Prof. Diana Lobel Spring 2011 Office: 147 Bay State Road, Rm 507 MWF 1-2 pm; CAS 316. (617) (office)

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1 Prof. Diana Lobel Spring 2011 Office: 147 Bay State Road, Rm 507 MWF 1-2 pm; CAS 316 Enter on Silber Way (behind Towers, SMG) Take elevator to 5 th floor. Office hours: TBA Course Assistant: Brian Jenkin bjenkin@bu.edu Phone: (718) (cell) (617) (office) dnlobel@bu.edu RN 245: RELIGIOUS THOUGHT: THE QUEST FOR GOD AND THE GOOD PH 245: PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION Theme. The relationship between God and the good. The course will examine the aims of human life, the place of God in the good life, the role of contemplation and action in the spiritual quest, interactions between philosophy and religious thought. Class Format. The format of the class will be group discussion, using Socrates method: a collective search for truth and understanding. We will read and discuss key passages of each text and explore the larger questions they raise; students will have study questions to guide each reading. Student will also write weekly short (1 page) reflection papers, including a final paper reflecting upon the journey of the semester: insights, conclusions, new questions to explore. The class will thus engage in an ongoing dialogue about the central questions of the course. COURSE REQUIREMENTS 1. Class Participation: Regular attendance, preparation of Study Questions for each day, having texts and study questions in class, and class participation. Attendance will be taken at every class. All students are required to purchase the Course Packet from University Readers; it will be sent to you within 24 hours. Purchase this on-line at 1

2 By the third week of class, I will check that you have purchased your Course Packet and printed out Study Questions. There will also be random checks of whether you have brought the books and documents needed for the day to class. If you do not have your books or documents, this will be deducted from your participation grade. Be sure to consistently bring the documents and study sheets. (10%) 2. You are also required to download the document Study Questions from the Assignments section of the Blackboard Website at the beginning of the semester. There is a document of study questions assigned on the syllabus for the readings for each day. In preparation for each class, answer the study questions for that day electronically, print them out, and bring them to class. Study questions will prepare you to participate in class; they will be collected periodically. You will not receive individual grades on the study questions, but the more thoughtfully you prepare your answers, the more you will get out of readings and class discussion and the better you will be prepared for exams. Turning study questions in when they are requested will count toward your participation grade. 3. Weekly reflection papers of about 1 typed double spaced page. These will be turned into the electronic Drop Box on the Blackboard website. We will be responding to your reflection papers in rotation, so that each student will receive a written response and grade for one paper before the midterm and one after the midterm. (If you would especially like a response and grade to a particular paper, you can send me an that week). Final reflection paper due last day of class, reflecting over the themes of the course. (10%) 4. In class midterm examination; sample essay questions will be given out in advance: Wed Feb 16 (40%) 5. Rewrite of midterm essays. Each student will go to one of the Writing Centers and consult about how you can improve your midterm essays. You are required to turn in the re-write to the Digital Dropbox. 6. Final examination during examination period; sample essay questions will be given out in advance (40%). 7. Class Conduct: Please keep your cell phones on silent during class and refrain from texting during lecture or discussion. If you are taking notes with a laptop, please me a copy of these notes at the end of each class to me at dnlobel@bu.edu. 8. Disability Statement. If you have a disability that may warrant accommodation in this class, please let me know immediately and we will work something out that suits your needs and the needs of the class. Please do not wait till the last minute to address this. 9. Academic Honesty: No form of academic dishonesty will be tolerated. It is the responsibility of every BU student to know and adhere to University policy on 2

3 academic honesty, which is available online at If you have any questions concerning the policy or about documenting your sources, please speak to me. All on-line resources must be documented. Failure to cite your on-line sources for your midterm or final essays will be counted as plagiarism and you will be charged with academic misconduct. 10. For administrative purposes, it is important that you link any personal accounts to your BU account. Here is the BU website that explains the forwarding process in detail: If you need more information about this process, contact my Research Assistant. TEXTS TO BE PURCHASED 1. A Course Packet, to be purchased from University Readers. Purchase this on-line at 2. Study Questions, to be printed out from Assignments section on Blackboard website. 3. Plato Timaeus, tr. F. Cornford (Prentice Hall, 1981) 4. Plato, Five Dialogues, tr. G.M.A. Grube (Indianapolis, Hackett, 2002). 5. Plato, Republic, tr. G.M.A. Grube (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992). (Any edition with marginal numbers acceptable.) 6. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, tr. Terrence Irwin (Hackett, 1999) (Any edition with marginal numbers acceptable). 7. Paul Davies, The Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World (New York: Touchstone, 1992). 8. Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, tr. Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1993). (Any edition with chapter numbers acceptable). 9. Maimonides, The Guide of the Perplexed, tr. C. Rabin (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1995). 10. The Upanishads, tr. Eknath Easwaran (Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press, 1987). 11. The Bhagavad Gita, tr. Barbara Stoler Miller (New York: Bantam, 1995). (Any edition with chapter numbers acceptable). 12. Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Keys (New York: Doubleday, 1974). 13. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. Compiled by Paul Reps (New York: Doubleday). (If this is unavailable at Barnes and Noble, please try the Internet or area bookstores). 3

