LAS 458-01	Celebrities, Heroes, Leaders, Prophets, Saints, Witnesses and You	Robert A. Miller
Fall 2009	Tuesday/Thursday 1:00 – 2:15	TBA

SYLLABUS Subject to Revision

In the eye of a hurricane the sky is blue and birds can fly there without suffering harm.  The eye of the hurricane is in the very middle of destructive power, and that power is always near, surrounding that blue beauty and threatening to invade it… In a world of moral hurricanes some people can and do carve out rather large ethical spaces.  In a natural world and a social world swirling in cruelty and love we can make room.  We who are not pure ethical beings can push away the choking circle of brute force that is around and within us.  We may not be able to push it far…, but when we have made as much room as we can, we may know a blue peace that the storm does not know.

--Philip Hallie, October 1986

“Therefore virtue is up to us, and likewise also vice.  For in those cases in which acting is up to us, not acting is also up to us, and where it is up to us to say no, it is also up to us to say yes; so if it is up to us to act when this is a beautiful thing, it will also be up to us to refrain from acting when this would be an ugly thing to do… But if doing the things that are beautiful or ugly is up to us, and likewise refraining from doing them, and this is what it is to be good or bad people, therefore being decent or base is up to us.”

                                   --Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book 3, chapter 5, page 45.

“A man becomes just by performing just acts and self-controlled by performing acts of self-control …without performing them, nobody could even be on the way to becoming good …the just and self-controlled man is not he who performs these acts, but he who performs them in the way just and self-controlled men do. But the mass of mankind, instead of doing virtuous acts, take refuge in theory and think they are being philosophers and will become good in this way, behaving somewhat like patients who listen attentively to their doctors, but do none of the things they are ordered to do. As the latter will not be made well in body by such a course of treatment, the former will not be made well in soul by such a course of philosophy. (Aristotle 1105b)

--Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book 2, 1105b

…it would seem actually impossible to be a great friend to many people… we must be content if we find even a few such [excellent friends].

--Epstein, FRIENDSHIP an expose, page 14,

quoting Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book Nine, page 268-269

This is a defining moment for us… for our values…”

--Bono, The God Factor, page 10.

Wk	CLASS	DATE	CHAPTER(S)	TOPICS
1	1 Tues 2 Thur	Sept 01 Sept 03	Handouts Discussion	INTRODUCTIONS; Requirements; Overview; Objectives Definitions of terms in Seminar title Quotations on Syllabus
2	3 Tues 4 Thur	Sept 08 Sept 10	Discussion Handout Introduction Discussion Introduction pp. 7 - 10 Chapter 7 pp. 248 - 266 Preface Translator's Introduction	Aristotle overview:  Ethics as a habit Diagram Ethical habits in a behavioral context  Tales of Good & Evil, Help & Harm THE MORAL IMAGINATION Frankenstein Nicomachean Ethics Discussion Leaders as assigned Introductory E-mail due
3	5 Tues 6 Thur	Sept 15 Sept 17	Book II Books III, 1 - 5 Class Discussion	Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics The Holocaust, September 11, Gotham City
4	7 Tues 8 Thur	Sept 22 Sept 24	Chapter 5 Book V Pages 6 - 77 Discussion	The Moral Imagination: Justice Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics Tales Good/Evil, Help/Harm as assigned Position Paper on Justice Due
5	9 Tues 10 Thur	Sept 29 Oct 01	Book III, 6 – 12 Book IV, 1 - 9	Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics continued Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics continued
Wk	CLASS	DATE	CHAPTER(S)	TOPICS
6	11 Tues 12 Thur	Oct 06 Oct 08	Chapter 4 Class Discussion	The Moral Imagination: Capital Punishment Guest Speaker: Bill Jenkins Position Paper on Capital Punishment Due
7	1 Tues 14 Thur	Oct 13 Oct 15	Wall Discussion Volume 1	Celebrities, Heroes, Leaders Prophets, Saints, Witness Frankenstein
8	15 Tues 16 Thur	Oct 20 Oct 22	Volume 2 Volume 3	Frankenstein Frankenstein
9	17 Tues 18 Thur	Oct 27 Oct 29	Wall Discussion	You Quiz
10	19 Tues 20 Thur	Nov 03 Nov 05	Chapter 3 Film Ebert Review Film continued	The Moral Imagination: Euthanasia The Sea Inside The Sea Inside
11	21 Tues 22 Thur	Nov 10 Nov 12	Film Ebert Review Film continued	The Diving Bell & the Butterfly The Diving Bell & the Butterfly
12	23 Tues 24 Thur	Nov 17 Nov 19	pp. 7-263	Position Paper on Euthanasia Due Tales Good/Evil, Help/Harm as assigned
13	25 Tues 26 Thur	Nov 24 Nov 26	Book VI, 5-8, 13 NO CLASS	Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G
14	27 Tues 28 Thur	Dec 01 Dec 03	Chapter 1 Film Ebert Review Film continued	The Moral Imagination: Abortion Vera Drake Vera Drake
15	29 Tues 30 Thur	Dec 08 Dec 10		Position Paper on Abortion Due Presentations: Common Assignment

Texts:      

Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics

Library of Liberal Arts

0-02-389530-C

Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus

Mary W. Shelly; Barry Moser (Illustrator)

Pennyroyal

0-520-20179-5

The Moral Imagination: Confronting the Ethical Issues of Our Day

Edward Tivnan

Simon and Schuster

0-671-74708-8

Tales of Good and Evil, Help and Harm

Philip Hallie

Harper Perennial

97889-0060929015

REQUIREMENTS:

Seminar Participation:

Discussion and interaction are central to the seminar, and require advance preparation.  It is expected that students will devote to the work of the course an average of two hours outside of class for each hour in class, i.e., an average of six hours per week for the three credit-hour course.

QUIZ (October 29^th) a short in-class quizzes – format and topics to be determined

1 Typed Senior Seminar Common Text Assignment  (December 10^th)

In your Common Text Assignment paper (1250-1500 words) you will be asked to tie together and evaluate the readings, including Aristotle, discussions, panels, etc. with the seminar theme, and previous seminar(s).   A separate handout will be provided with guidelines for writing this paper after discussion with the seminar class regarding the format of this project. We will attempt to structure a creative assignment based on Aristotle that incorporates integrating evidence in support of particular claims. The paper will count for approximately 20% of the final grade.

4 Moral Imagination Position Papers

(September 24^th : Justice)  (October 08^th: Capital Punishment)

(November 17^th: Euthanasia)  (December 08^th: Abortion) 

Articulate your position in a clear, concise manner that evidences thoughtful reflection and analysis, taking into account class discussion, readings and movies.    

Discussion Leader (as assigned per sign up sheet)

The role of the discussion leader is to energize that day’s discussion, keep it flowing, include as many participants as possible in the discussion, and bring it to a timely conclusion with an apt summary. 

Introductory e-mail   (September 10^th)

An email report to me (ramiller@email.dom.edu) that includes the following:

1) Answer the question "who are you?" three different ways;

2) Your impression of the seminars to date;

3) List three personal goals for this seminar;        

4) Anything else about yourself you wish to add or feel I should be aware of or

know.

GRADES:

There will be no grade(s) given until the end of the semester.  Students will have the opportunity to meet individually with the professor over the course of the semester to discuss individual assignments.

ROBERT A. MILLER

Office: Fine Arts 218A

708-524-6961

ramiller@dom.edu

Office hours by appointment