The Idea of Character

Catalog description

How would you describe your best friend's character? Do you know any characters? Do you have character? Do you have a favorite literary character? As these questions illustrate, the idea of character brings together the disciplines of moral philosophy, psychology, and literature: character is a moral quality, it is a quality of the mind, and it is an artistic performance. It encourages us to speak of real people as though they were fictional and of fictional people as though they were real. This Transformations course will examine the complexities of "character" from both a historical and a present perspective. Beginning with Arisotle and Greek tragedy, the course will study how the idea of character changed as modern individualism gradually replaced more communitarian ancient and medieval views of personhood. Finally, the course will ask whether the idea is -or can be rendered- compatible with present-day aesthetics, individual freedom, or the egalitarian values of a just society.