Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Course

Teacher : A. A. Robiglio

Associated Teachers: 

L. X. López-Farjeat (Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City)

&

Richard C. Taylor (Marquette University, Milwaukee, and De Wulf-Mansion Centre, Leuven ).

OPO-Level

Previous Knowledge

No specific knowledge of medieval philosophy is required, although some background is presupposed (BA course History of Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy). The capacity for abstract thinking is of course implied. Texts are always read in translation (i.e. in English), so that no knowledge of Latin is strictly required.

The knowledge of Latin, although not required, would nonetheless enhance the students’ achievements and  success in this course.

Course Material

A “Reader”, which includes both sources and specific literature, will be available on the e-platform Toledo before the beginning of the course.

A Syllabus, which provides the general information on the course, the progression of topics and their relation to specific sections in the Reader, as well as bibliographical suggestion for further, optional reading.

OLA-Level

Aims

The general aim of this course is to familiarize the student with the philosophical work of a major Western thinker, THOMAS AQUINAS (1225 ca. – 1274), on a particular subject. The course seeks to develop a student's understanding of individual philosophers by exploring the background to a problem and its treatment by a particular writer, understood against his historical background. By the course’s end, students are expected to be capable of understanding, interpreting, and commenting on a philosophical text, not only but also ‘medieval’.

The specific aim of the course is to familiarize the student with the philosophical work of Thomas Aquinas on a particular, philosophically relevant, subject. The course seeks to develop a student’s understanding of a major medieval thinker by exploring the background to a problem (namely the questions what is  “Intellect” and how does it work) and its treatment by Aquinas.

By the course’s end, students are expected to be capable of understanding, interpreting, and commenting on an Aquinas’s philosophical writing, orientating in the technical terminology and grasping the meaning and structure of the debated issue.

Content

This course will focus on the metaphysics, epistemology and psychology of Aquinas in the development of his philosophical conceptions of soul and intellect in the context of his use of sources in Aristotle and works by philosophers of the Arabic tradition, particularly Avicenna and Averroes. Readings will be selected from writings from each of the four major periods of his career starting with his first major work, the Commentary on the Sentences. An fresh English translation of the Latin text (made by Prof. Taylor) will be used by students and instructors together with the original Latin version of the texts. 

Course Material

The course material consists of texts both introduced in the course and made available via the Reader. Further information is to be found in the Syllabus.

Look already now at:

https://academic.mu.edu/taylorr/Aquinas_Fall_2012_MU_KUL_UP/Course_Description_%26_Requirements.html

Course Activities

The course is being planned to be taught at Marquette, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Universidad Panamericana as a hybrid course. That is, it will be taught using online tools and resources and also in the classroom with face-to-face meetings once per week. And, during the first semester, it will be taught at Marquette, KU Leuven and the Universidad Panamericana simultaneously.

On Thursdays students will meet online with video and audio for questions and discussion with Profs. Taylor, Robiglio and López-Farjeat and the student groups in Milwaukee, Leuven and Mexico City live.

How the classes will be organized will be generally explained in the Syllabus (see above: “Course Material”) and again, in detail, at the beginning of the course.

Students must read and think about the philosophical texts assigned. They will be encouraged to ask questions during the seminar and tutored on-line before each class, in order to make the discussion both more focused and effective. The students will then invited, on the basis on a reliable knowledge, to challenge the views being presented.

In the first semester, furthermore, the seminar will be joint with those in other two universities.

Each week one video of ca. 60 min. or two video lectures of ca. 25-30 min. on the assigned material will be provided to students who are required to study these and the assigned readings.

· Classes will meet Thursdays at 4:30 to 5:30 pm and — after the first class meeting — will begin with assigned brief summaries of key parts of readings and questions on the readings prepared and presented (in no more than 7 min.) by a team of students. After the first meeting, these summaries and sets of questions (in no more than 3 pages) will be distributed to all students and the instructors no later than 36 hours before class.

Another assigned team of students will lead on-line discussions in the five days to follow.

The course will meet in the assigned classroom on Thursdays at 4:30-5:45 pm Fall 2012. Meetings will be with all students from all three universities (Universidad Panamericana, Marquette University, and KULeuven) for general philosophical discussion among the instructors and students. These discussions will be initiated by a short presentation of important relevant issues by a team of students from Milwaukee, Leuven or Mexico City.

EVA-Level

Evaluation Form

Examination type: paper. More details on the type of exam and the evaluation will be provided in the Syllabus.

Explanation

The evaluation consists of the writing of two short papers (the first before the end of the first semester and the second before the Mid-June). The precise topic of each paper shall be chosen by each student in previous agreement with the instructor.