Essential Questions:
Philosophical Excursions into Real Life

A Continuing Education Course at NYU - SCPS

Spring Term, 2010 / Course Number X08.9106.001
Meetings: Tuesday 02/09/10-04/20/10, 6:45-9:05 p.m.
Building: Silver Center(WSQ), Room 620

In this conversation-rich course, we explore the philosophical aspects of familiar real life problems and questions, deepening our understanding of the nature of these issues and bringing new ways to think about solutions to light.

The topics we discuss include the idea of a meaningful life, the nature of happiness, the nature of love, the importance of choice, and how to think about ethical conflicts. We mine our questions from newspapers, blogs and personal experiences, as well as from the developing literature on philosophical practice. We help ourselves to the insights of philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, David Hume, John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant, and Elizabeth Anscombe.

This schedule is flexible in order to respond to participants' interests.

Introductory Discussion — bringing philosophy into real life.

• "The Grammar of Goodness: An interview with Philippa Foot," Alex Voorhoeve for The Harvard Review.
• John Dolan, "Living the Truth" an obituary for G.E.M. Anscombe.

Thinking about Happiness

• Aristotle, Bk 1 The Good for Man
• Aquinas, "Things in which man's happiness consists," Summa, First part of the second part, Q 2
• Aquinas, "What is happiness" Summa, First part of the second part, Q 3
• John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism
• Michael Thomson, "The Representation of Life"

Cases:

• "50 Steps to Simple Happiness," Staff, New York Magazine
• "Strangers May Cheer You Up, Study Says," New York Times, Pam Belluck
• "Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness," Jennifer Senior, New York Magazine

Thinking about Freedom & Responsibility

• John Locke, Second Treatise on Government
• John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
• "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase it's Profits," Milton Friedman, New York Times Magazine
• "What Should a Billionaire Give — and What Should You?" Peter Singer, New York Times Magazine

Thinking about Love and Friendship

• Aristotle, Book 8, Friendship
• Aristotle, Book 9, Friendship
• Hume, Treatise, PT II, Bk II, "Of Love and Hatred" esp. sect i
& sect xi
• Aquinas, "On Love," First part of the second Part, QQ 26-29
• Plato, Symposium

Cases:

• "Alone Together," New York Magazine, Jennifer Senior

Thinking about Marriage/Sex/Gender

• John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women
• Hume "Of Love and Marriage" & "Of Polygamy and Divorce," in Essays
• Aquinas, Supplement to the Summa, QQ 41-68 on Matrimony

Cases:

• "Either/Or: Sports, sex, and the case of Caster Semenya," Ariel Levy, The New Yorker
• Robert Wright, "Tiger's Moral Hazard" and "Why Tiger Matters"

Thinking about Ethical Conflicts

• Cora Diamond, "Eating Meat and Eating People"
• Michele de Montaigne, "Of Cannibals"
• Philippa Foot, "Euthanasia"
• Elizabeth Anscombe, "Modern Moral Philosophy"
• Peter Singer, "Famine, Affluence, and Morality"
• Jeremy Bendik-Keymer, "A Circle of Life"
• G.E.M. Anscombe, "War and Murder"


Cases:

• "Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler," Mark Bittman
• "Eating Food That's Better for You, Organic or Not," Mark Bittman

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