Syllabus for A Survey of Philosophy of the Good, The True, and The Beautiful

Part I – The Ancients

 Dr. Carrie Gress

Pontifex University

Learning Outcomes:
Express the role that Goodness, Truth, and Beauty have played in the study of philosophy from ancient times to the modern age.

Lecture 1: Overview

General Information about Philosophy, Texts Needed

Lecture 2: Greek Understanding of the World
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Define the term “Being qua Being” as used in Metaphysics.
• Define the term “Universal versus Particular” as used in Metaphysics.
• Define the term “Substance/Essence” as used in Metaphysics.
• Define “Transcendentals” as used in Metaphysics

Reading for Next Lecture: The Apology

Lecture 3: Socrates (Died 399BC)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Identify the influence of Socrates on the purpose of philosophy, as a way to tell us how to live.
• Discuss Socrates’ view that Truth is grounded in reality and therefore something that can be known.

Reading for Next Lecture: The Republic, Book VII

Lecture 4: Plato (Died 384BC)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Define four key points of Plato’s philosophy, Knowledge, Virtue, the Ordering of the Soul, and the difficulty of apprehending what is Real and True.
• Contrast Plato’s view of the arts as an imitation of reality with his view on the beautiful as a perfect and immaterial “form.”
• Explain Plato's allegory of "The Cave."

Reading for Next Lecture: The Phaedrus

Lecture 5: Plato
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Define Plato’s view of love as defined by Eros.
• Discuss Plato’s view of the connection between love (eros) and Beauty.

Reading for Next Lecture: The Symposium

Lecture 6: Plato 
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Discuss Plato’s view of Beauty as a mover of the soul.
• Discuss Plato’s view of the artist as an imitator of nature.

Reading for Next Lecture: Aristotle’s Categories

Lecture 7: Aristotle (384-322BC)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Contrast Plato’s Forms with Aristotle’s Categories.

Reading for Next Lecture:  Nicomachean Ethics, especially Books I and II

Lecture 8: Aristotle
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Relate Aristotle’s view of Goodness as that to which all things aim, to his view on what it means to be happy.

Reading for Next Lecture: Poetics

Lecture 9: Aristotle
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Contrast Plato’s and Aristotle’s definition of Beauty.
• Contrast Plato’s and Aristotle’s views on art as imitation.

Reading for Next Lecture: Plotinus' Enneads (particularly 1.6) and Porphyry's Sentences (Section II)

Lecture 10: Dawn of Christian Era
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Contrast the view of Plotinus on Art and Artists with that of Plato.

Read for Next Lecture: St. Augustine, Confessions (Book II) and The City of God (Book X)

Lecture 11: Augustine (354-430AD)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Contrast Augustine’s view of the relationship between God and Man with the Greek view.

Read for Next Lecture: Augustine, The Confessions (Book XI) and The Nature of the Good [link https://www.ewtn.com/library/PATRISTC/PNI4-9.TXT ] (Chapters 1-15)

Lecture 12: Augustine
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Analyze Augustine’s view of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful as a product of love for God.

Read for Next Lecture: Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy (Book III)

Lecture 13: Boethius (480-524AD)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Analyze Boethius’ view on the “Highest Good,” for man, knowing the true and doing the good.
• Analyze Boethius’ view of God as the very substance of Goodness.
• Distinguish Boethius’ view on the Beautiful as God given but of little value.

Read for Next Lecture: Pseudo-Dionysius, Divine Names (esp. Chapters IV, V, VII, XI)

Lecture 14: Pseudo-Dionysius (?)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Analyze Pseudo-Dionysius’ view on the Good as identical to the Beautiful.
• Analyze the Christian notion of love as a transcendental, in terms of its connection with goodness, truth, and beauty.

Lecture 15: Summary, concluding remarks on the Ancients

Sources

Plato               The Apology

                        The Republic

                        The Symposium

                        The Phaedrus

Possible to use something like The Collected Dialogues, ed. By Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns, Princeton University Press, or find online: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au

(exact translations not required)

Aristotle         The Categories

                        Nicomachean Ethics

                        Poetics

Find these in some kind of collection, like The Basic Works or find online https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au

Plotinus

                       Enneads

Find online at University of Adelaide site: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au

Porphyry

                        Sentences

Find here www.tertullian.org/fathers/porphyry_sententiae_02_trans.htm

Pseudo-Dionysius

                       The Divine Names

www.tertullian.org/fathers/areopagite_03_divine_names.htm

Many hardcopy editions available

Augustine

           The Confessions and The City of God

Boethius

           The Consolation of Philosophy

Hardcopy for purchase or online at: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/boethius/consolation/

 .

