What Is the Good Life? An Introduction to Ethical Philosophy
Level: Open to students entering grade 9 or 10 in fall 2010.
Session: II, July 20-August 6, 2010
Days & Time: Monday-Friday, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM and 2:30-4:30 PM
Instructor: Pollyanna Rhee
"It was awesome, challenging, informative, and an amazing experience."
–Jared Greene, 2009
Course Description
Students investigate the nature of the good life through an introduction to major themes of ethical philosophy. Hedonism, utilitarianism, free will and responsibility are among some of the topics students explore through the work of Plato, Aristotle, Mill, Camus, Nietzsche, and Dewey. Students develop tools for looking at their own lives in new ways and tackle such questions as: How can ethics help me to understand the good life for others and myself? How do we know what is right? What is good? What responsibility do we hold to others?
Emphasis is given to the connection between philosophy as an academic discipline and philosophy as a tool for living. Students analyze New York City as an environment embodying or denying their conceptions of the good life. Do the structures, city layout, lifestyles, and interactions among its inhabitants express value judgments about living in New York? How might the themes of ethical philosophy be reflected in an environment? Students create multimedia narratives and short essays to document their personal inquiry into ethical philosophy and their conceptions of the city as an ethical landscape. Field trips to historic landmarks such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, Chinatown, Harlem, and Little Italy enable students to develop their theses.
Instructor(s)
Faculty
Pollyanna Rhee
Pollyanna Rhee is a graduate student in the Program in Philosophy and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her academic work focuses on the conceptualizations of the environment and technology through Western philosophical and literary traditions. Outside of academics, she is Director of Records for Architecture for Humanity New York and has worked with a variety of nonprofit organizations and city agencies in New York on multi-scale architectural projects. Her current projects include developing sustainable design and architectural curricula and other educational projects for middle and high school students. She holds a M.A. in philosophy and education from Teachers College and a B.A. in politics from Wake Forest.
Specific course information, such as hours and instructors, are subject to change at the discretion of the University.
