Tag Archives: Socratic Method

Reading Descartes’s Meditations … Twice!

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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

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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 →

How to Read the Book of Genesis as Literature

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COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Like its counterparts “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 the Book of Genesis as “literature” rather than as “scripture,” thereby unlocking new layers of meaning. We’ll focus both on paying close attention to the actual text on the page, and on becoming self-aware of the unconscious biases that we bring to this foundational book, as well as to the rest of “The Bible.” Continue reading →

Reading Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals … Twice!

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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!

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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 →

A “Great Conversation” Model of University DEI: At the University of Chicago, for Example

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WRITINGS > FINISHED [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

The “Great Conversation” model of the university presupposes an intellectual posture of skepticism and humility that is incompatible with claims of epistemic privilege, the notion that some individuals or groups have greater inherent access to truth. UChicago DEI initiatives should reflect this by incorporating perspectives that question all aspects of DEI. Not doing so results in a “Great Monologue” that impedes the quest for truth and diminishes the possibility of truth-based activism, as well as denigrates those holding currently unfashionable views. Continue reading →

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

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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!

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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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21st-Century African-American Perspectives on Race

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COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Through close reading and discussion of a number of modern classics this course will seek to better understand two lines of African-American thinking about racism today. The more mainstream, “liberal” school of thought contends that America has always been — and is still today — a fundamentally racist nation. The less known, “conservative” school of thought contends not only that America has made great racial progress, but that the greatest obstacle to further progress is the “liberal” narrative itself. Readings includes works by Derrick Bell, Shelby Steele, Ta-Nehisi Coates, John McWhorter, Ibram Kendi, and Glenn Loury. Prior to the first class, please do the readings indicated on the syllabus and watch the 2020 documentary What Killed Michael Brown? … with as much “critical empathy” for each work as possible. Continue reading →