Philosophy study consists in reading. By reading a text, you have to not only understand what is said, but also grasp the conceptual network which is behind that. In order to do so, you have to pay attention even to a minute expression that ordinarily you do not have to take into consideration.
In this course, we do this work by reading a German-born American philosopher, Hannah Arendt’s text, “What is Freedom” included in her collection of essays: Between Past and Future, an appropriate text for the beginner of Hannah Arendt and philosophy itself. There, giving an acute criticism of the confusion between freedom and so-called free will, she constructs unique notion of freedom.
At the end of the course, students will be able to read and interpret a text of philosophy in an accurate manner and understand the history of the idea of freedom from antiquity to the modern age.
Arendt, freedom, ancient Greece, totalitarianism.
✔ Specialist skills | ✔ Intercultural skills | Communication skills | ✔ Critical thinking skills | Practical and/or problem-solving skills |
The course will be conducted in a lecture format.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
---|---|---|
Class 1 | Introduction: Who is Hannah Arendt? | Learn philosophical portrait of Hannah Arendt. |
Class 2 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 3 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 4 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 5 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 6 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 7 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 8 | Midterm review of the course and exam. | Revise the first half of the course. |
Class 9 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 10 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 11 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 12 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 13 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 14 | Reading Arendt's "What is Freedom?" | Peruse the assigned pages of the course text before coming to class. |
Class 15 | Epilogue: Hannah Arendt and the modern society. | Understand the theoretical and practical scope of Arendt's notion of freedom. |
A hardcopy of the textbook will be provided.
None required.
Students' course scores are based on midterm (50%) and final exam (50%).
Students require curiosity!