TERM: Spring 2007
Course No. and Section: Phil 160/3 & 7
Section Times: 03 - TR 8:00 - 9:15 a.m.
07 – TR 9:25 – 10:45 a.m.
Course Title: Philosophy of Human Nature
Instructor: Fr. Thomas Sherman, S.J.
Course Description
This course is an introduction to the philosophy of human nature. The purpose of the course is to help us
gain a little better understanding of what it means to be human and how we might thereby live more
humanly. We will be especially interested in three major issues in human living: What is human
happiness? What is friendship and why is friendship important for us? What prevents us from being
happy? In order to help us in these questions we will examine in some detail two towering masterpieces
of Western civilization, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and St. Augustine’s Confessions. In their
respective works both Aristotle and Augustine reflect on our nature as human beings and how we might
live more fully human lives by examining happiness, friendship, and what prevents us from being happy.
In this course we will examine both these works as representatives of two different points of vies: the one
rational and naturalistic, the other rational and religious.
Prerequisites/Recommended Background: None
Required Texts:
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Oxford (Ross translation)
St. Augustine, Confessions, Oxford (Chadwick translation)
Course Expectations:
We will strive for a close, careful, and critical reading of both the Nicomachean Ethics and the
Confessions to help us in our own reflections on what it means to be human and how we can live well as
human beings. For each class the student will be required to prepare one type-written page answering the
study guide questions for that class and a page of personal reflection on the material. This preparation
will help the student read the text closely and carefully and will prepare him or her for a critical
discussion of the text in class. These papers will also help the student review and prepare for the mid-
term and final exams in the course. The content of the exams will include the study guide questions and
whatever additional material is presented in class by the instructor. The papers will be collected and
graded randomly throughout the semester. The quality of these papers will count for a quarter of the
student’s final grade in the course. The mid-term and final exam will each count a quarter as well. There
will be one essay paper consisting in a comparison between Aristotle and Augustine on the place of
friendship a happy human life. Because class discussion of the material prepared and the explanation of
the instructor are important components in the course, the student will be required to attend class
regularly.
Grade:
Mid-Term and Final Exam: 25% each
Study Guide papers: 25%
Essay Paper: 25%
Class attendance: Class attendance, participation, and punctuality are required and will count toward the
final grade both positively and negatively. Negatively, the student’s final grade will drop an interval
every three classes missed. In other words, if you miss class three or more times, should your final grade
be a B it will drop to a B-, if you miss class six times or more, the grade will drop to C+, and so forth.
Grade Standards:
A:93-100;A-:90-92;B+:87-89;B:83-86;B-80-83;C+:77-79;C:73-76;C-:70-72;D:60-69; F:0-59
