THE GREAT IDEAS: MODERNITY - Gordon College



PHI 118 SU—The Examined LifeOnline/Asynchronous (Summer 2017)Mark Gedneymark.gedney@gordon.edu978-290-0689 (this is my cell phone, so use it for more serious situations only)Course Description:The Examined Life course introduces students to important historical and thematic issues about what it means to be human: Who are we? What is our place in the Cosmos and how do we relate to the natural world around us? What does it mean to find an object or work of art beautiful? What does it mean to live well as opposed to just living? What is the best way to live well together as a society of persons? How can we know what is true? And how are we to understand our relationship to God? While the persistence and centrality of these themes or questions allows us to organize our investigation, the priority and exact nature of how they have been understood and developed has not remained constant. In this course we shall trace out these changes along a broadly historical path beginning with Antiquity, proceeding to the Modern period, before concluding with the Late Modern or even Post-Modern age. Course Outcomes:At the conclusion of the course, you will have:Developed an understanding of the major philosophical questions concerning ethics, aesthetics, politics, metaphysics, and religion in their ancient and more recent representations.Developed a deeper understanding of the key issues of current culture—especially as they pertain to the question of what it means to live a just and truthful life.Developed an appreciation of how philosophical investigation can help sharpen your ability to thinking reflectively about how faith might seek understanding.Reflected on how the various philosophical positions that we have studied help to reach new understandings on some of the theories or positions held by theorists in psychology, history, the natural sciences, the arts, and theology.Learned something of the art of rational and civil discourse that is so essential to communicating one’s beliefs in a complex world.Text:Sartre, J. P., No Exit and Three Other Plays (Vintage: Reissue edition. October 23, 1989).All other readings are available on Blackboard.RequirementsQuizzes: There are 30 short reading quizzes (30%). They are all on Blackboard. You will find them after each reading. Just click on the link that appears to take the quiz.Reading Reflections: There are seven short reading reflections (15%). See the particular assignment for detailed instructions.Essays:Short Essay 1: Plato (5% of total grade): This is 500 words (1-2 pages double spaced). See prompt on Blackboard for details.Short Essay 2: Aristotle (5% of total grade): This is 500 words (1-2 pages double spaced). See prompt on Blackboard for details.Short Essay 3: Augustine: (5% of total grade): This is 500 words (1-2 pages double spaced). See prompt on Blackboard for details. Final Essay 4: (15%) The Quarrel between the Ancients and the Moderns. You will be required to write an essay of roughly 1200 words examining the genesis of the modern critique of the ancient world in light of Jean-Paul Sartre’s two plays.Discussions: There are seven discussion boards that you will participate in your groups (15%). You are all assigned to a group. These discussions occur over 2-3 days normally. There will be an initial post that answers the discussion prompt followed by interactions with your peers and with the instructor. There are links in units that have discussions to the group page. See the individual discussions for details.Final Exam: There will be a final exam in which you will develop a critical response to the problems of modernity as represented by Sartre and to the Ric?ur reading. This will be worth 10% of your final grade. The prompt is found on Blackboard.Class Schedule:You will find all the due dates and details on the assignments in Blackboard, but the schedule below gives you a basic overview of the course. If there is work for a particular type of assignment in a unit, then there will be a number in the box (if there are two readings in the unit, then you will see a “2.” If there are no assignments of a particular sort you will see an “X”).ModuleUnitDateReadingQuizReflectionsDiscussionsEssay1IntroductionIntroduction5/22XXXXX2Mythical QuestionsAgamemnon5/23221XXChoephori5/24331XXEumenides5/2533X1XCatch Up5/26XXXXX3PlatoOn Trial5/3011XXXLove & Wisdom5/3122X1XSoul’s Desire6/111XX1Catch Up6/2XXXXX4Aristotle: Human PassionIntroduction6/511XXXVirtue6/611XXXMoral Failing6/711XXXHuman vs.Divine Happiness6/811X115St. Augustine:Godly PassionClassical Wisdom & ChristianRevelation6/911XXXGod, Creation, & Evil6/1211XXXGod’s Grace & Free Will6/1311X116God Within UsLuther6/14111XXDuty to Doubt6/15111XXThe Ego6/1611XXXExistence of God6/1911X1XConclusions on Method6/2011XXX7Hume: God Beyond UsLimits of Human Knowledge6/2111XXXNatural Sympathy &Morality6/22111XX8Sartre:God Against UsNo Exit6/231111XThe Flies: Orestes’ Dilemma6/26111XXThe Flies: Problem of Authority6/27111X19Ric?ur:Faith & ModernityBeing a Stranger6/2811X1XCatch Up6/29XXXXX10Final ExamFinal Exam7/1XXXXXStudents with DisabilitiesGordon College is committed to assisting students with documented disabilities (see Academic Catalog Appendix C, for documentation guidelines). A student with a disability who may need academic accommodations should follow this procedure:Meet with a staff person from the Academic Support Center (Jenks 412 X4746) to:make sure documentation of your disability is on file in the ASC,discuss the accommodations for which you are eligible,discuss the procedures for obtaining the accommodations, andobtain a Faculty Notification Form.Deliver a Faculty Notification Form to each course professor within the first full week of the semester; at that time make an appointment to discuss your needs with each professor.Failure to register in time with your professor and the ASC may compromise our ability to provide the accommodations. Questions or disputes about accommodations should be immediately referred to the Academic Support Center. See Grievance Procedures available from the ASC.Library Resources Statement?Students are responsible to obtain any library resources assigned for this course.? Questions about library resources should be directed to librarians in the Jenks Library.? Librarians are available to assist you from the library reference desk, by e-mail at library@gordon.edu, or by phone (978) 867-4878.Blackboard and Online Class Structure:(1) General Information: All class work will be found and completed on Blackboard. All course documents, including the syllabus, are also listed on the site. There are videos embedded in the course content that will help you navigate Blackboard but some level of comfort with the system is expected. If you have any questions, however, please ask the instructor or, during the day, you can contact CTS: on campus—Jenks 317; phone— 978.867.4500; or email—(CTS@gordon.edu). Here is the link to the CTS site: .(2) Basic Class Structure: The course is “asynchronous,” which means that we will not be meeting as a class at a specific time. You will follow the modules and the units within each module and do the reading and assignments at your own pace (within the time frame of the due dates). This means that you can schedule your work as it fits your schedule. In other words, you can do your work early in the morning or late at night as long as it is submitted by the due date. It also means that you can do most of the work on a future unit ahead of time if you know that you will be very busy on the day it is due. The key for success is to start at the first unit and then use the “page” arrows to move to the next item or assignment in the course. Please watch the course introductory video for a more detailed explanation of how to do this.Brief Timeline for Greek PhilosophyDateEvent in AthensComparable Biblical Time490Battle of Marathon (defeat of Persians)Building of the Second Temple484Aeschylus wins poetry prize480 Battle of Salamis: Themistocles defeats XerxesEsther in Persia470Birth of Socrates468Sophocles defeats Aeschylus for poetry prize457Pericles takes over leadership: beginning of Golden Age of AthensEzra returns to Palestine456Death of Aeschylus431Beginning of Peloponnesian Wars and End of Golden Age of Athens444 Nehemiah returns428Birth of Plato421Unstable truce with Sparta418Battle of Mantinea: great land defeat of Athens by Sparta405Final defeat of Athens by Sparta404Sparta replaces democracy with vicious rule of Thirty403Democracy restored399Socrates brought to trial and executed397—Prophecy of Malachi385Plato returns from 12 years of travel and founds the Academy384Aristotle born367Plato instructs Dionysius of Syracuse. Aristotle arrives at Plato’s Academy361Returns to Syracuse one last time, but fails in his attempt to create political order347Death of Plato; Aristotle passed over to lead Academy and starts his own school (Lyceum)333Alexander conquers PersiaAlexander conquers PersiaFINAL ESSAY PromptAt the end of the final play of his trilogy (The Eumenides), Aeschylus has Athena make the following two points to Orestes, the Furies, and the people of Athens:“I open on this rock [the Areopagus opposite the Acropolis] the pure springs of my laws. Do not taint them by an expedient shift for advantages. Protect this court which will protect you all from the headstrong license of any man’s will and from slavery. Above all, remember the power of fear and cherish it in your ministry of the laws… I give you this court and I bless it— Like heaven, not to be violated. Like heaven, holy.”In response to the Furies outcry against the verdict she says, “You call for justice. But God speaks through me. Only I, Pallas Athene, possess the key that unlocks the thunderbolt of Zeus. But the time for brute force is past. The day of reasoned persuasion, with its long vision, with its mercy, its forgiveness, has arrived.”Sartre, in his play, the Flies, has this confrontation between Zeus and Orestes: Zeus: “Orestes, I created you, and I created all things…. For the world is good; I made it according to my will, and I am Goodness… Return to Nature, Nature’s thankless son. Know your sin, abhor it, and tear it from you as one tears out a rotten noisome tooth…. Come back to the fold. Think of your loneliness; even your sister is forsaking you. Your eyes are big with anguish, your face pale and drawn. The disease you’re suffering from is inhuman, foreign to my nature, foreign to yourself. Come back. I am forgiveness, I am peace.” Orestes, however, responds as follows: “Foreign to myself—I know it. Outside nature, against nature, without excuse, beyond remedy, except what remedy I find within myself. But I shall not return under your law; I am doomed to have no other law but mine. Nor shall I come back to nature, the nature you found good; in