GREA PHAN 341 - Living the Good and Virtuous Life

Institution:

Arcadia University

Subject:

Description:

In his treatise the Politics (1280a31), Aristotle states that people associate politically "not just to live, but in order to live well". The inquiries of ancient Greek philosophers into the nature of the eu z?n, the "good life" and the conditions for it, are the themes of this course. We shall be turning to the ideas of Socrates, the Sophists, Plato and Aristotle in order to understand what drove them to define the end of human political association in this unique way. What were the various interpretations of human flourishing and how did all of these differ from present day objectives? We shall follow the debates regarding the concept of justice in these thinkers and we shall pay special attention to Plato's theory that justice is analogous to health and well-being, both for the individual and for the society. We shall explore the psychological theory that emerged from Plato's concept of justice and trace its continuity in Aristotle. The student enrolling in this class should be aware that the word "ethics" in Greece is derived from ethos which means custom. (Athens, Greece, http://www.arcadiacenter.edu.gr/)

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.arcadia.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 572-2900

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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