SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE
PHIL 111
CRN: 51926
SPRING 2004
INSTRUCTOR: PROF. NINA ROSENSTAND
PHILOSOPHY IN LITERATURE
STUDY-GUIDE, Midterm March 17, 2004
Office hours: MTWTh: 10-11, MW 2:00-2:30, H-301G.
Messages to Instructor: (619) 388-2407
E-mail: nrosenst@sdccd.net
READINGS:
Coursepack: Rosenstand, The Moral of the Story 4th edition ch.2 + from 1st edition: “Some
Fantastic Tales for Grown-ups”-section
Coursepack: East of Eden selections
Reflections on Philosophy: Ch.6 p.106-116
Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (highlights)
Recommended: The Moral of the Story 4/e Chapter 9, Aristotle.
KEY CONCEPTS: [* signifies possible short essay topic]
Coursepack, The Moral of the Story 4/e
Ch.2:
Didactic story: “Boy Who Cried Wolf”
Key examples of stories used in ethics: Bibliotherapy; medical ethics; criminal justice
system
Myths in ancient times: cyclical time perception, renewal of the year.
The grandmother story: death introduced.
From Adam and Eve to Brothers Grimm: stories of disobedience and punishment [from
your notes]
Myths in modern times supply world view. Example: Star Wars.
Fairy tales: damaging for children, or tension-release?*
Parables: story of the Prodigal Son. Poin of view is important.
Abraham and Isaac: a story of sacrifice and obedience
Stories with role models: positive and negative.
Apollo vs. Dionysus: reason vs. excessive emotion
The Oedipus story
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle: their relationships
Plato’s vs. Aristotle’s theories of the value of drama*
Aristotle: Virtue is the Golden Mean between too much and too little [from your notes]
Seeing one’s life as a story: selective, incomplete, and creative *
Joseph Campbell: asking about the meaning of life
Descriptive vs normative ethics
Primary Readings:
Plato: Proper control of feelings; danger of drama (fiction) undermining one’s
equanimity; humor is dangerous *
Aristotle: Drama as catharsis of pity and fear; the perfect tragic plot, with an
ordinary person making a big mistake *
Rainer: Telling one’s own story must contain what you wanted, how you
struggled, and what you learned. Inventing the character arc. *
Narratives:
Medea: Mother kills children for revenge. How might Medea fit Aristotle’s “perfect
tragic plot” analysis? Jason is the one who makes the mistake and must suffer.
Lord Jim: Jim dreams of heroic deeds, but jumps ship. Spends the rest of his life
making up for it. “Difference between hero and coward.” Illustrates Aristotle’s
search for the Golden Mean. [from your notes] *
The Moral of the Story 1/e:
Fantastic tales for grownups:
Twin souls, good and evil. Often symbolizing two sides of one person, such as
Jekyll and Hyde.*
The Quest: search for meaning . Gilgamesh loses immortality. The Moby Dick
quest. The Holy Grail quest. *
Steinbech, East of Eden*
Adam and Cathy: principles of goodness and evil [from your notes]
The Cain and Abel parallel: Cal is a gardener, Aron raises animals
Lee’s quest for the best translation of “timshel”
Timshel: thou mayest = a choice
Cal’s gift to Adam, the rejection, and the consequences: Aron’s death
Adam’s final word to Cal
Reflections on Philosophy Ch.6
Ethics based on good consequences:
Hedonism
Consequentialism
Utilitarianism
Ethics based on rules:
Deontology
The categorical imperative
Persons should never be used merely as a means to an end
Intrinsic value vs. instrumental value
Tolkien, Lord of the Rings *
Good vs. evil:
The Shire vs. Mordor
The power of the ring
Frodo’s task
Gandalf’s role
Sam’s role
Existential and political interpretations [from your notes]
FORMAT OF MIDTERM
50 % objective, 50 % subjective/essay test. Use a scantron Form #882 and a Blue Book.
Please use pencil #2 for the scantron, and pen for the Blue Book. Make sure your
scantron answers are clear and unambiguous; otherwise the scantron machine can’t
read them. Read the question carefully. You may write on the test. Total possible points:
100. NO BOOKS, NO NOTES ALLOWED.
Plagiarism policy: Using open books or notes during the test, or consulting with other
students, will result in an F if discovered.
There will be 10 True/False questions; each correct answer is worth 2 points.
There will be 15 Multiple Choice questions; each correct answer is worth 2 points.
There will be 3 “Short Essays” questions. Answer 2 out of 3. (1-2 pages each.) Max. 25
points each. Use a pen for this part. If you use a pencil you will be docked 3 points!