Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM / ZMM) Sidecar

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

This course is a synchronized supplement to a parallel reading of Robert Pirsig’s classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM / ZMM) and Plato’s Phaedrus. As such, it functions something like a sidecar to a motorcycle. The core sidecar readings include (selections from) works on Zen/Buddhism, a “guidebook” to Pirsig’s novel, the book whose title was the model for Pirsig’s title, and the philosophical text that first introduced Pirsig’s narrator to the “classic and romantic modes of reality and probably shaped these terms in his mind more than he ever knew.” Two bonus readings are the subject of a separate stand-alone session several weeks after the completion of both the primary and core sidecar readings. Continue reading

Reading Machiavelli and Macbeth … Twice!

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is sometimes read as a rebuttal of Machiavelli’s Prince. We’ll explore this notion by using the strategy laid out in Mortimer Adler’s classic How to Read a Book, to read each work twice, once quickly to get an overview and then again more slowly to figure out the details. Along the way, we’ll pay careful attention to the literary, philosophical, and political aspects of each classic work as well as the relationships between the two. Continue reading

Reading Rousseau’s Origin and Foundations of Inequality … Twice!

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Using the strategy laid out in Mortimer Adler’s classic How to Read a Book, this course is devoted to developing a solid understanding of Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality (aka: The Second Discourse) by reading it once quickly to get an overview and then again more slowly to figure out the details. Along the way, we’ll pay careful attention to the literary, religious, and philosophical features that are woven together in the Enlightenment’s greatest account of “The Fall of Man” and a work that helped paved the way for the French Revolution and the development of Communism.
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Reading Descartes’s Meditations … Twice!

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Using the strategy laid out in Mortimer Adler’s classic How to Read a Book, this course is devoted to developing a thorough understanding of Descartes’s Meditations on First Philosophy by reading it once quickly to get an overview and then again more slowly to figure out the details. Along the way, we’ll pay careful attention to both the dramatic and the philosophic features that Descartes interweaves in this philosophical creation story. Whether you’ve attempted Descartes’s Meditations before or never cracked the cover, this course is for you. Continue reading

How to Read Plato’s Dialogues as Literature

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Like its counterparts in the “How to Read Classic Texts” series, this course is designed to help students improve their reading skills. In this case, by learning how to read Plato’s dialogues as “philosophical dramas,” the full appreciation of which requires attention to each work’s dramatic and philosophical dimensions (sometimes referred to as “form” and “content”) — as well as (sometimes) to its connections to other dialogues in Plato’s canon. Discover what folks who read Plato’s dialogues as thinly-veiled manifestoes are missing! Continue reading

Reading Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals … Twice!

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Using the strategy laid out in Mortimer Adler’s classic How to Read a Book, this course is devoted to developing a thorough understanding of Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals by reading it once quickly to get an overview and then again more slowly to figure out the details. Along the way, we’ll pay careful attention to both the dramatic and the philosophic features that Nietzsche interweaves in this “polemic”. Whether you’ve attempted Nietzsche’s Genealogy before or never cracked the cover, this course is for you.
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Reading Prometheus Bound and Frankenstein … Twice!

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Although Mary Shelley subtitled her most famous work “The Modern Prometheus,” few modern readers consider her novel in light of its ancient antecedent. This course will explore the full significance of Shelley’s Frankenstein by reading it closely in conjunction with a close reading of Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound. We’ll use the strategy laid out in Mortimer Adler’s classic How to Read a Book of reading each work once quickly to get an overview and then again more slowly to figure out the details as we attempt to understand each work in its own right as well as the relationships between them. Continue reading

The Foundation of Free Speech? John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Often cited as one of the most celebrated defenses of free speech ever written, John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty makes its case on the basis of utility rather than natural rights. But is Mill’s argument sound? We’ll attempt to find out as we consider his argument in detail. Please read chapter 1 prior to the first class. Continue reading

Reading Plato’s Republic … Twice!

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Using the strategy laid out in Mortimer Adler’s classic How to Read a Book, this course is devoted to developing a thorough understanding of Plato’s Republic by reading it once quickly to get an overview and then again more slowly to figure out the details. Along the way, we’ll pay careful attention to both the dramatic and the philosophic features that Plato interweaves to create a Socratic “one man show” (think Fonda as Darrow or Holbrook as Twain) “on justice”. Whether you’ve attempted the Republic before or never cracked the cover, this course is for you. Please skim Books 1-4 of the Republic before the first class session. You may also want to read Adler’s How to Read a Book before or during the course but that is not required.
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Hannah and Hitler

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

The causes and consequences of the rise and fall of Nazi totalitarianism are arguably among the most important lessons of the 20th century. This course will grapple with these issues through close readings of Hannah Arendt’s controversial classics The Origins of Totalitarianism and Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil alongside Adolph Hitler’s notorious Mein Kampf. Prior to the first class, please read the short assignments noted in the syllabus and watch Charlie Chaplin’s famous 1940 film, The Great Dictator. (Please do not watch any of the other films used later in the course.) Continue reading