Course Description:  We will follow the twists and turns of Aristotle’s thought as he struggles to find the best way to understand ourselves as moral beings. We’ll learn from the blind alleys and false leads, as well as the eventual arrival at his mature conclusions. I hope you’ll find, as I do, that Aristotle’s thought transcends time and illuminates the issues of today. Reading selections from the Nichomachean Ethics will be provided as PDF documents attached to e-mails.

Location: Harbor

Dates/Times: Fridays, Jan 24 to Feb 21, from 9:30 am to 10:45 am 

Instructor: Bill Caspary

Bill Caspary teaches political philosophy at NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and formerly was at Washington University, St. Louis. He came to the academic study of politics out of political activism in the 1960's peace and New Left movements, and he was a founder of the Student Peace Union. His specialty is democratic theory. Within democratic theory his focus is on the pragmatist philosophy of John Dewey, which is rooted in the Aristotelian philosophical tradition.

He has an M.S. in Physics from University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University. He wrote the book: Dewey on Democracy, and won the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at Gallatin School, NYU, and the Distinguished Career Achievement Award from the American Political Science Association, Ecological and Transformational Politics Section.