Deacon Aspirant Introduction to Philosophy (2019)
Prof. Alfred Freddoso
Phone: 574-631-7327 (home); 574-309-3108 (flip-phone)
E-mail: afreddos@gmail.com
Home page: http://www.nd.edu/~afreddos/
Home page for this course: http://www.nd.edu/~afreddos/courses/Deacon Intro/Course outline.htm
Lecture notes for this course: http://www.nd.edu/~afreddos/Deacon Intro/lectures.htm
Purpose of Course:
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to philosophy
and to the importance of philosophical inquiry for their own lives.
To this end we will examine a sampling of philosophical
classics. Some recurrent
themes: the nature of philosophy and of philosophical wisdom; the
distinctiveness
of the philosophical life; the relation between intellection and
affection
in the pursuit of wisdom; the existence and nature of God; the relation
between intellectual virtue and truth; the relation between faith and
reason;
the nature of human flourishing; the role of individuality in the
pursuit
of human flourishing; the relation between moral virtue and happiness.
The philosophers to be discussed include Plato, St. Thomas Aquinas (and
through him Aristotle), St. Augustine, Descartes, Hume, Mill, and
Nietzsche.
Texts (other editions
and/or translations
are acceptable):
- Plato, Five
Dialogues (Hackett)
(ISBN: 978-0872206335)
- St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa
Contra Gentiles, Book One: God (Notre
Dame) (ISBN: 978-0268016784)
- St. Thomas Aquinas, Treatise on Beatitude -- my
translation, on line
- Rene Descartes, Discourse
on Method (Hackett)
(ISBN: 978-0872204225)
- David Hume, Dialogues
Concerning Natural Religion (Hackett)
(ISBN: 978-0872204027)
- John Stuart Mill, On
Liberty (Hackett)
(ISBN: 978-0915144433)
- Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond
Good and Evil (Penguin)
(ISBN: 978-0140449235)
- St. Augustine, Confessions (Hackett) (ISBN:
978-0872208162)
Requirements:
- Careful reading and re-reading of all assignments and
scrupulous class
attendance.
- Submission of a comment or question on the reading every
third day -- see
assignments -- comments due by midnight the day before (10% of
grade).
- Two 5-page papers on assigned topics, due on
9/15
and 11/17, each worth
20% of grade).
- Two exams, the first on 10/13 and the second on 12/13 (each
worth 25% of
grade).
Tentative outline
with reading assignments:
I. Plato
(428
BC-348 BC)
- 8/25: Apology, in Five Dialogues,
pp. 23-44 (17A-42A)
- 8/30: Phaedo, in Five Dialogues, pp.
93-106 (57A-69E)
- 9/1: Phaedo, in Five Dialogues,
pp. 106-135 (69E-95E)
- 9/6: Phaedo, in Five Dialogues, pp.
135-155
(95E-end)
- 9/8: Summa Contra Gentiles, Book One:
God, pp. 59-68
(chaps.
1-4)
- 9:13: Summa Contra Gentiles, Book One: God,
pp. 69-78
(chaps.
5-9)
- 9/15 Summa Contra Gentiles, Book One: God,
pp. 85-99
(chaps.
13-15) (paper due)
- 9/20 Summa Contra Gentiles, Book One: God,
pp. 135-149 (chaps. 28-35)
- 9/22: Treatise on Beatitude, ques. 1-3, pp.
1-30 in my translation
- 9/27: Treatise on Beatitude, ques. 4-5, pp.
31-50 in my translation
- 9/29: Discourse on Method, pp. 1-6 (Pt. 1)
- 10/4: Discourse on Method, pp. 6-12 (Pt. 2)
- 10/6: Discourse on Method, pp. 12-17 (Pt. 3)
- 10/11: Discourse on Method, pp. 17-21 (Pt. 4)
10/13 Exam at regularly scheduled time -- followed by
Fall Break
- 10/25: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion,
pp. 3-12 (Part I)
- 10/27: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion,
pp. 13-38 (Parts II-V)
- 11/1: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion,
pp. 54-76
(Parts IX-XI)
- 11/3: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion,
pp. 77-89
(Parts XII)
- 11/8: On Liberty, pp. 1-33 (chaps. 1 and
first part of chap. 2)
- 11/10: On Liberty, pp. 33-52 (last part of
chap. 2)
- 11/15: On Liberty, pp. 53-71 (chap. 3)
VI. Friedrich
Nietzsche (1844-1900)
- 11/15: Beyond Good and Evil, pp. 13-14 and pp.
37-55 (Preface &
Part Two) (paper due)
- 11/17: Beyond Good and Evil, pp. 56-71 (Part
Three)
- 11/22: Beyond Good and Evil, pp. 90-109 (Part
Five)
- 11/29: Confessions, pp. 3-47 (Bks. 1-3)
- 12/1: Confessions, pp. 51-83 (Bks. 4-5)
- 12/6: Confessions, pp. 87-125 (Bks. 6-7)
- 12/8 Confessions, pp. 129-170 (Bks. 8-9)
12/13 FINAL EXAM 4:15-6:15
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