Books

PHILOSOPHY: The Power of Ideas, Fourth Edition (PPI) [Required] Brooke Moore and Kenneth Bruder, Mayfield, 1999 ISBN 1-55934-988-3  (Note that the Study Guide is available when purchased through college book store)
FOUR TEXTS ON SOCRATES REV ED (FTS) [Required] Plato's Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, Crito, and Aristophanes' Clouds  Thomas G. West and Grace Starry West, Cornell University Press, 1998 ISBN: 0-8014-8574-6
Any Bible.  (Optional) I recommend using a study bible and finding a translation that you find approachable. I will be using the NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, 1995

Course Description: This course is an interdisciplinary study of the growth of Western culture through the study of philosophical and other texts. It covers the period from the earliest recorded history through Hebrew, Greek and Roman thought, the rise of Christianity, and the Renaissance. Readings will be from the Old and New Testaments, the Pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas.

Teaching Goals: My goals are for you to learn about a number of different views of the world, and for you to see how it is possible to compare and evaluate these views. You shall learn some facts about the ideas of different thinkers, but more importantly you shall understand these ideas and shall be able to explain them clearly in both speech and writing. My tasks in teaching are to help you learn and to evaluate your progress as fairly as possible. You will find many of the texts challenging, and you will need to read them thoughtfully several times in order to understand them. If you feel in need of help with the course work, I encourage you to form study groups with your classmates or to come to me during my office hours. If during the semester you experience any difficulty in keeping up with the workload and getting assignments done on time, you should let me know as soon as you can, so we can work round the problem. Please never feel reluctant to come to me to discuss issues: remember the ultimate goal of this course is that you benefit from taking it.

Guidelines on writing papers, taking tests, grading and other policies

Retake/resit/make-up policy: you may do make-up work on a single piece of work done before Thanksgiving.There is a 10% deduction on the grade for that work.
 
 

 
Paper Topics and Book Suggestions (from previous semesters)

Class Notes (incomplete)

Links to other useful sites:

The Bible & Religious Studies
• The Bible, Revised Standard Edition, The Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia
• Bible Browser Basic Home Page
• World Wide Study Bible
• The NET Bible
• Religious Texts, U Michigan
• Catholic Encyclopedia on St. Paul
• PBS Frontline: From Jesus to Christ
• Encarta on Saint Paul
• Encyclopedia Britannica on Saint Paul

Ancient Greece
• Ancient Athens
• Ancient Sites: Athens (includes a virtual tour)
• The Ancient Greek World
• Weid's Ancient Greece Site
• The Acropolis of Athens
• The Ancient World Web

Epic Poetry
• Homer's Odyssey resources on the Web
• Classics on the Web
• Columbia Encyclopedia Entry on Homer

Greek Tragedy
• Notes on Sophocles' Oedipus, by John Porter, University of Saskatchewan
• Notes and Study Questions on Selected Greek Tragedies, by Lewis Stiles,  University of Saskatchewan
• Oedipus the Wreck, Professor Eric Hibbison of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, Richmond, Virginia
• Oedipus: The Theban Story and It's Interpretation, by Andrew Wilson

Greek Comedy
• Aristophanes Biography
• Lysistrata (an even more R-rated translation)
• Lysistrata (anonymous translation)
• The Birds
• The Birds
• The Clouds

Philosophy
• Yahoo Philosopher's Links
• Classical Political Theory Web Sites
• Greek Philosophy Archive
• HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE CLASSICAL PERIOD (see especially lecture 10)
• Philosophy of Religion Resources
• Notes by G. J. Mattey
• The Last Days of Socrates
• Plato's Works
• Marc Cohen's Introduction to Aristotle
• The Philosophy Garden (Epicurus)
• SF Epicureans
• Epictetus at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Epictetus: The Discourses
• Works by Epictetus
• Geocities Stoics Site
• Stoic Philosohy
• Stoics amd Stoic Philosophy
• Stoicism at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Stoicism at the Ecole Initiative
• Anselm's Proslogion (selections)
• Medieval Sourcebook: Anselm: On the Existence of God
• Stanford Encyclopedia on St Anselm
• Anselm on Encarta
• Anselm on the Catholic Encyclopedia
• John Kilcullen: Lecture on Anselm's Proslogion
• Aquinas' Summa Theologica on New Advent
• St. Thomas Aquinas and Medieval Philosophy by D.J. Kennedy, O.P.
• Montaigne Site
• More Montaigne Essays

Buddism
• American Zen Buddhist
• What is Buddhism?
• Ben Walter's Zen Site
• Zen Site

Judgments Across Cultures
• Female Genital Mutilation Network
• Female Circumcision Comes to America, by Linda Burstyn
• Female Genital Mutilation: At the Crossroads of women's Health & Human Rights
• Cultural perspectives of circumcision
• Female Circumcision Discussion Piece, by Paul Ford
• Ending the nightmare passage to womanhood, by Judith Achieng