Answer three questions. The required question will be specified at the exam.
Please use the entire hour for the test.
1. Who were the Sophists and why were young Athenians willing to pay for their instruction? How did they influence Plato and Aristotle?
2. Give an account of Plato's theory of the forms and explain why Aristotle found it wanting.
3. Why did Aristotle not consider women and slaves fully human and what were his requirements for full humanity?
4. Describe Plato's myth of the cave and explain how it reflects Plato's view of reality.
5. Compare Raymond Ibrahim and Osama bin Laden's views of (a) the Muslim conquests and (b) the creation of the State of Israel.
6. Compare the views expressed by the Saudi scholars in their response to the American letter, "What We Are Fighting For: A Letter from America" and Osama bin Laden on the legitimacy of offensive jihad.
7. What were the differences between slavery in pre-Civil War America and slavery at I.G. Farben Auschwitz?
8. Explain the following statement: The Holocaust was an expression of some of the most significant political, moral, and demographic tendencies of Western civilization in the twentieth century.
9. How did the phenomenon of surplus people aruse and how did it lead to the World War I Battles of Verdun and the Somme and ultimatel to the Holocaust?
Monday, October 6, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Thucydides-The Melian Dialogue
New Assignment for Comparative Religious Ethics
In addition to the assignments in Norman for Wednesday October 1, 2008, study the Melian Dialogue found in Thucydides, History of the Pelponesian War, written in 431 BCE. For background information, read the Wikipedia articles on Thucydides and on The Melian Dialogue.
In addition to the assignments in Norman for Wednesday October 1, 2008, study the Melian Dialogue found in Thucydides, History of the Pelponesian War, written in 431 BCE. For background information, read the Wikipedia articles on Thucydides and on The Melian Dialogue.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Offensive Jihad and Conquest
In his essay "Moderate Islam is a Prostration to the West" in The Al Qaeda Reader, Osama Bin Laden argues that offensive jihad is both essential to Islam and ethically justified and has been since the days of Muhammad and his Rightly Guided Companions. His reasoning is based on the belief that Islam alone expresses perfectly God's Will for His creatures. Thus, there is for Bin Laden no such thing as illegitimate Muslim conquest. Such military measure are not truly considered harb or war, but, fatuha, or the “opening” of the non-believing world to Islam. Given that framework, it is possible for Muslims to regard any war against non-Muslims waged for the expansion of Islam as morally justified whereas wars waged against Muslims are by their very nature unjust. In fairness, it must be stated that non-radical Muslims reject this view in practice, often citing the verse, “'You shall not kill-for that is forbidden- except for a just cause.” (Qur’an, al-An'am 6.151) The problem arises in defining "a just cause." As we have seen, offensive jihad against anyone who resists the call to Islam (da'wa) is considered both justified and mandatory.
At the same time, you will notice in both the Letter of the Saudi Scholars and in Osama Bin Laden's Letter to America, the State of Israel is regarded as an illegitimate political entity, based on conquest and oppression, that must be destroyed. Thus, Osama Bin Laden condemns American support of Israel and Israel's ability to sustain itself:writes:
"The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and you are the leaders of its criminals. And of course there is no need to explain and prove the degree of American support for Israel. The creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased."
The question of conquest has often been a vexing one for the field of ethics and international affairs. The University of Bridgeport sits on conquered land, taken from its original inhabitants, as does all of the United States and Canada. In "Survival of the Fittest: The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Context," Raymond Ibrahim, an Arabic-speaking Christian, argues that the land of Israel has been through numerous conquests going back thousands of years and that Israel is but the latest conqueror. Ibrahim also argues that the spread of Islam was made possibled through conquest.
The difference between Ibrahim and Osama Bin Laden is that Bin Laden believes that the Muslim conquests were blessed by Allah and were a blessing to the conquered people. Because he is a Christian, Ibrahim cannot accept Bin Laden's claims concerning the legitimacy of the Muslim conquests. Neither can the Jews in Palestine.
Realistically, this means that what is taken in conquest can either be retaken or subdued by another conqueror. This has been the way of the world from time immemorial. A question arises concerning how this fact can be reconciled with the field of ethics and international affairs.
