Transcendence and Immanence
PHIL 332
Fall 2008
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01
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Is our human existence in need of, or does it call for, something beyond it to make it fulfilling or worthwhile--something that transcends the material-temporal world? If the answer to this question is yes, what is this something and how does it relate to the world of ordinary experience? Is achieving it something we can realistically do in our lives? Is it something to which we should devote our energies? If the answer to the question is no, how should we understand the many calls for transcendence throughout human history? And how, then, should we live? Answers to these questions involve such concepts as spirit and its relation to body, the temporal and the eternal, the sacred and the profane, humanism and spirituality, natural and the supernatural, and a host of others. Moreover, these answers are not merely of academic interest but are profoundly personal guides about how we should live. The course will examine these questions and answers to them by studying some classic works in philosophy that address them from a variety of perspectives. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Ethical Reasoning
Addresses a central question in ethics.
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA PHIL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Plato, SYMPOSIUM; Augustine, CONFESSIONS; Nietzsche, TWILIGHT OF THE IDOLS and THE ANTI-CHRIST; Spinoza, ETHICS; Sartre, EXISTENTIALISM AND HUMAN EMOTIONS; Heidegger, LATER WRITINGS; (The Origin of the Work of Art; Letter on Humanism; The Question Concerning Technology; Building, Dwelling, Thinking; The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking) Sheng-Yen, HOOFPRINT OF THE OX, Seung Sahn, ONLY DON'T KNOW; Charles Taylor, INTRODUCTION TO A SECULAR AGE.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Weekly introductory essays that will be used as the basis for class discussion, 10-12 page final paper. |
| Instructor(s): Fay,Brian C. Times: .M.W... 01:10PM-02:30PM; Location: RUSLSEM; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 12 | | SR major: 4 | JR major: 4 | | |
| Seats Available: 0 | GRAD: 0 | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 0 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 3 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 2 |
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