Course Description
Eros was an important element in Western thought and culture from the ancient Greeks, through the Renaissance and into modern Existentialism and beyond. Yet, it was concealed in most philosophy, which stressed rational methods. Indeed, Eros still has an ill-defined place in philosophy and academia. The seminar will examine the meaning and expressions of Eros, particularly in Empedocles, Plato, Pico, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Freud, Lacan, Barthes, etc., and consider related expressions in Western culture. The Greeks, especially the Athenians, embraced a multifaceted understanding of Eros, perhaps due to their open society, rich friendships and pantheon of many gods. Particular attention will be paid to Plato who defined Eros for the tradition and related it to the quest for truth, beauty and reality, Pico who restored Eros after the Medieval Age, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche who restored Eros and passion after the Age of Reason as essential ingredients in the full life and as encompassing interpersonal love and divine love. Interestingly, Freud tied Eros to the pleasure principle, which in “Beyond the Pleasure Principle” he identified as the pleasure drive, which correlated the death drive, and saw the pair anticipated and modeled cosmically by the pre-Socratic philosopher Empedocles. Lacan and Barthes offer more subtle, personal contemporary accounts of Eros. Complementary literary texts might include Don Giovanni, Don Juan, Madam Bovary, etc.


Grading:
Attendance and class participation 50%
Research paper and class presentations 50%