For Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (NE) and Machiavelli’s Prince, you must use the editions specified in the syllabus. (If you know Greek or Italian, you should also consult the original texts.)
Readings not from the NE or the Prince may be found on My JCU.
You must bring to class a hard copy of that day’s required readings, so that you will be able to follow and contribute to the class discussions. (No electronic devices may be used in the classroom.)
Readings in parentheses ( ) are recommended. All other readings are required.
Jan. 19. Introduction to the course. Small group exercise: what is evil?
Part I: Introduction to the philosophical and religious traditions that Machiavelli attempted to overthrow
A. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
1. Introduction
Jan. 21 Intro to the question of the good: NE (translators’ introduction vii-x, for background on Aristotle and the Nicomachean Ethics), 1. 1-3
Jan. 26. Happiness: NE 1. 4, 5, 7, (8)
2. Moral virtue
Jan. 28.
- The relation between moral virtue and habit: NE 2. 1; excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography, ch. 2 [available on My JCU]
- Moral virtue as a mean: NE 2. (2, 3,) 5, 6
Feb. 2.
- Moral virtue as a mean, continued: NE 2. 7, 9
- Courage: NE 3. 6-7, (8), 9
Feb. 4.
- Moderation: NE 3. 10-11, (12)
- Liberality [a.k.a. generosity]: NE 4. 1
- (Magnificence: NE 4.2)
Feb. 9.
- Greatness of soul: NE 4. 3; excerpts from Winston Churchill, The Gathering Storm, ch. 17 [available on My JCU]
- (Gentleness, friendliness, truthfulness: NE 5-7)
- Wittiness: NE 4. 8
- Shame: NE 4. 9
Receive paper topics for first paper.
Feb. 11. Justice:
- Justice as complete virtue: NE 5. 1
- Justice as a specific virtue: NE 5. 2
- Distributive justice: NE 5. 3
- Corrective justice: NE 5. 4
Feb. 16. Justice, continued:
- Political justice; justice of the ruler: NE 5. 6
- Natural vs. conventional justice: NE 5. 7
- Equity: NE 5. 10
3. Intellectual virtue: Prudence
Feb. 18.
- Moral virtue requires choosing the mean through “correct reason”: NE 6. 1, first paragraph
- This “correct reason” is prudence (as distinguished from science and art): NE 6. (3, 4), 5
- The difference between prudence and cleverness: NE 6. 12, last paragraph
Small group exercise: what is friendship?
*First paper due.*
4. Friendship
Feb. 23. The kinds of friendship: NE 8. 1-3, 7; excerpt from Jane Austen, letter to Fanny Knight, Feb. 20, 1817 [available on My JCU]
Feb. 25. Friendship in the political community and in the family: NE 8. 9-12
March 1.
- Friendship and self-love: NE 9. 4, 8
- Friendship and happiness: NE 9. 9
- Living with friends: NE 9. 12; excerpt from Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, vol. 3 ch. 8 [available on My JCU]
5. Happiness
March 3.
- Comparison of the contemplative and active lives: NE 10. 6-8
- How can we acquire and inculcate the virtues? NE 10. 9
B. The Bible and The Church (a very brief look)
March 8. Basic teachings of Jesus: The Sermon on the Mount [Bible selections, part 1, available on My JCU]. Receive paper topics for second paper.
March 10. Sin and divine grace; wisdom [Bible selections, parts 2-3, available on My JCU]
March 15. The Church’s claim to supremacy in both spiritual and temporal [political] matters: Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam [available on My JCU].
Part II: Machiavelli’s attack on the tradition: the Prince
March 17.
- On Machiavelli’s life and Writings: “Machiavelli”, Encyclopedia Britannica, pp. 1-3 [available on My JCU; the rest of the article is recommended]
- A day in the life of Machiavelli: letter to Vettori, Dec. 10, 1513 [see the Appendix to our edition of the Prince: read the paragraph beginning at the bottom of p. 109; the rest of the letter is recommended]
- Prince, Dedicatory Letter [pp. 3-4]; chs. 1-2.
Small group exercise: is imperialism ever justified?
*Second paper due.*
March 22. Prince, ch. 3 [this is a very complex chapter; I recommend you make an outline of its content]
March 24. Prince, chs. 4-6. (Regarding NM’s statement in ch. 6 that "things must be ordered in such a mode that when [the people] no longer believe, one can make them believe by force,” consider the story of the Golden Calf in Exodus 32, especially verses 19-28, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+32&version=NRSV.)
April 5. Prince, ch. 7 [another very complex chapter, see recommendation for March 22]; excerpt from Encyclopedia Britannica on life of Cesare Borgia.
April 7. Prince, chs. 8-9
April 12. Prince, chs. 10-11. Receive paper topics for third paper.
April 14. Prince, chs. 12-14; together with ch. 13, read the biblical story of David and Goliath [available on My JCU: Bible selections, part 4], and consider the differences between Machiavelli’s account and the biblical one.
April 19. Prince, chs. 15-16. Small group exercise: Is it better for a ruler to be feared or loved?
April 21. Prince, chs. 17-18. *Third paper due.*
April 26. Prince, chs. 19, 24
April 28. Prince, chs. 25-26. Prep for final exam.