4 14. The Bible; any translation. HarperCollins Study Bible recommended. 15. Additional primary and secondary readings can be accessed at the Course Info website and can be printed out at the computer lab in the basement of 111 Cummington Street. Assignments are not long in numbers of pages, but they must be read carefully, and if possible more than once before class. You will get much more out of class discussion if you read carefully. This will help you as you sit down to write. Week One Wed Jan 19 Introduction: The Quest for God and the Good 1. What do we mean by God and good? 2. Short autobiographical introductory paragraph due Friday: In a short paragraph introduce who you are, whether you have explored philosophical and/or religious issues before, what brings you to be interested in the themes of the course, and what you would like to learn in the course. This should be no more than a few sentences or a paragraph, so we can learn your names and find out what you would like to get from the course. Print out your picture from the Student Link Profile and staple it to the front of your essay. MAKE TWO COPIES OF THE ESSAY WITH YOUR PICTURE ON IT: ONE FOR PROF LOBEL, ONE FOR THE TF, and bring them to class on Friday. Also upload them to the DIGITAL DROPBOX. Fri Jan 21 In the Beginning Bible: Genesis 1:1-2:3 2. Davies, The Mind of God, Short introductory paragraph with your picture stapled to it due in class today. 4. Study Questions: Genesis 1:1-2:3. Optional (Graduate) Reading 5. Genesis Rabbah (London: Soncino, 1961), tr. H. Freedman, Volume One,III:6 (first paragraph) (p. 22), I:5 (p. 2, bottom of page in human practice),9 (p.8) (Course Packet) 4

5 Week Two Mon Jan 24 The maker of the universe is hard to find Plato, Timaeus, 28a-31b (Note for Plato and Aristotle: these are marginal numbers, not page numbers; pp ) 2. Paul Davies, The Mind of God, Review pp Note error in last paragraph of p. 35. Can you see how he misunderstands Plato? 3. Study Questions: Plato s Timaeus I Recommended (Graduate) Reading 1. Donald Zeyl, Timaeus (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2000), Introduction: The Creation Story: Literal or Metaphorical? xx-xxv. (Course Info, Document 2). Wed Jan 26 How did the world we know come to be? 1. Plato, Timaeus, Ideal models of Fire, Air, Water, Earth; Description of Chaos 52d-53c, 51 b-e, 48a-b. 1. Davies, The Mind of God, pp (50-57) Study Questions: Plato s Timaeus II (Just question #1). Recommended (Graduate) Readings 2. Plato, Timaeus, 48e-49a, 50a-52c, 34a-35a, 36d-38c, 40d-42d, (42d-44d), 47e-49b. 3. Donald Zeyl, The Receptacle, The Argument for Forms lxilxvi. If you are really daring, try liv-lx. Extra credit for anyone who can explain this! (Course Info, Document 2) 4. John Dillon, Plato: the Unwritten Doctrines, in The Middle Platonists: 80 BC to AD 220 (Ithaca: Cornell, 1977), 1-8. (Course Info, Document 2) Fri Jan 28 What is the Tao? Did the Tao create the world? 1. Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, 1-42, 5

6 2. Tao Te Ching, Introduction and Translators Preface, (vii-xii), xii-xx. 3. Davies, The Mind of God, (creation without creation) 4. Taoism: Key Terms and Concepts 5. Study Questions: Tao Te Ching Recommended (Graduate) Reading 6. Davies, The Mind of God, Week Three We will be checking Course Packets this week. Mon Jan 31 How does one live in accordance with the Tao? 1. Tao Te Ching, Review Davies, The Mind of God, (creation without creation). 3. Continue Study Questions: Tao Te Ching Recommended (Graduate) Reading 1. Max Kaltenmark, Lao Tzu and Taoism, (Course info, Document 4) Wed Feb 2 1. If God is good and creation is good, what is the source of evil? The Bible, Genesis Marc Brettler, How to Read the Bible, 1-3, Study Questions: Genesis 2-3, Midrash Fri Feb 4 If human beings are the source of evil, is the creation of humanity a good thing? Why? 6