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Syllabus for A Survey of Philosophy of the Good, The True, and The Beautiful

Part II – The Medievals

Dr. Carrie Gress

Pontifex University

Lecture 16 – Introduction
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Define Scholasticism.
• Identify the transcendentals as defined by the scholastics.
• Analyze the role of artists in the Medieval period as the pedagogical craftsman.

Reading for next lecture: Anselm of Canterbury, On Truth and On Free Will

Lecture 17 – St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to: 

• Analyze St. Anselm of Canterbury’s view of Truth as involving the rectitude of the will, the mind, and the essence.
• Analyze St. Anselm of Canterbury’s view of Beauty as an expression of the rectitude of the soul.

Reading for next week: Copelston, Vol. 2, Part IV, Chapter XIX, Islamic Philosophy

Chapter XIX, Islamic Philosophy

Chapter XX, Jewish Philosophy

Lecture 18 – The Islamic Influence
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Debate the role non-Christian philosophers played in Christian perceptions of Truth.

Reading for next lecture: Scivias II, Vision II (handout)

Lecture 19 – Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Interpret St. Hildegard of Bingen’s idea of Beauty through her writings on music.

Reading for next lecture: Copelston, Vol. 2, on Robert Grosseteste, Chapter XXIV, Section a.

Chapter XXIV, Section a, Robert Grosseteste

Lecture 20 – St. Bernard of Clairvaux's (1090-1153), Robert Grosseteste (1170-1253)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Interpret St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s view of Beauty as an aspect of light.
• Relate St. Bernard’s view of light to its effect on architecture.
• Analyze Robert Grosseteste Cosmology of Light as it relates to Truth.

Read for the next lecture: Copelston, Vol. 2,

Chapter XXV, St. Bonaventure, I

Chapter XXVII, St. Bonaventure – III, Relation of Creatures to God.

Lecture 21 – St. Bonaventure (1221 – 1274)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Analyze St. Bonaventure’s view of light as it relates to artistic activity.
• Analyze St. Bonaventure’s view on the relationship between light and love.

Reading for next lecture: Copelston, Vol. 2,

Chapter XXIX, St. Bonaventure – V: The Human Soul

Lecture 22 - St. Bonaventure
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Evaluate St. Bonaventure’s view on Beauty as it relates to the Beatific Vision.
• Relate St. Bonaventure’s view on the Good in the context of the lover and the beloved..

Read for the next lecture: Copelston, Vol. 2,

Chapter XXX, Albert the Great

Lecture 23 - St. Albert the Great (c. 1200-1280)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Analyze St. Albert the Great’s view on how the transcendentals of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness are related to each other.
• Analyze St. Albert the Great’s view on Light as an inner teacher identified with Truth.

Read for the next lecture: Copelston, Vol. 2,

Chapter XXXI, St. Thomas Aquinas – I,

Chapter XXXII, St. Thomas Aquinas – II: Philosophy and Theology

(some excerpts from the Summa, TBA)

Lecture 24 – St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to: 

• Interpret St. Thomas Aquinas’ view on Truth as a Transcendental..

Read for the next lecture: Copelston, Vol. 2,

Chapter XXXVII, St. Thomas Aquinas – VII: Psychology

Chapter XXXVIII, St. Thomas Aquinas – VIII: Knowledge

(some excerpts from the Summa, TBA)

http://dhspriory.org/thomas/summa/FS/FS018.html

Lecture 25 – St. Thomas Aquinas
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Relate St. Thomas Aquinas’ view on Goodness as a Transcendental as it relates to “being.”
• Discuss St. Thomas Aquinas’ three types of illumination; nature, grace, and glory.

No reading for the next lecture 

Lecture 26 – St. Thomas Aquinas
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Define Beauty according to St. Thomas Aquinas.
• Relate Beauty to Truth and Goodness according to St. Thomas Aquinas.

Read for the next lecture: 

http://www.iep.utm.edu/scotus/

Lecture 27 – Bl. John Duns Scotus (-1308)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to: 

• Analyze Bl. John Duns Scotus view of Beauty as an aggregate of size, shape, and color.

Reading for next Lecture: 

http://www.iep.utm.edu/ockham/

Lecture 28 – William of Ockham (1285-1347)
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to: 

• Discuss William of Ockham’s rejection of transcendentals and the subsequent decline in a philosophy of Beauty..

Read for the next lecture: Handouts on Dante and Christine de Pizan

Lecture 29 – Beyond Scholasticism
By the end of this lesson the student will be able to: 

• Discuss how Dante’s Divine Comedy reflects the Scholastic view of God and the Beatific Vision.
• Discuss Christine de Pizan’s view on the Virtues as presented in her book, The City of Ladies.

