The Ballad of Phil and Sophie

Constructing The State

You will be constructing a polis or community in the vein of your chosen political philosopher.  In order to do this, you must do the following things:

Content:  Using the reading and other sources, tell us the political theorist’s thoughts regarding:

-What Justice is

-Who counts as a citizen

-Who holds Authority or Power

-What is the relation between Economics and Politics

-What is the meaning of Freedom

Presentation:  Each group member must present on a section of their topic.  Presentations should be done in the style of the TED talk we watched and/or JB’s presentation on Nietzsche.  A visual component is not necessary but is allowed should you desire to use one.  Presentations should be organized and remain on topic.  Discussion questions should be saved until the presentation has been completed.

Your presentation should run in the following manner:

1. Introduce your thinker and explain the basics of their thought

2. Quickly walk us through the reading in the book highlighting the major points.

3. Directly or indirectly, explain to us the thinker’s answer to the questions in the content section.

4. Give us a picture in words of what the ideal society of this thinker would look like.

Presentations should not exceed 20min. and you are advised to use a script or outline to keep your presentation on topic.

Good luck.

In Search of The Modern Age

A fundamental shift occurs at the dawn of the Modern Age.  Whole ways of doing Philosophy, Science, Literature, and Politics were discarded as new forms revolutionized the intellectual climate of Western Europe.  We are interested in what happened to the practice of philosophy that would make it modern.

Your task is to answer questions on this worksheet and then, in groups, report on your assigned modern philosopher (Descartes, Locke, and Hume).

Write down the answers to these questions on a piece of paper and we will go over them later.

What was the dominant form of philosophy in the medieval era?

Who were the major philosophers of this time?

Where was Descartes born?

In what book did he say “cogito ergo sum” and what does that phrase mean?

In what odd space did Descartes say he spent some time (think “Kitchen”)?

Which modern philosophers are called Rationalists?

Which modern philosophers are called Empiricists?

What is Descartes’ version of doubt called?

What countries are John Locke and David Hume from respectively?

What books are they famous for writing?

Who thought man was a tabula rasa at birth?

Who woke Kant from his “dogmatic slumber”?

What kind of revolution did Kant say he enacted in philosophy?

Vocab:

Res Cogitans

Innate Idea

Analytic Statement

Synthetic Statement

A Priori

A Posteriori

Sense-Data

Mind-Body Dualism

Principle of Sufficient Reason

State of Nature

Aristotle Scavenger Hunt

Who was Aristotle?  This is the large question that we are trying to understand in this activity.  However, Aristotle is a thinker who wrote on a large number of topics.  In your group, try to discover who Aristotle was by researching and answering questions about his life, his times, and his philosophy.  After you answer the following questions, your group will each get one area of his philosophy to briefly research and then teach to the class.

When and where was Aristotle Born?

Who was his father and what was his occupation?

Where did Aristotle go for his education and at what age did he go there?

What was Aristotle’s nickname at this place of education?

Although it was widely believed that Aristotle would replace his teacher, someone else became headmaster.  Who was this person and what was his relation to his predecessor?

For what famous historical figure was Aristotle the personal tutor?

Why is this person famous?

What school did Aristotle Found?

How long was he at this school?

Who was Aristotle’s wife?

What book of Aristotle’s is believed to be named after his son?

What way of reasoning did Aristotle invent?

In the painting “The School of Athens”, what direction is Aristotle’s hand pointed and why is this significant?