps require a slower, more thoughtful and questioning pace.
To be able to think the thoughts of the major philosophers we will study. This is not the same as knowing what the conclusions of the philosopher are, nor even simply knowing the major arguments they use to support his or her conclusions. Thinking is an active and transitive verb here, and it involves being able to think the philosopher's thoughts from the inside, so to speak.
A misconception about learning and critical thinking is that it primarily involves reading a variety of texts critically, that is, with an eye to discovering what is wrong or weak or erroneous in them. Rarely does one learn anything this way; instead one is encouraged to inflate the ego of one's own preconceptions and prefer these to the insight and truths that may take some hard work to uncover and wrestle from the work at hand. True critical thinking is directed as much at one's own naiveté and habits of unthought as it is at the expressed thoughts of others.
Such study requires that we practice a spirit of generosity, both towards the writer and towards ourselves as readers-one has to assume that the thinker saw deeply into a problem and tried to illuminate it, and one has to assume that this insight is accessible to a reader with an active and open mind, even if the reader also glimpses new problems and pursues new solutions.
To pursue our own thoughts in extension of or as a challenge to the issues and the thinkers in question. Note that this does not mean offering summary opinions or judgments, but thinking our way from the inside out beyond the texts we are studying.
In sum, we'll try to learn to become careful, generous and thoughtful readers and philosophers in our own right.
Philosophy is a participatory exercise of thought. That means that you can't do well in the course unless you participate actively in the reading and discussion. I will often give daily assignments to prompt reflection on our reading, such as outlining the arguments in a section of the text, etc. The questions and tasks will vary as to whether they simply require thoughtful preparation for discussion, written notes, or perhaps a post to the public folder discussion. These daily assignments, including active participation, will form 20% of your grade. Because such written assignments will be used in class on the day they are due, they cannot be made up if missed.
Regular and active class attendance is expected. If you have to miss class because of illness or some other valid reason, I expect you to contact me about it before the absence. Voice-mail and e-mail make it fairly easy to leave a message. Missing class because you are leaving early for the weekend or Easter/Spring Break or for an interview or non-emergency doctor's appointment are not considered excused. Absences will affect your participation grade; more than one unexcused absence will occasion a meeting to discuss your continued enrollment in the class, and further unexcused absences will result in loss lowering of grade one full level for each unexcused absence.
In addition to the daily work, there will be four major writing assignments. Two of
these will be of the nature of take-home exams. Each of these assignments will count 20%
of the final grade.
February 6 (T) Introduction to topic: Humans and Thought, as well as to Socrates.
8 (Th)
Plato, Phaedo 57a-69e. (Five Dialogues, 93-106).
12 (M) Further
instructions on web schedule.
I'm going to stop here because it's too hard to predict the pace at which we'll actually cover the material. This syllabus and further schedule information, including daily and longer-term assignments are to be found on our course web pages: http://employees.csbsju.edu/dbeach/phil123/.