CLAS312

Provides a history of classical moral thinking, both philosophical and theological, in the West by tracing this thought through Greek, Roman, and Christian philosophers, theologians, historians, dramatists, and Italian Renaissance Republicans. Pays particular attention to how this intellectual history, found in philosophers and theologians, interacts with popular classical morality and piety as found in classical historians and dramatists, medieval morality dramatists, and biography. Topics to be covered may include but not be limited to: the nature of morality, moral realism, moral virtue, the relationship between tragedy and virtue, the goal of happiness and inner peace in the face of adversity, the interaction of religion and morality, love, marriage, friendship, sexual relations, raising children, and political ethics. Concludes with an overview of the recent revival of classical morality in religious and philosophical ethics.

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