7 4. Continue Genesis Genesis Rabbah, VIII:3-5. (pp ); IX:7. (p. 68) (Course Packet) 6. Genesis 6:5-8, Genesis 8: Nahum Sarna, Jewish Publication Society Commentary to the Torah: Genesis (Philadelphia, Jewish Publication Society, 1993), Comments to Gen 6:6, 8:21, pp. 46-7, 59 (Course Packet) Comments to Gen 6:6: Every plan devised by his mind (also: regretted... saddened), p. 47 Comment to Gen 8:21: the devisings of man s mind, p Continue Study Questions: Genesis 2-3, Midrash. Week Four Mon Feb 7 Is something good because God loves it, or does God love it because it is good? 1. Euthyphro in Five Dialogues. Introduction, 2a-11e, pp Study Questions: Euthyphro Wed Feb 9 What is the aim of life, according to Socrates? 1. Euthyphro 11e-16a, pp Apology (in Five Dialogues) 20c-23c, 28b-32a, (-32e), 32e- 33c, 37e-38a, 39e-42a. 3. Socrates, Socratic intellectualism, arete, elenchus, in Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 37, 220 (Course Packet) 4. Continue Study Questions: Euthyphro Recommended (Graduate) Reading 7

8 1. W.K.C. Guthrie, Early Socratic Dialogues: the Euthyphro, in A History of Greek Philosophy Volume IV (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975), (Course Info). Fri Feb 11 How is skepticism related to the search for truth? What does Ghazali mean by prophecy? 1. Ghazali, Deliverer from Error, in The Faith and Practice of al- Ghazzali, tr. W. Mongomery Watt (Oxford: Oneworld, 1994), pp. 9-13, 19-25; (Course Packet). 2. Study Questions: Ghazali and Shinn Week Five Mon Feb 14 What is religious experience? How is religious experience related to dreaming? 1. Ghazali, Deliverer from Error, p , 74-76, 82-top Larry D. Shinn, Two Sacred Worlds (Nashville: Abingdon, 1977), bottom (11-17) (Course Packet). 3. Continue Study Questions: Ghazali and Shinn Wed Feb 16 IN-CLASS MIDTERM Fri Feb 18 If we all actually desire good, why do we seem to do things we know are wrong or harmful, to ourselves and to others? 1. Plato, Protagoras 351b-362; Phaedo 69b. (Course Info) 2. Robin Waterfield, Introduction to Plato, Gorgias (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), xvi-xxvi (Course Packet) 3. Recommended: Michael Frede, Introduction to Protagoras (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992), xxvii-xxxiii. (Course Packet) 4. Recommended: W.K.C. Guthrie, The Protagoras: Pleasure and goodness: Socrates a hedonist? n A History of Greek Philosophy Volume IV (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975),,pp (Course Packet) 5. Study Questions: Plato s Protagoras, Meno, Gorgias 8

9 Week Six Mon Feb 21 Tues Feb 22 PRESIDENTS DAY: NO CLASS Is virtue a form of wisdom? Is learning really a kind of remembering? Is the soul simple and unified or complex and divided? 1. Plato, Meno 77a-89a, 97a-98b; Gorgias 499e-501c, 506c-508a, Phaedo 69b; Phaedo, in Five Dialogues, 72e-77a (Gorgias: Course Packet) 2. Plato, Republic Book IV: 427d-445b 3. Continue Study Questions: Plato s Protagoras, Meno, Gorgias plus Republic Recommended (Graduate) Reading 1. W.K.C. Guthrie, The Meno: Forms in the Meno, Knowledge and True Belief, Is Virtue Knowledge? Knowledge and True (Right) Belief) pp , (Course Info, Document 1). 2. W.K.C. Guthrie, Problems and Sources: Socrates and the Theory of Forms, History of Greek Philosophy Vol III, (Course Info, Document 1) Wed Feb 23 What does Plato mean by the Good, the Beautiful, and the Equal? How can we truly know the Good, according to Plato? 1. Phaedo, in Five Dialogues, 72e-77a; Republic, tr. G.M.A. Grube, Book VI 500b-501e, pp ); Phaedo 97b. 2. Study Questions: Plato on the Good Recommended (Graduate) Reading 1. The Form of the Good, in W.K.C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, Vol IV, (on reserve at Mugar Library). 9

