Seminar Description
PHIL 380.02: The Self in Love and Friendship
Fall 2025
Michael Taber
St. Mary’s College of Maryland, USA
College is often a time of large changes. Some of these involve
developing new friendships, and perhaps even romances…and stressing some
already existing friendships and romances.
This semester will provide us the opportunity to examine some important
aspects of the role of the self in some meaningful human relationships. Each of
us exists in a variety of nested sets of communities, and people from different
cultures may organize and experience some of those communities in very
different ways, but each culture has some central role for love and for
friendship. Aristotle says that we are social animals, and he was not talking
only about Greeks. He may turn out to be wrong, but not silly.
It is not enough, however, to say that human happiness needs love and
friends (even if it is true), for other issues immediately make themselves
felt. For example, what is the relationship between love and friendship: is
romantic love simply friendship + sex? What is the relationship between
morality and love or friendship: is it possible to love or maintain friendship
with someone whom you believe to be morally corrupt? Should we love others for
their sakes, or is this not even humanly possible? Does the existence of a god
matter to this? These and other questions cry out to be addressed.
Address these matters we will, and in an appropriately friendly spirit
of joint inquiry. This is not to say that we will all agree about the matters
we discuss; I do not see sincere differences of opinion in a seminar as falling
short of an ideal. Our aim instead will be for each of us to explore these
issues for oneself, with each of us developing a better sense of what one’s own
views are on these matters.
We will approach these matters by way of
our readings and seminar discussions. We will look carefully at the readings,
not because great thinkers are always right (they aren't), but because great
thinkers always challenge us to put up or shut up. That is, if you disagree
with something, say, Plato claims, then you had better be able to put your
finger on where in his discussion he goes wrong. Anybody can say
anything ("Plato is right," "Plato is wrong"); the task in
philosophy is to be able to support your position, both to others and to
yourself.
Course learning outcomes
By the end of
the course, students will demonstrate the ability to:
1. analyze
how thinkers were responding to other thinkers about love or friendship;
2. apply
views of thinkers on love or friendship to issues of continuing relevance;
3. construct
effective written communication of ideas about love or friendship;
4. construct
effective oral communication of ideas about love or friendship;
5. construct
a critique of the reasoning used for various arguments in discussions of love
or friendship;
6. ground
in primary or secondary sources their claims about thinkers on love or
friendship.
Land acknowledgement pledge:
We acknowledge that the land on which we are learning, working,
and gathering today is the ancestral home of the Yacocomico
and Piscataway Peoples. We also acknowledge that St. Mary’s City was partly
built and sustained by enslaved people of African descent. Through this
acknowledgement, we recognize these communities and all those who have been
displaced and enslaved through colonization.
The goal of the land
acknowledgment pledge is not only to respect and honor the contributions of
Indigenous Peoples and enslaved people of African descent, but to support and
learn from all diverse communities in order to build a
more sustainable future.
Send me comments: mstaber
at smcm dot edu
Go to the
home page for this
course.
Go to Michael Taber's home page.
Go to SMCM's home page.