CLSOCPL002 - Aristotle on a Thriving Life
Aristotle’s wisdom on how to live a good life has guided philosophers and ordinary people since antiquity. His “Nicomachean Ethics” is one of the most influential texts in the history of philosophy. Its central question is: What does it mean to live a thriving life? In answering this question, Aristotle takes us through a grand tour of philosophy asking: What does it mean to be human? What virtues should we aspire to? What place do character, truth and pleasure have in a thriving life? What is justice? This course centers on a close reading of the Ethics and the Aristotelian tradition it engendered. Students will be challenged to understand and assess Aristotle’s arguments and their relevance for our lives today.
Course Details
Victor Saenz, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Houston Institute. He is also lecturer at the Rice University philosophy department. His area of expertise is classical philosophy. At Rice he has taught Contemporary Moral Issues, Introduction to Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, and upper-level seminars on Plato and Aristotle. Dr. Saenz is currently working on a series of academic articles on Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics.”
On Campus
This course will be delivered on campus / in person. Parking and room information will be sent prior to the class start date.
- What Is Human Thriving?
- Character Virtues: Justice, Self-Control, Magnanimity and Beyond
- Friendship and Justice
- Pleasure: What Is It? Why Is It So Hard to Say No?
- Political Community and Human Thriving
- Ultimate Truths and Human Thriving
Houston Institute