No reading for the next lecture

Lecture 30 – Concluding Thoughts
Summary of Medieval thoughts on Light, and the Transcendentals.

No reading for next lecture

Reading Sources

Anselm of Canterbury, The Major Works, (Oxford World Classics)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Available online

http://newadvent.org/summa/

Frederick Copelston

A History of Philosophy, Vol 2, Augustine to Scotus

Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias, II, Vision II, Handout

Dante, Convivio, Handout

Christine de Pizan, The Book of the City of Ladies, Handout

Further Reading: 

Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism, by Erwin Panofsky

Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages, by Umberto Eco

The Esthetics of the Middle Ages, by Edgar de Bruyne

Podcast: History of Philosophy whiteout any gaps, Dr. Peter Adamson. Historyofphilosophy.net

Lecture 31 – Introduction 

Introduction to the trends that precipitated Modern (17th-20th century) thought on Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.

Reading for next lecture: 

On Descartes

Copleston, A History of Philosophy, Volume IV (in Book II), Chapter II.

Lecture 32 – Rene Descartes (1596–1650) 

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Criticize Rene Descartes “Hyperbolic Doubt” as a way to discern what is True.
• Criticize Rene Descartes notion of Beauty reduced to mathematics.

Reading for next lecture: 

Copleston, A History…, Vol. V (in Book II), Chapter I

Lecture 33 – Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Criticize Thomas Hobbes’ view of Beauty as a promise of physical gratification.

Reading for next lecture: 

On Locke

Copleston, A History…, Vol. V, Chapter IV and Chapter VI

On Newton

Copleston, A History…, Vol. V, Chapter VIII

Lecture 34 – John Locke and Isaac Newton

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Criticize John Locke’s view on Truth as entirely based on human experience.
• Discuss how Sir Isaac Newton’s emphasis on experimentation and mathematics influenced the western philosophers that followed him.

Reading for next lecture: 

On Hume

Copleston, A History…, Vol. V, Chapters XIV and XVI

Lecture 35 – Hume (1711–1776) 

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Criticize David Hume’s view on Truth, Beauty, and Goodness as products of experience, emotions, and sentiment.

Reading for next lecture: 

Copleston, A History…, Vol. VI, Chapter III

Lecture 36 – Rousseau (1712-1778)

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Criticize Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s view that the arts and sciences corrupt man’s natural state.

Reading for next lecture: 

Copleston, A History, Vol. VI, Chapter XV

Lecture 37 – Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Criticize Immanuel Kant’s perception of Beauty as a symbol of morality.

Reading for next lecture:

Hegel at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Schopenhauer at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy 

Lecture 38 - Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) and Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Relate Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s view Beauty to Plato’s “Forms.”
• Relate Arthur Schopenhauer’s view of pure ideas or essence to Plato’s “Forms.”

Reading for the Next Lecture: 

Romanticism 

Yes, this is from Wikipedia, but it was the best description I found online. For further reading, though not required, go to Isaiah Berlin, The Roots of Romanticism, Princeton University Press, 2001.

Lecture 39 – Romanticism

 By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Distinguish Romanticism as a reaction to the enlightenment.
• Criticize the Romanticism view that art should be guided solely bt th feelings of the artist.

Reading for next lecture: 

Mill at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Lecture 40 -- John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) and Utilitarianism

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Criticize the utilitarian idea of “Art for Art’s Sake.”

Reading for next lecture: 

Marx at the  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Nietzsche at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Russell at Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Lecture 41– Marx, Nietzsche, and Russell

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

•Appraise the effect of Cartesian thought on modern “Analytic Philosophy.”

Reading for next lecture: 

Phenomenology at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Handout: Dietrich von Hidlebrand, Aesthetics: Vol. I, Introduction

Lecture 42 – Phenomenology

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Analyze the experience of beauty as necessary for a person’s spiritual development.

Reading for next lecture: 

Encyclical by Pope Leo XIII, Aeterni Patris 

Lecture 43 – Neo-Thomism, Part I

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Relate Etienne Gilson’s view on Beauty to the making of art.
• Relate Etienne Gilson’s view on Beauty to the “knowing” of art.

Reading for next lecture: 

Jacques Maritain at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Alasdair MacIntyre at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Lecture 44 – Neo-Thomism Part II

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Analyze Jacques Maritain’s view on Beauty as it relates to the transcendentals.

Reading for next lecture:

Encyclical Letter by Pope Saint John Paul II, Fides et Ratio

Lecture 45 – Faith and Reason

By the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Evaluate St. John Paul II’s encyclical, “Faith and Reason” as a balance between pre and post enlightenment views on Beauty.

Quiz

General Sources:

Frederick Copleston, S.J.

- A History of Philosophy, Book II or Volumes IV, V, & VI

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

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