Instructor: Dr. Kristen Brown
Time: M/T/W/F 9:00-9:50
Place: Academic Complex, 334
Office: Christian Center, room 20
Office Hours: to be announced
Email: brownkm@millsaps.edu
Office Phone: 974-1323; Home Phone: 353-3704

DESCRIPTION:

Please skim the following course description and if it seems difficult, RELAX! I do not expect you to understand some aspects of it until the course unfolds.

Is it possible that modern forms of speech and perception do not allow humans to experience nature and bodily sensation as fully as we once did? Is there an unchanging form of human nature after which we are all patterned and if so what does the emotion of love have to do with it? Are certain forms of human desire the cause of our suffering? These three questions will help guide our studies as we explore select texts in ancient Greek philosophy and ancient Asian religion.
Plato's texts are believed to be among the earliest in the West to register human speech written for a generally literate audience, that is, for an audience of people that know how to read. According to David Abram, the rise of literacy in the West mutes human experience of one's senses (taste, touch, sound, sight, smell) and amplifies human experience of abstract reasoning. Humans become more attuned to human-centered activities and technologies and less aware of nature and human dependency on other-than-human creatures. This is in part because the new technology of literacy allows humans to focus attention on cerebral experiences of the intellect and imagination. According to Abrams, literacy tips human experience and attention more strongly toward behaviors engaging thought and reasoning. Humans begin to place a higher value on observing and communicating with humans and items created by humans (literature) than with plants, animals and natural items. This is because the former seems to foster reasoned reflection more so than the latter, says Abram.
Our first guiding question arises as we read Plato's Republic and Phaedrus. We will ask ourselves whether these texts seem to favor, as David Abram believes, human attention toward human-centered reasoning practices over activities that include and depend upon beyond-human worlds--natural elements and landscape, plant and animal life. No matter what you decide about Plato's and Abram's answers to these questions I will be interested in your own answer to them. I will also want to know whether and why you believe such questions do or do not have pertinence in how you live your life today.
Most scholars do believe that the writings of Plato are among the first in the West to highlight reason (speech and abstract thinking) as decidedly human. One of the philosophical beliefs made possible by exercising reason and that emerges in Plato's writings is a belief in unchanging substances that he calls "forms." Our second focusing question asks whether or not we believe in such forms and what the human emotion of love has to do with such belief. The term, form, in Plato's philosophy, refers generally to the unchanging aspects of any type of item. What gives an item "form" are the unchanging properties that distinguish it as that type of item. The most elevated form, among Plato's forms, is that of God. Other examples of forms are the human form, animal forms (the form of cats, of dogs, of centipedes) and of plants (the form of dogwood trees, of kudzu and of grass) and of minerals (the form of granite, of iron, of gold). We will ask questions about the philosophical assumptions imbedded in beliefs in such "forms." Plato's texts hypothesize the existence of such "forms."
Plato's texts also raise perplexing questions about the role the emotion of love plays in our discerning the truth about such forms. The three kinds of human love commonly recognized in ancient Greece are philia (love in terms of "friendship") and eros (love as "romance" and caused by the strong emotions ) and agape (love in the sense of "compassion"). We will especially examine the first two kinds of love, and with respect to the question of the existence of Plato's forms. An exploration of philia and eros will lead us to consider the ways that the concept of form contradicts for Plato, many of the experiences we have through our bodily senses. Our bodily senses-including those experiences highly dependent on those senses like the emotion of love--deceive us, Plato's Republic suggests, about higher truths. Emotions, like the emotion of friendly, romantic or compassionate love are operations involving feeling and the bodily senses. They are not purely of rational mind. Thanks to the human capacity for speech and reason, we are able to discern the truth, implies Plato's Republic, in spite of our emotions and bodily senses.
Interestingly according to certain ancient Buddhist traditions, the problem of self-deception happens in a very different way than Plato's writing suggests. Deception is a result of taking too seriously the conclusions we draw via our capacity for reasoning. One of the most harmful of these conclusions is a belief in the unchanging nature of things (like belief in Plato's forms). When we believe in the permanence of our own being (like in the idea of a human form or self or "soul") our human emotion of desire yearns that we maintain that form/self/soul in certain ways. We tend to desire to preserve or promote ourselves emotionally, physically, professionally and such desire causes us to suffer greatly.
Generally, for the Buddhist, such desire follows from a wrong way of thinking-a way of thinking which does not take into account the concept of "emptiness" which asserts that any self or being is not real if by real one means it participates in some sort of unchanging reality. Many ancient Buddhists then, tend to view such desires (desires for various kinds of self-preservation) as a cause of human suffering. We will read first-hand about such ideas in TheVimalakirti Sutra and Numerical Discourses of the Buddha. These texts will force us to circle back to the question of the existence of a permanent self/form/soul and the value of believing in such a self. We will ask why many Buddhists believe that compassion happens best if one relinquishes a belief in a permanent self/form/soul. Rejecting a concept of oneself as having any permanent qualities, sounds very different from certain Platonic and Christian traditions. Our task will be to discover our own views regarding these questions, and the additional questions that we will raise, as we enter the worlds of these ancient ancestors of ours.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