10 2. W.K.C. Guthrie, Problems and Sources: Socrates and the Theory of Forms, History of Greek Philosophy Vol III, (Course Info, Document 1). Fri Feb 25 How does Plato s image of the Sun and the Divided Line help us in understanding the Good? 1. The Form of the Good; the Sun and the Divided Line: Plato, Republic, Book VI 504d-511e; Phaedo 97b. 2. Study Questions: Plato on the Good Week Seven Mon Feb 28 What is the meaning of the myth of the cave? How is it related to the image of the Divided Line? 1.Plato, Republic, Book VI 514b-521c. Recommended (Graduate) Reading 1. The Form of the Good, in W.K.C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, Vol IV, (on reserve at Mugar Library). 2. Plato, Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (Mugar Reference). Wed March 2 How does Augustine make sense of God and the Good? How does he draw upon both the Bible and Plato to do so? 7. Augustine, Confessions Book VII 1, 5, 10 (pp , , 138-9, 146-7). (Course Packet) 8. Augustine, Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (Website). 9. Study Questions: Augustine and Maimonides on Evil Fri March 4 How does Augustine struggle to make sense of evil in the world? How does he interpret the Garden of Eden story? How does he explain the origin of the devil? 10

11 1. Augustine, Confessions Book VII, 3, 5 (pp ), (pp ). 2. Augustine, On the Free Choice of the Will, , Course Packet). 4. Continue Study Questions: Augustine and Maimonides on Evil 5. Recommended: Augustine, On the Free Choice of the Will, 27, 68-69, If time: 6. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed III:10-11, tr. S. Pines (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963), pp You can begin in the first full paragraph of 439. (Course Packet) 7. Guide of the Perplexed III:12, from A Maimonides Reader, tr. I. Twersky (New York: Behrman House, 1972), (Course Packet). (You can read the end of III: 12 from the tr. of S. Pines, pp Course Packet). 8. Continue Study Questions: Augustine and Maimonides on Evil Week Eight Mon March 7 What are Maimonides categories of evil? How would you compare the views of Augustine and Maimonides on evil with that of Socrates? Are these accounts of evil morally satisfying? 1. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed III:10-11, tr. S. Pines (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963), pp You can begin in the first full paragraph of 439. (Course Packet) 2. Guide of the Perplexed III:12, from A Maimonides Reader, tr. I. Twersky (New York: Behrman House, 1972), (Course Packet). (You can read the end of III: 12 from the tr. of S. Pines, pp Course Packet). 3. Handout: Three Species of Evil (website). 4. Continue Study Questions: Augustine and Maimonides on Evil 11

12 Wed March 9 How does Maimonides interpret the Garden of Eden story? 3. Review Genesis 1-3. BRING BIBLE TO CLASS. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed I:1-2 (Pink book, translation C. Rabin, pp Study Questions: Maimonides Guide I:1-2 Fri March 11 Review Genesis 1-3. BRING BIBLE TO CLASS. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed I:1-2 (Pink book, translation C. Rabin, pp How does Maimonides interpret the punishment for humanity s act of disobedience? How does his concept of knowledge of God compare with that of the Upanishads? 2. Study Questions: Maimonides Guide I:1-2. Read excerpt omitted from our abridged edition of Guide I:2 (Course Packet) Week Nine SPRING BREAK. ENJOY! Week Ten Mon March 21 How does Maimonides interpret the punishment for humanity s act of disobedience? How does his concept of knowledge of God compare with that of the Upanishads? 2. Study Questions: Maimonides Guide I:1-2. Read excerpt omitted from our abridged edition of Guide I:2 (Course Packet) What do the Upanishads mean by the Self? What are the various metaphors they use to describe the Self? 1. Introduction, Brihadaranyaka, Mandukya Upanishads (abridged) in The Upanishads, tr. E. Easwaran, pp. 7-19, Study Questions: Upanishads Recommended (Graduate) Reading 12

13 3. Franklin Edgerton, Introductions to The Bhagavad Gita (Course Info). Wed March 23 How can we know the Self, according to the Upanishads? 1. Introduction, Chandogya Upanishads, 23-27, 68-72, Thomas Hopkins, The Upanishads, in The Hindu Religious Tradition (Course Packet) 3. Alternative, more classical translation of Chandogya Upanishad, Chapter 6 in Thirteen Principle Upanishads, tr. R. Hume (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993) (Course Info, Document 8). 4. Continue Study Questions: Upanishads Recommended (Graduate) Reading 1. R.C. Zaehner, Brahman, in Hinduism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980), 37, (Course Info, Document 6). Fri March 25 What are the Yogas of Non-Attached Action and Knowledge? 1. The Bhagavad Gita, Introduction; Chapters Thomas Hopkins, The Bhagavad Gita, in The Hindu Religious Tradition, Study Questions: Bhagavad Gita Recommended (Graduate) Reading 1. The Argument of the Bhagavad Gita (Course Packet) 2. Eknath Easwaran, Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita (Course Info) Week Eleven 13

