PHILOSOPHY OF THE FAMILY

Catalog description

This course investigates the phenomenon and vocation of parenthood and the family from a philosophical perspective. It links its specific inquiry to the concept and history of the family within society, engaging with ancient and medieval thinke rs into the modern and contemporary period. Within its primary philosophical framework, the course explores theoretical issues arising from the empirical sciences, especially evolutionary biology and psychology, and offers philosophical engagement with economics, politics, history, and the social sciences. The course simultaneously affirms the overarching significance of theology, especially the reality of Theotokos – Mary, the Mother of God – and the adoptive role of St Joseph. Authors studied include St. Edith Stein, St. John Paul II, Gertrud von le Fort, Aristotle, Plato, and St. Thomas Aquinas; and possibly also St. Gregory of Nyssa, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Alasdair MacIntyre, Germaine Greer, and Damaris Masham. Prerequisite: PHIL 205.