Journey of Transformation

Socrates (470-399 BC)

a. didn’t write; dialogue/debate

b. Inspired deep philosophical reflection on the meaning of life (“the good life”)

Plato: Student of Socrates; wrote down Socrates most important “dialogues”

early plato and the apology

As Plato developed his own philosophical ideas, especially in his middle and later works he continued to use

Socrates as the main character who speaks and presents the arguments

Plato’s most famous student

Aristotle

Who started his own philosophical splinter school and disagreed with Plato’s belief that there is a perfect world beyond the physical world.

Aristotle

Aristotle believed

we should study real world around us to gain knowledge

Dualism

A theory that considers reality to consist of two irreducible elements or modes

Dualism example

mind and body (is your mind something totally distinct from your physical body

Plato’s Dualism

There is a world of “ideas” (the forms) and the material (physical world); the former is more real and from which the material things obtain their reality

Examples of Plato’s Dualism

circle, human/humanity, goodness, the cave

The Genesis creation narratives are NOT intended to be

scientific or even literal stories

Gensis is a symbolic narrative

a story in which events tell us important truths without the individual events being “scientifically” literal

The bible as a whole does not

provide us with scientific data that believers must accept, other than, perhaps, the world was created in some fashion

Genesis is

the response to the surrounding cultures creation stories, partly copying, but more significantly reworking the major themes to distinguish the Jewish people and their perception of God and the human person

The Purpose of Genesis

At times, very similar in tone and language

history

Babylonian exile

Enuma Elish: similarities and differences (humans aren’t; accidental)

Luke and the Gospel of Luke

a physician, a companion of St. Paul, and most likely a Gentile

Gentile

not Jewish

Purpose of the Gospel of Luke

1.An argument for Christ’s message being for all peoples, not just Jews

2.A case for Christianity as not being a threat to the Roman Empire

3.Reassurance for Christan’s after the destruction of Jerusalem

4.Reassurance to those waiting for Jesus’s second coming

Christianity and Ethics

Christianity and Judaism, even for those who reject them, remain the foundation of our ethics (e.g. humans have dignity, inflicting pain is wrong)

Desire

craving an object or goal outside of your control; the desire is either unfulfilled or leads to the creation of another desire (cycle of desire)

Singlemindedness (passion or drive)

focusing on your actions, not whether you reach a goal, even when our actions are working toward a goal. (The effort you put into studying vs the grade.

Desiring makes

our happiness contingent upon something out of control. (good grades, winning a game, making a certain amount of money)

Singlemindedness makes

our happiness contingent upon only us. (our attempt to get the best grades we can get, our best attempt to win the game).