it are a thousand beaten paths all leading up to you—but I must blaze my trail. For I, Zeus, am a man, and every man must find out his own way. Nature abhors man, and you too, god of gods, abhor man.”THE QUESTION: Aeschylus praises the power of the gods, especially in the persons of the Zeus (god of justice) and Athena (goddess of wisdom or reason) and the divine order they provide—a very ancient belief. He also sets the stage for the emphasis on reason that becomes so central to early moderns. For Aeschylus, Orestes finds comfort and justification in conforming to the pronouncements of Athena and the arguments of sweet reason. Sartre, on the other hand, has Orestes reject such comforts. Why does Sartre, given his situation at the end of Modernity, come to such a conclusion? Use Sartre’s two plays (making sure to make relevant connections between The Flies and Aeschylus’ work) and what you know of his thinking in relation to two of the other philosophers we’ve studied to explain your answer.FORMAT AND REQUIREMENTS: Answer the question in 4-5 pages (double spaced), include a title page (with mailbox number), a “Works Cited” page using an accepted method (MLA, Chicago, etc.), and provide page numbers for quotes parenthetically in the text. General Guidelines for Philosophy EssaysWriting Ability:Grammar and StyleThere is no excuse for spelling errors in the age of “Spell check.”Be aware of Incomplete sentences or fragmentsRun-on sentencesNoun/verb agreementEach paragraph should state a single idea and fully develop it.Make sure that you provide good transitions between paragraphs.Make sure that all direct quotes are properly cited and give citations for those sections of your paper that rely heavily on a particular section of the text.Avoid giving dictionary definitions of key philosophical or theological concepts. For example, when explaining Aristotle’s notion of happiness, do not write: “Happiness” is defined by Merriam Webster as “a state of well-being or contentment.” What you need to do is describe Aristotle’s particular concept of happiness.Use standard margins, fonts, and use black ink only.Avoid verbs like: I feel that, I hate that, I love that, etc. Instead use strong objective verbs: I have shown that, I will argue that, etc.Use a consistent style for grammar and citations (MLA, Chicago, etc.). I do not require one particular form (these are all fine), but you need to choose one and stick with it.Avoid overly common expressions or colloquialisms: e.g., “His ideas are really cool.” “That was a stupid thing to believe.”Be careful of the passive anization and StructureYour Introduction should have at least the following elementsYour introductory sentence(s) should state clearly the general theme.Once you have established the general theme, you need to articulate what position you will take on the general theme (i.e., your specific take on the theme)You need to set out the key sections or steps of your essay.The final sentence of your Introduction should re-emphasize your theme and provide a transition to the first section of your paper.Your Conclusion should have at least the following elementsYour conclusion should begin with a sentence that ties into the previous paragraph.Your conclusion should review briefly the key steps of your exposition or argument.Your concluding sentence should state clearly the final position you believe you have established in the essay on the specific theme (set out in your Introduction).Be sure not to begin any new ideas in your conclusion.Avoid quotes, poems, etc. as a concluding sentence.Basics: Do not use secondary sources in place of the primary text or class discussion (notes). In other words, don’t cite a wiki article or other secondary source for Aristotle’s definition of virtue: Cite Aristotle’s definition!Use quotes only when they state clearly or amplify the point you are making.Avoid lengthy biographical information unless it is absolutely relevant. Here are two examples. (1) Here is a proper use of biographical information: Given the troubled state of Athenian politics after their defeat by Sparta, Socrates’ critical questioning of the leaders of Athens led to his execution. (2) Here is an improper use: Socrates was born around 469 BCE, had a wife and children, and was a really famous philosopher.You may use citations from the Bible, but you must treat them as representing ideas about the human condition that you will argue are compelling or informative. In other words, you cannot simply cite a verse as authoritative. For example, here is a poor use of Scripture: “Sartre is wrong when he doubts God’s existence. The Bible says that God created the world!” While here is a proper use: “Socrates is wrong to think no one every does evil knowingly. The biblical tradition idea, exemplified in St. Paul’s account in Romans Chapter Seven, of the pervasiveness of sin better accounts for our everyday experience.”Critical Thinking:Develop the philosopher’s ideas systematically beginning with the most fundamental ideas and building up to more specific concepts. Be clear about how the various aspects of his thinking fit together.Do not assume that everyone knows what a specific term from a philosopher means. Explain terms and develop their context.Focus on the central ideas; don’t get caught up in side issues.Make sure you answer every part of the prompt! ................
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