14 Mon March 28 What are the Yogas of Devotion and Meditation? 1. The Bhagavad Gita, Chapters Eaknath Easwaran, The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living (The End of Sorrow, Vol II (Petaluma, CA: Nilgiri, 1992), 59-67, (Course Packet). 3. Bhagavad Gita Handout (begins: the ideals of dharma and moksha) 4. Continue Study Questions: Bhagavad Gita Recommended (Graduate) Reading 2. Additional commentary of Easwaran (Introduction to Bhagavad Gita, 1-45) (Course Info, Document 7). Wed March 30 How does Aristotle understand the Good? How does he criticize his teacher Plato? 1. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book One. 3. Aristotle, Key Terms and Concepts Handout (Course Packet) 4. Study Questions: Aristotle Fri April 1 What is virtue, according to Aristotle? How do we become good? 1. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Books One and Two. 2. McMahon, The Sunshine Prescription (Boston Globe, Sunday Sept 22, 2002) (Course Packet) 3. Aristotle Models of the Soul (Handout) (Course Packet). 4. Continue Study Questions: Aristotle Recommended (Graduate) Reading 5. Timothy Robinson, Aristotle s Ethics, Aristotle in Outline (Indianapolis: Hackett, 54-71) (Course Info) 14

15 Week Twelve Mon April 4 Which is preferable, the active life or the contemplative life? 1. Book X, 1177a b33; Book VI, 1141a b20; Book One, 1100b Aristotle, Eudemian Ethics: Books I, II, and VIII, tr. Michael Woods (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), Book Two, Chapter 1 (pp ); Book Eight, Chapter 3 (pp ) 3. Anthony Kenny, Aristotle on the Perfect Life (New York: Oxford, 1992), The Contemplation and Service of God, Aristotle, Metaphysics XII:7 (in A New Aristotle Reader, ed. J.L. Akrill (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987), Aristotle Models of the Soul Handout (Course Packet) 6. Aristotle on Contemplation and Happiness Handout (Course Packet) 7. Continue Study Questions: Aristotle Recommended (Graduate) Readings John Cooper, Intellectualism in the Nicomachean Ethics, Reason and Human Good in Aristotle, (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1980), (Course Info, Document 9). Wed April 6 Which is preferable, the active life or the contemplative life? 8. Book X, 1177a b33; Book VI, 1141a b20; Book One, 1100b Aristotle, Eudemian Ethics, Book II: Anthony Kenny, Aristotle on the Perfect Life, The Contemplation and Service of God, Aristotle, Metaphysics XII:7. 15

16 12. Aristotle Models of the Soul Handout (Course Packet) 13. Aristotle on Contemplation and Happiness Handout (Course Packet) 14. Continue Study Questions: Aristotle Recommended (Graduate) Readings John Cooper, Intellectualism in the Nicomachean Ethics, Reason and Human Good in Aristotle, (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1980), (Course Info, Document 9). Fri April 8 What is the significance of friendship for Aristotle? 1. Book IX, 166a-1166b29; 1168a b Continue Study Questions: Aristotle Week Thirteen Mon April 11 What did Moses learn in his encounters with God? The Bible, Book of Exodus (2:23-3:22; Chapters 19-20: Chapter 32-33:6) 33:7-34:10 (34:11-34:35). How can human beings know God, according to Maimonides? 1. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed I: Study Questions: Guide of the Perplexed I:54 Wed April 13 What is the relationship between the active life and the contemplative life for Maimonides? How does he follow Aristotle and how does he diverge from him? 1. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, III: Study Questions: Guide of the Perplexed III:

17 Fri April 15 What is the relationship between the active life and the contemplative life for Maimonides? How does he follow Aristotle and how does he diverge from him? 1. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, III: Look up Jeremiah 9:22-23 in conjunction with Guide III: Continue Study Questions: Guide of the Perplexed III:51-54 Week Fourteen Mon April 18 No Class. Patriots Day. Wed April 20 What is mindfulness? What does Buddhism mean by not-self? How did Buddhism critique the Upanishads doctrine of the Self? 1. Zen Keys, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: Begin 101 Zen Stories. 2. Study Questions: Zen Keys Thurs April 21 How does the kung-an (koan) lead to awakening? What is the goal of Zen? How can we make sense of some of these Zen stories? How do they help us understand the nature of Zen awakening? 1. Zen Keys, 49-73, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: Complete 101 Zen Stories. 2. Study Questions: Zen Keys; Zen Stories Fri April 22 What is the role of the medium-healer? How is spirituality understood differently in the tradition of Haitian vodou than in the other traditions we have examined? How does the vodou tradition understand the relation of spirits to God? 1. Karen McCarthy Brown, Mama Lola, 5-20, , (Course Packet). 2. Study Questions: Mama Lola Week Fifteen 17