I have several objectives for us. I want us to develop a thoughtful understanding of Plato's concept of form and the Buddhist concept of emptiness. I want us to develop an awareness of the complex relationship between the bodily senses/emotions and human reason. I want us to have an understanding of how the texts Republic, Phaedrus, Vimalakirti Sutra and Numerical Discourses of the Buddha explain the relation between the bodily senses and human reason. I want us to understand how an understanding of each of the above topics relates to daily choices we each make about how to live.
I want us to significantly improve our analytical reasoning and writing skills. In this regard our particular emphasis for this core course will be on the following four skills: diction, style, organization and revision. I want us to significantly strengthen these skills of ours and in doing so, to move closer to becoming developed speakers and writers.

LIBERAL ARTS ABILITIES:

Reasoning: As we read about and analyze during class discussions the concepts of form and emptiness and the relation between bodily sensation and reason, we will be exercising our logical reasoning skills. Moreover, we will be analyzing the very concept that we call "reason." What do we mean by "reason"? Is its aim "objective knowledge" and if so, what are the criteria for such knowledge? Indeed, as we compare pre-literate to literate speech and perception we will be exploring whether and how the very process that we call "reason" is experienced differently now than it was prior to the rise of literacy in the West.

Communication: We will be asked to convey our ideas regularly in class. There will be writing assignments in which you will be asked to carefully articulate, organize and in most cases also revise your ideas. Our emphasis as regards rhetorical skills will be on word choice, style and organization; our revising efforts will especially aim at developing these communication skills. One definition of the Greek word logos is "reason", another is "speech/dialogue/conversation", or one might say "communication." In this course in addition to exercising our own communication skills, we will also analyze the permutations of structures of communication itself given the rise of literacy in the West.

Historical Consciousness: Probably the most decisive manner in which we will exercise historical consciousness will be in excavating the transition from oral/pre-literate culture to literate culture. This exploration will call upon us to review human speaking and writing practices, from as early as the rise of the Hebraic alphabet (1500 BCE) to as late as the second century A.D., and the ensuing consequences both for how we write and how we experience ourselves and the world around us today. In considering the oral-to-literate transition we will be exposed to the concept of "socio-historical limits." By socio-historical limits I mean the basic assumptions structuring what passes for common sense in one's culture and historical era. Such assumptions tend to be so ingrained that we tend not to be aware of them.

Global and Multi-cultural Awareness: By exposing ourselves to certain Buddhisms, we expose ourselves to forms of religion that do not assert a concept of "God." In other words, they do not assert a concept of a higher being transcending earthly existence. What then do Buddhists believe in? In what sense is Buddhism a "religion?" These are two of the questions we will attempt to answer as we venture toward a more-than-Western awareness. Thus, in addition to exploring pre-literate culture, we will explore so-called "non-Western" culture. We will read the The Vimalakirti Sutra (a Buddhist text of the Mahayana lineage-practiced today especially in India, China and Japan) and select Buddhist texts of the Theravada lineage (practiced today especially in Thailand).

Aesthetic Judgment: We will be making aesthetic judgments-judgments about the relative beauty and value of the concept of form and the concept of emptiness and the texts of Abram, Plato and of certain Buddhist traditions. In addition to deciding our likes and dislikes among the materials, we will analyze the very structure of aesthetic judgment itself. The English word "aesthetic" comes from the ancient Greek word "a?s??s??" (sense perception). We will be analyzing the arguable changes that take place in human sense perception-the basis for aesthetic judgment--when humans make the transition from being oral speakers to also being word readers. Our excavation of pre-literate culture and Buddhist religion will allow us, if not to experience a broader range of sense perception (a possibility), to at least assess the possible existence of additional realms of human experience.

