Objectives: What is the good life? And what does it mean to pursue it in common with others? This course explores the ethical and political theories of Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas. We will examine Aristotle’s virtue ethics and his political philosophy, alongside Aquinas’s synthesis of Aristotelian ethics with Christian doctrine. Throughout the course, we will engage with contemporary issues such as social media, loneliness, and the nature of virtue in modern society, asking how ancient and medieval ideas can illuminate modern ethical and political phenomena.

Learning Goals : By the course’s end students will be able to: understand Aristotle’s and Aquinas’s key contributions to ethics and political philosophy; explore the relationship between virtue, the good life, and the role of community and politics in achieving human flourishing; critically engage with how ancient and medieval ideas apply to modern issues like social media, loneliness, and the moral implications of digital life; and develop analytical and writing skills through both philosophical analysis and reflection on contemporary issues.

Contents: We will begin with Jacob’s How to Think to explore the irreducibly social and ethical nature of our interior life. We next turn to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics to consider the fundamental building blocks of any good ethical theory: happiness, virtue and friendship. Aquinas’ work will then help us examine the role of revelation in ethical thinking, and we will close with Pieper’s beautiful reflection on the role of leisure in the good life. A few shorter online readings will periodically provoke reflection about the connections between the readings and our world in 2025.

Methodology : A mix of lecture and discussion. Students will provide written responses to daily discussion questions (DQs), as a guide for both reading and class discussion.

Means of evaluation: These will include DQs for each class (20%), two in-class essays (20% each), one final essay (30%), and class participation/attendance (10%).