18 Mon April 25 What does a scientist conclude about the ultimate meaning of our universe? The Mind of God, (Recommended: ). Wed April 27 What is the ultimate aim of life, for Plato? What is the significance of the afterlife? 1. Plato, Republic 614b-62d (pp ). (Book IX 571a-576c (pp ); 585b-592b (pp ). 3. Plato, Phaedrus 246a-252b (Course Info, Document 1) Fri April 29 How can we compare classical accounts of the Afterlife with contemporary accounts of near-death experiences? Huston Smith, Intimations of Mortality: Three Case Studies, (Images of the Afterlife) in Harvard Divinity School Alumni Bulletin, Winter , Vol 30, No. 3. (Course Packet) FINAL REFLECTION PAPERS DUE FINAL EXAMINATION DURING EXAMINATION PERIOD 18

19 Prof. Diana Lobel Summer Session 2, 2011 Office: 147 Bay State Road, Rm 507 MWTh 1-3:30 pm Phone: (718) Office Hours: TBA STH TT 802 THE QUEST FOR GOD AND THE GOOD Course Theme. The seminar will examine the aims of human life, the place of God in the good life, the role of contemplation and action in the spiritual quest, and interactions between philosophy and religious thought. Class Format. The format of the class will be group discussion, using Socrates method: a collective search for truth and understanding. We will read and discuss key passages of each text and explore the larger questions they raise; students will have study questions to guide each reading. Student will also write short (1 page) reflection papers, including a final paper reflecting upon the journey of the semester: insights, conclusions, new questions to explore. The class will thus engage in an ongoing dialogue about the central questions of the course. COURSE REQUIREMENTS 1. Regular attendance, preparation, and class participation. Attendance, having course materials in class, and preparation are crucial! Attendance will be taken at each class. Please check your frequently for updates on class assignments. (10%) 2. Short reflection papers will help you synthesize your reading. One reflection paper will be due each Friday (excluding week of midterm and final) (10%). 3. Midterm. End of third week: Thursday July 21 (40%) 4. Final Examination. last class: Thursday August 11 (40%) 1

20 TEXTS TO BE PURCHASED 1. Plato, Five Dialogues, tr. G.M.A. Grube (Indianapolis, Hackett, 2002). 2. Plato, Republic, tr. G.M.A. Grube (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992). (Any edition with marginal numbers acceptable.) 3. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, tr. Terrence Irwin (Hackett, 1999) (Any edition with marginal numbers acceptable). 4. Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, tr. Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1993). (Any edition with chapter numbers acceptable). 5. The Bhagavad Gita, tr. Barbara Stoler Miller (New York: Bantam, 1995). (Any edition with chapter numbers acceptable). 6. Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Keys (New York: Doubleday, 1974). 7. The Bible; any translation. HarperCollins Study Bible recommended. 8. Additional primary and secondary readings can be accessed at the Blackboard website: pps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dcourse%26id%3d_37737_1 %26url%3d Recommended 9. Paul Davies, The Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World (New York: Touchstone, 1992). 10. A very useful online resource is the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. This displays the best of contemporary scholarship in philosophy. Assignments are not long in numbers of pages, but they must be read carefully, and if possible more than once before class. You will get much more out of class discussion if you read carefully. This will help you as you sit down to write. ACADEMIC CONDUCT Students are expected to know and follow the guidelines of the CAS Academic Conduct Code. Copies are available at the following URL: Plagiarism is a serious 2

21 matter and cases of suspected misconduct will be referred to the Dean s office. What constitutes correct citation is a more subtle and complex matter than most of us think. I strongly encourage all students to read through a copy of the CAS Academic Conduct Code, as it is a very useful guide to the correct use of citations for academic work. All sources used must be properly cited. Please consult the instructor with any questions you may have about appropriate collaboration and citation. Week One Wed July 6 Introduction: The Concept of God What do we mean by God and good? In the Beginning... The maker of the universe is hard to find Genesis Plato, Timaeus, 28a-31b (Note for Plato and Aristotle: these are marginal numbers, not page numbers). 3. Paul Davies, The Mind of God, pp Short autobiographical introductory paragraph due Thursday: In a short paragraph introduce who you are, what philosophical and/or religious issues you enjoy exploring, what brings you to be interested in the themes of the course, and what you would like to learn in the course. This should be no more than a few sentences or a paragraph, so I can learn your names and find out what you would like to get from the course. Print out your picture from the Student Link Profile and staple it to the front of your essay. Also upload a version to the Digital Dropbox. Recommended Reading 1. Donald Zeyl, Timaeus (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2000), Introduction: The Creation Story: Literal or Metaphorical? xx-xxv. (Blackboard, Document 8). Thurs July 7 How did the world we know come to be? 3

