Philosophy: Nature of the Human Person and Society (Cycle A)
2025-2026
This course is part of the OLGC Extension Program which meets on a DIFFERENT day other than Mondays (TBD).**
Tension in the public square is a permanent reality of historical experience. The frequent opposition of the common good and the individual good raises questions about the relationships between the rights of the social order and the rights of the human person. Class distinctions, public conduct, ethical behavior, and religious practice add to the complexity of social life, especially in the post-modern era where ideas of equality and unrestrained freedom are held as absolutes.
Furthermore, the acts of all historical societies and man presume some world view, which determines how laws are enacted, power exercised, justice administered, and civic virtue is understood. When the existing social order is unsettled or overthrown, a cultural crisis occurs by which a society seeks new principles of order and asks again the fundamental questions concerning social life: What is a good life? Is a moral set of values necessary for social interaction? Is there a connection between human society and the natural world? What is the place of the political realm? What is justice?
The Human Person and Society seminar will provide students the opportunity to examine the first principles of social life, explore the reasons for the collapse of historical regimes, as well as cultures and provide the students a reference point in order to assess the post-modern era and its own peculiarities, in which we presently find ourselves.
The first semester of Human Person and Society will focus on the late medieval and early modern eras. The seminar will begin with Machiavelli’s The Prince followed by Dante’s Inferno. Both books present two worldviews depicted well in the next work read in the seminar: Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. Following Shakespeare, the students will read “On Secular Society” by Martin Luther, followed by selections from the following - Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, John Locke’s Two Treatises on Government and Jacques Rousseau’s On the Social Contract. It was in those three works that modern political thought reached its maturity. Hence, Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau are foundational in order to understand the modern world.
The second semester will focus on the ancient and the Christian world views but conclude with modern and post-modern eras. The second semester will begin with the work Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, followed by Oedipus Rex and Antigone by Sophocles. The seminar will then read selections from Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics. For the Christian world view the students will read and discuss excerpts from the City of God by Augustine. The academic year will conclude with selections from Will to Power by Friedrich Nietzsche and the essay “A World Split Apart” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s. Nietzsche’s work brings to completion the modern era; while Solzhenitsyn, having lived through the effects and fruits of modern philosophy offers his own personal and insightful critique of it.
Nota Bene: Nature of the Human Person and Society (Cycle A) is a self-sufficient seminar, however, it does not stand alone. Together with the Nature of the Human Person and Society (Cycle B), a student comes to grasp first principles about both the human person and society. In the course of two years at OLGC, every student is encouraged to take both seminars which support and reinforce each other. They are therefore complementary but may be taken independently.
> Philosophy: Nature of the Human Person and Society (Cycle B) will be offered in 2026-2027.
HOMEWORK
The two basic elements in the evaluation process are: preparation and participation. The well-prepared student has made an honest attempt to understand and probe the reading, the problem, or the proposition before the tutorial begins. The excellent tutorial participant initiates an objective dialogue on the substance of the reading or the heart of the problem or the proposition at hand; is open to questions, reflections, or insights offered by other members of the seminar; is willing to engage in reasoned discourse that is both serious and lively; and allows the discussion to follow its natural course.
PARENT RESPONSIBILITY
Students in this course typically work independently; however, some students may need parental assistance with understanding the assigned material.
COURSE FEE: $390 pay-in-full / $432 payment plan
SUPPLY FEE: None
GRADE LEVEL: 11th & 12th
PREREQUISITES: Must be entering 11th or 12th grade
CREDIT HOURS: 1 credit
MIN/MAX: Min 3, Max 15
TEXTS*:
Machiavelli’s the Prince
Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Martin Luther’s “On Secular Society”
Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan
John Locke’s Treatise on Government
Jacques Rousseau’s On the Social Contract
Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Antigone
Plato’s Republic
Aristotle’s Politics
Augustine’s City of God
Friedrich Nietzsche’s essay: “On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense”
Solzhenitsyn’s essay “A World Split Apart"
Additional supplies*:
*Please do not purchase any texts or supplies until you receive the officially, updated book & supply list after registration.
**The OLGC Extension Program meets on Thursday mornings only, not on Tuesdays.