PHIL 1.12 Philosophy and Tragedy
Since antiquity philosophers have concerned themselves with tragic drama and its world-view. Why is this powerful and peculiar art-form regarded as both a rival to philosophy and also a site of significant philosophical activity? What philosophical insights or ethical developments are made possible through the depiction of suffering and grief? How does tragedy impact our understanding of human agency and the place of fate and chance in human life? Authors considered may include Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Plato, Aristotle, Shakespeare, Racine, Beuchner, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Camus, Miller, Nussbaum, Williams.