Our course will march down two parallel paths readingwise. Each Tuesday we will read and discuss a selection from one of our canonical texts, namely Plato’s Phaedo, Aristotle’s On the Soul, and Augustine’s Confessions. Roughly the first half of the semester will be given over to Plato and Aristotle and the second half given over to Augustine. Alongside those works, on Thursdays, we will read a contemporary tract by the philosopher John Cottingham, In Search of the Soul (SS).
Week One:
- Thursday: Open
Week Two:
- Tuesday: Phaedo 57a-72a
- Thursday: SS: 1-14
Week Three:
- Tuesday: Phaedo 72a-96a
- Thursday: SS: 14-32
Week Four:
- Tuesday: Phaedo 96a-107e
- Thursday: SS: 33-48
Week Five:
- Tuesday: No Meeting
- Thursday: SS: 49-63
Week Six:
- Tuesday: De Anima i 3-4
- Thursday: SS: 64-69
Week Seven:
- Tuesday: De Anima ii 1-5
- Thursday: SS: 70-79
Week Eight:
- Tuesday: De Anima iii 3-5
- Thursday: SS: 80-89
Week Nine:
- Tuesday: Confessions I-II
- Thursday: SS: 90-99
Week Ten:
- Tuesday: Confessions III-IV
- Thursday: SS: 100-117
Week Eleven:
- Tuesday: Confessions V-VI
- Thursday: SS: 118-125
Week Twelve:
- Tuesday: Confessions VII-VIII
- Thursday: SS: 126-141
Week Thirteen:
- Tuesday: Confessions IX-X
- Thursday: SS: 142-148
Week Fourteen:
- Tuesday: Confessions XI-XIII
- Thursday: SS: 149-158
Week Fifteen:
- Tuesday: Quodlibetal