Valuing and Decision-Making: Our exposure to at least two different cultures-pre-literate and Buddhist culture will make us more aware of assumptions and values shaping our own. These often go unnoticed by us. By bringing our own values and habits into view, and comparing them to habitudes of ancient Western pre-literate culture and ancient Eastern Buddhist tradition, we will be in a position to decide their relative worth for us. Such decision-making may also give us an opportunity to choose from an expanded range of more-than-Western value options.

TEXTS TO PURCHASE:

The Spell of the Sensuous, David Abram (SS)
The Republic, Plato, Desmond Lee translation (R)
The Vimalakirti Sutra, Watson translation (VS)
Phaedrus, Plato, Alexander Nehamas and Paul Woodruff translation (P)
Numercial Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya, Nyanaponika Thera and Bhikkhu Bodhi translation (ND)

Additional Materials:
"The Gospel of Thomas" (handout)
"Matthew" and "Romans" (handout)

EVALUATION:

Paper 1 2 page paper (no rewrite) Part of Participation Grade
Paper 2 5-7 page paper w/ Rewrite* 20%
*the best of the two grades counts

Paper 3 Timed-Writing 20%

Paper 4 5-7 page paper w/ Rewrite* 20%
*the best of the two grades counts

Paper 5 5-7 page Take-Home Final 20%

Participation, Paper 1, Field Trip and Informal Writing 20%

ATTENDANCE: you are permitted three unexcused absences. For every additional unexcused absence your final exam grade will be lowered one-third of a grade. A TOTAL OF SIX ABSENCES may cause you to FAIL (receive a grade "F" for) the course.

PARTICIPATION: I note those who come to class prepared having read and who stimulate or contribute fruitfully to discussion. Such habits are good and will pay off in your participation grade in the end!

LATE PAPERS: Unexcused late papers may be docked one full grade for each day they are late. If you foresee conflicts in your schedule, please tell me well ahead of time and I will be happy to grant you an extension. (One or two days before paper is due is not "well ahead of time").

EXTRA CREDIT: If you would like the opportunity to boost your lowest grade, here is your chance. Attend as many as three Millsaps Forum Presentations (usually on Fridays at 12:30), or other extra-curricular on-campus presentations (the latter must first be "okayed" by me though) and write a 1-2 page response paper for each. 1-2 page Response papers are due the following class day. Each time you do this (a maximum of three times), you can raise your lowest grade by 1/3 of a grade. This means that if you have a "B-" on a paper, it could be raised to a "B" by adequately completing one extra-credit assignment, and to an "A-" by completing three of them!

Daily Schedule (tentative)

Date Reading

T Aug 24 Introduction to the course
Have students begin thinking about the best Saturday for taking the Field Trip.
Today or tomorrow: ask students when their first LS1000 papers are due and assign (and adjust due date if necessary) Paper 1: Tell Us About Yourself and "The Ecology of Magic" 2 pages.

W Aug 25 SS Ch. 1 "The Ecology of Magic" 3-16

F Aug 27 SS Ch. 1 16-29
Introduce Field Trip choices and have students choose.

M Aug 30 R Bk I, pp 1-40; Bk II 67-76; Bk III 76-99
BRING your calendars so we can finalize a Saturday for our Field Trip. Keep in mind that on the day of the trip, we will leave Millsaps at 10:00 am and return late in the afternoon-not later than 5:00 pm.

T Aug 31 Due: Paper 1, by 12:00 noon, underneath my office door, room CC 20. We will not meet for the fourth hour today because of the special Required Event tomorrow at 2:30 pm.

W Sept 1 R Bk III 99-119; Bk IV 119-139; 149-151

Additional Required Event beginning at 2:30-3:30 pm today:
Core 2 Framing Lecture, by Dr. Michael Galaty, in AC 215. Dr. Galaty will discuss the rise of agriculture and cities in the ancient world, and also some of the possible positive and negative implications of both phenomena. The evidence he uses supporting his argument will represent and reinforce the multidisciplinary character of Core study and the liberal arts abilities. All Core 2 classes are required to attend this event.

F Sept 3 R Bk V 157-176; Bk VI 204-240

M Sept 6 R Bk VII 240-274; Bk VIII 275-278

T Sept 7 R re-read pages 231-245 of Bks VI and VII

W Sept 8 R Bk X 335-368
ASSIGN PAPER 2: Rising Reason, Rising Self

F Sept 10 R Bk X 335-368 (cont.)

