This class follows my multiday course of the same name, and is especially for students who cannot attend that live class due to time zone conflicts and other such consideration.  

This course examines the virtue ethics of Aristotle (384-322 BCE) and his philosophy of friendship.  It builds on my one-time class on virtue ethics.  But this class can be taken separately.  No background knowledge or prerequisites required.  We start from scratch !   

The foundation of all ethics, according to Aristotle, is friendship.  We are social beings, he wrote, and find our happiness in our relationships to family, friends, and in society.  Ethics is what unites us all harmoniously, and enables everyone to reach their full potential.  To do this, he wrote, we must know and be able to distinguish between our blameworthy and praiseworthy actions. This way can we become true friends.   

This course explores Aristotle’s views on friendship through his great work, Nicomachean Ethics.  This class will reveal how Aristotle shows that our own personal development is achieved in social personhood through friendship (Greek: philia) between individuals, in families, and in communities.  These relationships allow us to practice the personal virtues of bravery, temperance, mildness, truthfulness, generosity, and justice.  By practicing these virtues, he wrote, we achieve true happiness (Greek: eudaimonia) and self-fulfillment.

For a breakdown of learning objectives, consult the syllabus and weekly posts.


Class Structure and Assessments

This class is presented with asynchronous pre-recorded lectures each week.  Students will have a weekly quiz of key terms and concepts (called in the post section as "study questions"), which they are expected to complete as they watch the video or afterward.  I will grade each quiz, and respond with feedback for each student.  There are five total quizzes (study questions).