The True, Good, Beautiful and Love

Description
We will explore together, through in-class discussion and home reading, the great ideas of truth, goodness, beauty and love in human life, thought and arts, including literature, poetry, music, and lm. Through this exploration, we will nd out what it means to be human and become richer and more complete people ourselves. Thomas Thompson thomas.clifford.thompson@gmail.com thomascthompson.wordpress.com facebook: thompsoni.thomas twitter: @thomascthompson

Method of the course

Reading will be done outside of class, and in class we will discuss what we have read. Students are asked to bring examples of music or art that they feel express one or several of the three ideas. In class we will share these examples of art and music and will watch two lms.

Assignments
A reading assignment will be given most weeks, and a brief, one-page (or so) summary must be written for each assignment. If you would rather, you can discuss the piece orally with me rather than writing an essay, but this will have to be done outside of class. I will grade based on your English, not on your content, but I will comment on your content and am more concerned about whether you learn than whether you spell correctly.

Grading
There will be ten essays due, and each essay will be 10% of your grade. However, if your work is one day late, you will lose one number from your grade on the assignment. So, if it was a perfect essay, but one day late, you will get a 4 rather than a ve. For every day that it is late, you will lose one more number.

The True, the Good, the Beautiful and Love

Attendance policy
If you miss more than 33% of classes without excuse, you will not pass the course.

Course schedule
Week Covered topic and class content Homework / reading assignment Platos Apology Collected Penses, Blaise Pascal Men without Chests, C.S. Lewis

Introduction to the course: What is the True?

2 3 4

Summary of Platos Apology due this Friday; So what of the True? Summary of Collected Penses due this Friday; Humans and the True

Summary of The Prophet: Good and Evil due this Friday; What The Way, C.S. Lewis is the Good? Summary of The Way due this Friday; Humans and the Good Excerpts from The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky No outside reading Keats Poetry Divine Beauty, John ODonohue Your favorite love song or poem Excerpts from War and Peace by Lev Tolstoy C. S. Lewis quote No outside reading

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

ARVESTUSENDAL; No summary due; So what of the Good? What is the Beautiful? Summary of Keats Poetry dues this Friday; Humans and the Beautiful Summary of Divine Beauty due this Friday; So what of the Beautiful? Summary of your love song or poem due this Friday; What is Love? Summary of excerpts from War and Peace due this Friday; Humans and Love Summary of C.S. Lewis quote due this Friday; So what of Love? ARVESTUSENDAL; we will watch a movie

The True, the Good, the Beautiful and Love