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This module, team-taught by members of the two departments, provides an overview of approaches to the human being from early Greek philosophy to the Renaissance. It confronts in particular the question ‘What are human beings?’, considering a range of answers offered during these periods: are they rational animals, political animals, favoured or fallen creatures of God, independent creators in their own right, or what? What are the fundamental relationships that define the human experience (whether to the body and emotions, to others and the community, or to temporal change and God)? The module focuses on select passages from a wide spread of authors and texts, such as Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s De Anima and Politics, Augustine’s Confessions, Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae, Eriugena’s Periphyseon, Nicholas of Cusa’s De Coniecturis and Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity of Man, opening up in the process further lines of enquiry.
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IMAGES OF THE HUMAN BEING. IN ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL, AND RENAISSANCE THOUGHT
