Philosophy

The Plato Seminar II

Philosophy

The cornerstone of any philosophical education, Plato is often summarized rather than read. This class will engage first-hand with overlooked but essential Platonic works: the Theaetetus, Sophist, and Statesman, and some shorter dialogues. Students will grasp the essence of Plato’s own thought, the nature of philosophy, and its bearing upon political and church community. This is part of an ongoing Plato cycle, but students need not have taken previous Plato classes.

Taught by Colin Redemer.

Runs 9/27-12/10/21.

Description

This Philosophy course will be taught by Davenant Teaching Fellow Colin Redemer, and will run from September 27 to December 10. The syllabus can be viewed here.

Plato is the unavoidable cornerstone of any philosophical education. Yet most colleges and seminaries give us a wiki version of the great thinker. As C.S. Lewis’ character says “It’s all in Plato… Bless me, what do they teach them at these schools?” Davenant Hall’s ongoing Plato Seminar at Davenant Hall reverses that trend. Over the course of the Plato Seminar Sequence, a student will complete a close reading of the entire Platonic cannon.

In this class, we will cover three overlooked essentials in understanding Plato’s system of thought: the Theaetetus, Sophist, and Statesman, and some shorter dialogues. The goal will be close and detailed reading and discussion of the primary works themselves. Secondary literature will be gestured at but not assigned as essential. What’s essential is the essence of Plato’s own thought, the nature of philosophy, and its relationship to both political and church community.

This is part of an ongoing Davenant Hall Plato cycle, but students need not have taken previous Plato classes.

Colin Redemer is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Saint Mary’s College of California and Vice-President of the Davenant Institute. He loves teaching on the intersection between History, Philosophy, Literature, and Christianity. His writing has appeared in the Englewood Review of Books, Evansville Review, Sojourners Magazine, The Federalist, and the Tampa Review.

Online only, runs 10 weeks, meeting 2 hr./wk. via Zoom. Students will also have the option to participate in class discussion in the Davenant Common Room Discord server. Register now to reserve your spot. The course will proceed contingent on sufficient enrollment; on rare occasions, a class has to be cancelled due to insufficient interest. Once the registration period closes, the class meeting time will be set on the basis of a poll of availability from registrants. In case of cancellation or scheduling conflicts, students will be eligible for a refund or a transfer to another course.
This is a graduate-level course. Although a BA is not a necessary pre-requisite for this course, students should come prepared to do graduate-level work.