22 1. Plato, Timaeus, 28a-31b. 2. Plato, Timaeus, Ideal models of Fire, Air, Water, Earth; Description of Chaos 52d-53c, 51 b-e, 48 a-b. 3. Study Questions: Plato s Timaeus Study Questions 1 (Blackboard, Assignments) Recommended Readings 4. Plato, Timaeus, 48e-49a, 50a-52c 5. Davies, The Mind of God, pp (50-57) Fri July 8 Is something good because God loves it, or does God love it because it is good? 1. Euthyphro in Five Dialogues. Introduction, 2a-11e, pp Study Questions: Euthyphro What is the aim of life, according to Socrates? 1. Euthyphro 11e-16a, pp Apology (in Five Dialogues) 20c-23c, 28b-32a, (-32e), 32e- 33c, 37e-38a, 39e-42a. 3. Socrates, Socratic intellectualism, arete, elenchus, in Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 37, 220 (Blackboard) 4. Continue Study Questions: Euthyphro Recommended Reading 2. Plato, Timaeus, 34a-35a, 36d-38c, 40d-42d, (42d-44d), 47e-50a. 3. John Dillon, Plato: the Unwritten Doctrines, in The Middle Platonists: 80 BC to AD 220 (Ithaca: Cornell, 1977), 1-8. (Course Info, Document 8) 4

23 4. Paul Davies, The Mind of God, Week Two Mon July 11 What is the Tao? Did the Tao create the world? How does one live in accordance with the Tao? 5. Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching. 6. Tao Te Ching, Introduction and Translators Preface, (vii-xii), xii-xx. Recommended Reading 1. Max Kaltenmark, Lao Tzu and Taoism, (Blackboard, Document 4) 2. Davies, Mind of God, Wed July 13 Is virtue is a form of wisdom? If we know the good, will we automatically do it? If we all actually desire good, why do we seem to do things we know are wrong or harmful, to ourselves and to others? Is learning really a kind of remembering? Is the soul simple and unified or complex and divided? 1. Plato, Protagoras 351b-362; Phaedo 69b; Meno 77a-89a, 97a-98b;, Gorgias 499e-501c, 506c-508a, (Blackboard) 2. Plato, Republic Book IV: 427d-445b 1. Robin Waterfield, Introduction to Plato, Gorgias, xvii-xxvi (Blackboard) 2. Recommended: Michael Frede, Introduction to Protagoras, xxviixxxiii. (Blackboard) 5

24 3. Recommended: W.K.C. Guthrie, The Protagoras: Pleasure and goodness: Socrates a hedonist? pp (Blackboard) Thurs July 14 What does Plato mean by the Good, the Beautiful, and the Equal? How can we truly know the Good, according to Plato? 1. Phaedo, in Five Dialogues, 72e-77a; Republic, tr. G.M.A. Grube, Book VI 500b-501e, pp ); Phaedo 97b. 2. Study Questions: Plato on the Good How can we truly know the Good, according to Plato? Plato, Republic, tr. G.M.A. Grube, Book VI 500b-501e, pp ); The Form of the Good; the Sun and the Divided Line, Book VI 504d-511e. Recommended Reading 1. The Form of the Good, in W.K.C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, Vol IV, (on reserve at Mugar Library). What is the meaning of the myth of the cave? How is it related to the image of the Divided Line? 1.Plato, Republic, Book VI 514b-521c. Recommended Reading 1. The Form of the Good, in W.K.C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, Vol IV, (on reserve at Mugar Library). 2. Plato, Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (Mugar Reference). Week Three Mon July 18 How does Augustine make sense of God and the Good? How does he draw upon both the Bible and Plato to do so? 6

25 7. Augustine, Confessions Book VII 1, 5, 10 (pp , , 138-9, 146-7). (Blackboard) 8. Augustine, Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (Blackboard). How does Augustine struggle to make sense of evil in the world? How does he make sense of the Garden of Eden story? How does he believe the devil came to be? 1. Augustine, Confessions Book VII 3, 5 (pp ), (pp ). 2. Augustine, On the Free Choice of the Will, , Blackboard). 3. Continue Study Questions: Augustine and Maimonides on Evil 4. Recommended: Augustine, On the Free Choice of the Will, 27, 68-69, Wed July 20 What are Maimonides categories of evil? How would you compare the views of Augustine and Maimonides on evil with that of Socrates? Are these accounts of evil and human responsibility morally satisfying? 5. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed III:10-11, end of III:12 (Blackboard) 6. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed III:12, in A Maimonides Reader, pp (Blackboard) How does Maimonides interpret the Garden of Eden story? Are human beings free, responsible moral agents? 1. Review Genesis 1-3. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed I:1-2 (Pink book, translation C. Rabin, pp ; A Maimonides Reader; ) (Blackboard: Course Information) Thurs July 21 MIDTERM (You will have essay questions to prepare in advance) 7