At the same time, you will notice in both the Letter of the Saudi Scholars and in Osama Bin Laden's Letter to America, the State of Israel is regarded as an illegitimate political entity, based on conquest and oppression, that must be destroyed. Thus, Osama Bin Laden condemns American support of Israel and Israel's ability to sustain itself:writes:
"The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and you are the leaders of its criminals. And of course there is no need to explain and prove the degree of American support for Israel. The creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased."
The question of conquest has often been a vexing one for the field of ethics and international affairs. The University of Bridgeport sits on conquered land, taken from its original inhabitants, as does all of the United States and Canada. In "Survival of the Fittest: The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Context," Raymond Ibrahim, an Arabic-speaking Christian, argues that the land of Israel has been through numerous conquests going back thousands of years and that Israel is but the latest conqueror. Ibrahim also argues that the spread of Islam was made possibled through conquest.
The difference between Ibrahim and Osama Bin Laden is that Bin Laden believes that the Muslim conquests were blessed by Allah and were a blessing to the conquered people. Because he is a Christian, Ibrahim cannot accept Bin Laden's claims concerning the legitimacy of the Muslim conquests. Neither can the Jews in Palestine.
Realistically, this means that what is taken in conquest can either be retaken or subdued by another conqueror. This has been the way of the world from time immemorial. A question arises concerning how this fact can be reconciled with the field of ethics and international affairs.
WREL 305 Revised Syllabus
WREL 305 Syllabus
August 27 and September 3: In the aftermath of 9/11, the Institute for American Values published an open letter posted on its web site by 60 leading American thinkers on the subject, What We’re Fighting For: A Letter from America. The thinkers who represented a cross-section of mainstream, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish thought, presented an ethical perspective on the “war on terror.” The letter was dated February 2002. It is important to note that the letter was not a statement about or a defense of the Iraq War, which did not begin until March 20, 2003. The letter is required reading for the class. On the same web site, there is a letter from 153 Saudi “establishment” intellectuals, How We Can Coexist and a response by the American thinkers, Can We Coexist? Taken together, the letters show the vast differences in values between Muslim thinkers who do not regard themselves as extreme and the American thinkers who see themselves as coming out of a common Judeo-Christian background. (Both letters are required reading.)
Undoubtedly, the most important response is by Osama Bin Laden. He was outraged by the response of the Saudi scholars and wrote his own response, Moderate Islam is a Prostration to the West. This essay, with an introduction by Victor Davis Hanson, can be found in Raymond Ibrahim, ed. The Al Qaeda Reader (New York: Broadway Books, 2007), pp. 17-62. This essay is required reading. Because it cannot be found on the internet, I have ordered two copies of the book from Amazon.com and I have placed them on reserve at UB’s Wahlstrom Library for the class now that they have arrived. I highly recommend this book. Ibrahim is an Arabic-speaking Christian and is the head of the Middle East Section of the Library of Congress. Much of the material in the book has never before been translated into English. The whole book is worth reading. If time is a problem, read Victor Davis Hanson’s Introduction in addition to the Bin Laden essay. http://www.americanvalues.org/htm/follow-up.html
Also on the Institute for American Values web sites is Letter to America (required reading). The author is listed as Al Qaeda, but it was reportedly written by Osama Bin Laden and certainly had to be authorized by him before publication. Note that all of Al Qaeda’s letters are religious documents that claim that the attack on the World Trade Center was morally justified. There are none of the appeals to national interest one would find in Western sources justifying an attack; all values are represented as fully in accordance with the will of Allah. Finally, it should be noted in a course on Comparative Religious Ethics how vastly different are the systems of religious ethics in Al Qaeda’s messages from those in the American letters.
There is also a response by David Blankenhorn, Director of the Institute for American Values, Reading an Enemy: Analyzing al-Qa'ida's response to ‘What We're Fighting For’ (required reading).
September 10: Richard L. Rubenstein, The Cunning of History, Introduction, and chapters 1-6.
September 17: The Cunning of History, continued.
September 24: The Cunning of History, Norman, Preface, Plato, and Aristotle, pp. 1-40.
October 1: Norman, Plato and Aristotle, continued; .