M Sept 13 Synthesis Day

T Sept 14 Preparation for our Fieldtrip

W Sept 15 VS 1-14

Th Sept 19 DUE: PAPER 2 (note, we do not meet for class on Thursdays-please place your paper by 12:00 noon underneath my office door, CC 20!).

F Sept 17 VS 17-51

M Sept 20 VS 52-92

T Sept 21 No fourth hour today

W Sept 22 VS 93-120

F Sept 24 VS 121-146

M Sept 27 Synthesis Day

T Sept 28 No fourth hour today.

W Sept 29 SS Ch. 4 "Animism and the Alphabet" 93-115

Th Sept. 30 DUE: REWRITE PAPER 2,WITH FIRST-DRAFT ATTACHED; please place your paper by 12:00 noon underneath my office door, CC 20.

F Oct 1 SS Ch. 4 115-135

ASSIGN PAPER 3, TIMED-WRITING: Rising Literacy, Craving Emptiness

M Oct 4 Synthesis Day

T Oct 5 No fourth hour today

W Oct 6 Review key concepts for Timed Writing Exam

F Oct 8 PAPER 3, TIMED-WRITING EXAM

M Oct 11 P 1-23

TUESDAY OCTOBER 12: 6:30-7:30 pm "The Risk of Reading and Writing: What is the True Impact of Literacy?"
Dr. Steve Smith will tell us what thrills him about the rise of literacy, and will emphasize that without the emergence of books, we would not have had the rise of critical thinking, nor, what he calls the "ideal of autonomy"-the idea that every human being has the responsibility to think critically for him or herself to decide what is morally "right."
I will discuss what thrills me about pre-literacy, and emphasize the range of contact that pre-literate humans have with nature. These involve specific sensory experiences (sounds, sights, smells and so forth) of the wind and the landscape it blows across, of birds and animals like oxen, foxes and snakes, and local plants like olive trees and dandelions. It's these that the rise of critical thinking-and its hallmark, abstract thought-will increasingly drown out of human daily perception. This, some might say, is a great cost of literacy.

W Oct 13 P 23-49

F Oct 15 P 23-49 (cont.)
(Mid-Semester Grades Due)

M Oct 18 No Class (Fall Break)

T Oct 19 No Class (Fall Break)

W Oct 20 P 49-77

F Oct 23 P 49-77 (cont.)
ASSIGN PAPER 4: Eros and Speech: Love at the Dawn of Literacy

M Oct 25 P 78-86
Receive handout for "The Gospel of Thomas" and "Matthew" and "Romans"

T. Oct. 26 No fourth hour today

W Oct 27 Synthesis Day

F Oct 29 No Class: Instructor out-of-town

M Nov 1 "The Gospel of Thomas" (handout)

T Nov 2 "Matthew" and "Romans" (handout)

W Nov 3 Synthesis Day

F Nov 5 ND pp 1-10 (skim) and pp 11-30 (read)

M Nov 8 ND pp 33-40

T Nov 9 ND pp 41-51 and pp 61-64

W Nov 10 Synthesis Day

Th Nov 11 DUE: Paper 4; please place paper underneath my office door by 12:00 noon.

F Nov 12 ND 64-78

M Nov 15 ND 79-88

T Nov 16 No fourth hour today

W Nov 17 ND pp142-145 ("The Five Hindrances"); pp 153-154 ("Principles of Cordiality"); p 179 ("A Friend"); pp 187-189 ("Getting Rid of Drowsiness") ; pp 212-214 ("Ways of Giving" ; "Reasons for Giving" and "Rebirth on Account of Giving").

F Nov 19 Synthesis Day

M Nov 22 SS Ch. 7 "The Forgetting and Remembering of the Air" 225-244

T Nov 23 No fourth hour today

W Nov 24 DUE: REWRITE PAPER 4 WITH FIRST-DRAFT ATTACHED; please place papers by 12:00 noon underneath my office door. No Class today.

F Nov 26 No Class (Thanksgiving Break)

M Nov 29 SS Ch. 7 245-260

T Nov 20 No fourth hour today

W Dec 1 SS "Coda: Turning Inside Out" 261-274

F Dec 3 Synthesis Day
ASSIGN PAPER 5, TAKE-HOME FINAL: Animated Speech, Airy Selves: Remembering a More-Than-Human World

T DEC 7 DUE: PAPER 5, TAKE-HOME FINAL; please place underneath my office door by 12:00 noon.