26 What do the Upanishads mean by the Self? What are the various metaphors they use to describe the Self? How can we know the Self, according to the Upanishads? 1. Introduction, Brihadaranyaka, Mandukya Upanishads (abridged) in The Upanishads, tr. E. Easwaran, pp. 7-19, Introduction, Chandogya Upanishads, 23-27, 68-72, Thomas Hopkins, The Upanishads, in The Hindu Religious Tradition 4. Alternative, more classical translation of Chandogya Upanishad, Chapter 6 in Thirteen Principle Upanishads, tr. R. Hume (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993). Week Four Mon July 25 How does the Bhagavad Gita define the Disciplines of Non- Attached Action and Knowledge? 1. The Bhagavad Gita, Chapters 1-3. Recommended Reading 1. Eknath Easwaran, Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita (Blackboard) Wed July 27 What is the Disciplines of Devotion? How does the Gita describe the source of evil? How does the Gita understand moral responsibility? How does the Gita resolve the relationship between its various teachings? How does one best attain freedom and immortality? 1. The Bhagavad Gita, Chapters 4-9, Eaknath Easwaran, The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living (The End of Sorrow, Vol II (Petaluma, CA: Nilgiri, 1992), 59-67, (Course Info, Document 7). Recommended Reading 1. David White, Bhagavad Gita, Notes. (Blackboard Documents) 8

27 2. Additional commentary of Easwaran (Introduction to Bhagavad Gita, 1-45) (Blackboard, Course Information). Thurs July 28 How does Aristotle understand the Good? How does he criticize his teacher Plato? 1.Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book One, 1094a-1098a20; 1099a9-1100a90; 1100b What is virtue, according to Aristotle? How do we become good? 1. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book Two. 2. McMahon, The Sunshine Prescription (Boston Globe, Sunday Sept 22, 2002) (Blackboard) Recommended Reading 3. Timothy Robinson, Aristotle s Ethics, Aristotle in Outline (Indianapolis: Hackett, 54-71) (Blackboard: Course Information). Week Five Mon Aug 1 Which is preferable, the active life or the contemplative life? How do we attain a divine-like existence? Nicomachean Ethics, Book X, 1177a b33; Book VI, 1141a b20; Book One, 1100b Aristotle Eudemian Ethics, Book Two, Chs 1-3; Anthony Kenny, Aristotle on the Perfect Life, "The Contemplation and Service of God, ; Aristotle, Metaphysics, XII:7 (Blackboard Documents). Recommended Readings John Cooper, Intellectualism in the Nicomachean Ethics, Reason and Human Good in Aristotle, (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1980), (Blackboard, Course Information). 9

28 What is the significance of friendship for Aristotle? How does affiliation resolve the tension between the divine and human aspects of human beings? 1. Book IX, 1166a-1166b29; 1168a b19. Wed Aug 3 How can human beings know God, according to Maimonides? What did Moses learn in his encounters with God? The Bible, Book of Exodus (2:23-3:22; Chapters 19-20: Chapter 32-33:6) 33:7-34:10 (34:11-34:35). Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed I:54 (tr. Rabin, pink book, 71-77) What is the ultimate knowledge of God, according to Maimonides? Does he advocate the active life or the contemplative life? Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, I:54; III: (tr. Rabin, pink book, ). Thurs Aug 4 What is mindfulness? What does Buddhism mean by not-self? How did Buddhism critique the Upanishads doctrine of the Self? Zen Keys, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (selected stories; Blackboard Course Information) How does the kung-an (koan) lead to awakening? What is the goal of Zen? Zen Keys, 49-73, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. Week Six Mon Aug 8 How can we make sense of some of these Zen stories? How do they help us understand the nature of Zen awakening? What does Suzuki mean by Beginners Mind? 3. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. Complete 101 Zen Stories 4. Zen Mind/Beginners Mind , 65-71, (Blackboard) 10

29 Wed Aug 10 How is skepticism related to the search for truth? What does Ghazzali mean by prophecy? Ghazzali, Deliverer from Error, in The Faith and Practice of al - Ghazzali, pp. 9-13, 19-25; (Blackboard Document 5). What is religious experience? How is religious experience related to dreaming? Ghazzali, Deliverer from Error, p , 74-76, 82-top 83. (Larry D. Shinn, Two Sacred Worlds, bottom (11-17) 18-top 24. (Blackboard, Document 5). How can we compare classical accounts of the Afterlife with contemporary accounts of near-death experiences? Huston Smith, Intimations of Mortality: Three Case Studies, (Images of the Afterlife) in Harvard Divinity School Alumni Bulletin, Winter , Vol 30, No. 3. (Blackboard: End) Thurs Aug 11 Class Evaluations FINAL EXAMINATION (You will have essay questions to prepare in advance). 11