October 8: No class. Assigned reading,Thucydides, "The Melian Dialogue" (See Blog) Norman, “Egoism and Altruism” and John Stuart Mill;
October 15, Norman, Kant, pp. 70-92. 7:30-8:30, Mid-Term
October 22, Norman, Hegelian Ethics and Nietzsche
August 27 and September 3: In the aftermath of 9/11, the Institute for American Values published an open letter posted on its web site by 60 leading American thinkers on the subject, What We’re Fighting For: A Letter from America. The thinkers who represented a cross-section of mainstream, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish thought, presented an ethical perspective on the “war on terror.” The letter was dated February 2002. It is important to note that the letter was not a statement about or a defense of the Iraq War, which did not begin until March 20, 2003. The letter is required reading for the class. On the same web site, there is a letter from 153 Saudi “establishment” intellectuals, How We Can Coexist and a response by the American thinkers, Can We Coexist? Taken together, the letters show the vast differences in values between Muslim thinkers who do not regard themselves as extreme and the American thinkers who see themselves as coming out of a common Judeo-Christian background. (Both letters are required reading.)
Undoubtedly, the most important response is by Osama Bin Laden. He was outraged by the response of the Saudi scholars and wrote his own response, Moderate Islam is a Prostration to the West. This essay, with an introduction by Victor Davis Hanson, can be found in Raymond Ibrahim, ed. The Al Qaeda Reader (New York: Broadway Books, 2007), pp. 17-62. This essay is required reading. Because it cannot be found on the internet, I have ordered two copies of the book from Amazon.com and I have placed them on reserve at UB’s Wahlstrom Library for the class now that they have arrived. I highly recommend this book. Ibrahim is an Arabic-speaking Christian and is the head of the Middle East Section of the Library of Congress. Much of the material in the book has never before been translated into English. The whole book is worth reading. If time is a problem, read Victor Davis Hanson’s Introduction in addition to the Bin Laden essay. http://www.americanvalues.org/htm/follow-up.html
Also on the Institute for American Values web sites is Letter to America (required reading). The author is listed as Al Qaeda, but it was reportedly written by Osama Bin Laden and certainly had to be authorized by him before publication. Note that all of Al Qaeda’s letters are religious documents that claim that the attack on the World Trade Center was morally justified. There are none of the appeals to national interest one would find in Western sources justifying an attack; all values are represented as fully in accordance with the will of Allah. Finally, it should be noted in a course on Comparative Religious Ethics how vastly different are the systems of religious ethics in Al Qaeda’s messages from those in the American letters.
There is also a response by David Blankenhorn, Director of the Institute for American Values, Reading an Enemy: Analyzing al-Qa'ida's response to ‘What We're Fighting For’ (required reading).
September 10: Richard L. Rubenstein, The Cunning of History, Introduction, and chapters 1-6.
September 17: The Cunning of History, continued.
September 24: The Cunning of History, Norman, Preface, Plato, and Aristotle, pp. 1-40.
October 1: Norman, Plato and Aristotle, continued; .
October 8: No class. Assigned reading,Thucydides, "The Melian Dialogue" (See Blog) Norman, “Egoism and Altruism” and John Stuart Mill;
October 15, Norman, Kant, pp. 70-92. 7:30-8:30, Mid-Term
October 22, Norman, Hegelian Ethics and Nietzsche
WREL 305-Reading List
Comparative Religious Ethics
World Religions WREL 305-1
Required
Rubenstein, Richard L: The Cunning of History (New York: Harper Collins, 1987) ISBN 0-06-132068-4, also available as an Amazon Kindle electronic book.
Norman, Richard: The Moral Philosophers: An Introduction to Ethics, Second Edition (
Gill, Robin, The
Recommended
Glover, Jonathan: Humanity: The Moral History of the Twentieth Century (
Ibrahim, Raymond, ed., The Al Qaeda Reader (
Kelsay, John: Arguing the Just War in Islam (
Niehbuhr, Reinhold: Moral Man and Immoral Society (Louisvlle: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2001) ISBN 0-664-2274-1
Scruton, Roger: The German Philosophers: Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997) ISBN 0-19-285424-0
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Benny Morris on Iran and Nuclear Attack
Benny Morris has written about the possibility of an Iranian nuclear attack, "The Second Holocaust." It is important as one of the scenario for what could happen in an Iranian attack on Israel.
More on Benny Morris
In the current issue of The New Yorker, David Remnick, the magazine's editor-in-chief, has written a fair and balanced review of Benny Morris's new book entitled "Blood and Sand" on the Arab-Israeli conflict. This essay is important for an understanding of the conflict and its possible outcome.
See also April 4 post on this blog, "A Historian's View of the Middle East Conflict."
See also April 4 post on this blog, "A Historian's View of the Middle East Conflict."
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