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THEO-114 Practicing Death
Fall only
This course will examine the notion of “practicing death” as a uniquely
philosophical/religious way of approaching life. Our main purpose will be the examination of the question of the creation of individual value and the determination of individual meaning in response to the inevitability that is one’s death. The course will be a discussion of what it means to practice death, as that conception is presented in varying ways in literature, film, and philosophy/theology. While it will be essential that each student is able to accurately and completely explain the manner in which a particular work treats the theme of death, it will be more important to discern what that treatment ultimately reveals regarding human existence. This course is as much about life as it is about death; while death is clearly the impetus for the investigation and discussion that this course will take up, the underlying purpose is to address the question of the determination of individual human identity and the possibility for finding (or creating) value and meaning in human existence.
Following Socrates' model of practicing death as an ideal, this course will seek a responsible, individual understanding of the question — and a possible answer — of what can be of value in an individual human life faced with its own necessary end in death. Is meaning possible, how can it be attained, and what, then, is ultimately of value in human existence?
Credits: 3.00
Prerequisites: None
Course syllabi
The following syllabi may help you learn more about this course (login required):
Fall '09:
Burr S
(description)
Additional syllabi may be available in prior academic years.
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More information
Look for this course in the schedule of classes.
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