A Good Life

Catalog description

The course will begin with an examination of Plato's classical account of a good life, grounded in the health of the body and soul and in active participation in a just community. We will then turn to the modern German philosophical tradition that further specifies this conception of a good life in terms of the reflective, yet concrete self-realization of the person grounded in right relations to oneself, other persons, nature, the institutions in which one's life is embedded, and to the future. Key topics will include human freedom and responsibility, the need for mutual recognition among human beings, and the notion of common sense. We will also spend time on the difficult human problems of rampant consumerism, commodification, and the instrumentalizing of human reason. In Germany we will explore specific ways in which the now philosophically grounded themes of health, sustainability, and community are manifest in institutions and cultural practices. We will spend the majority of our time in the award winning "Green City" of Freiburg, a socially innovative and historic university town, and capital of the Black Forest. We will then travel to the idyllic, medieval city of Tübingen and finally to Frankfurt, a major urban center well-known for its sustainable practices and innovative ideas. Can count for either CCC Level 2 Ethics or Level 2 Non-Ethics with chair permission.