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Virtue and Vice: Ancient Philosophy for Modern Catholics with Sam Nicholson
Recorded course taught by Sam Nicholson for High School Ethics
Summary

Instructor Access (optional grading support) for Unlimited Access families is available for this course for $40!

NOTICE: This is an older course recorded with Adobe Connect and/or Vimeo recordings. We are currently working to replace the recordings with new Zoom recordings.  Please don't hesitate to email us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.com with any questions.

Instructor: Sam Nicholson, Ph.D.

Course Description: Philosophy is a vital subject for Catholic students. In this course, we will explore some of the prominent moral theories of antiquity, as expressed in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Epictetus. Sound too lofty? Well, it isn’t -- Professor Nicholson will take you through the subject step by step and help you grow in love for philosophy and see how it fits into your life today.

Together, we will examine the ways in which some of these moral theories anticipated an understanding of morality and virtue that were incorporated into the early Church. We will also explore ways in which Christian teaching would eventually correct, perfect, and incorporate elements of these theories into its account of the moral life as articulated by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Total classes

12

Duration

55 minutes

Prerequisites

None, other than a desire to learn new and exciting ideas.

Suggested grade level

9th to 12th grade

Suggested credit

One full semester Philosophy

Outline

  • Class 1-2: Plato: Euthyphro

  • Class 3-4: Plato: Protagoras, Phaedo (excerpts)

  • Class 5-7: Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics

  • Class 8: Epicurus: Basic Writings

  • Class 9-10: Epictetus: Enchiridion

  • Class 11-12: St. Thomas Aquinas: On Virtue

Materials

It is recommended that you purchase the relatively inexpensive Hackett editions of the following books:

Homework

Weekly readings, and bi-weekly homework exercises. There will be quizzes every three weeks, a final examination, and an optional paper assignment. Expect to do between one to two hours of reading per class session.

Course name
Virtue and Vice: Ancient Philosophy for Modern Catholics with Sam Nicholson
Instructor
Sam Nicholson
Semester
Recorded
Category
Philosophy ➤ Ethics
Grade levels
High School
Start time
January 15th, 2020 at 12:00 AM ET
Course type
Recorded, free with subscription
Relative due dates
Relative due dates are disabled for this course.
Enhanced quiz security
Enhanced assignment security

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Sam Nicholson
scn8v@virginia.edu

View courses I am instructing

About Sam Nicholson

Sam Nicholson earned his PhD from the University of Virginia in 2011. He has published in peer-reviewed academic journals, and he taught at the University level for nearly 10 years. He has taught philosophy and logic at the high school level since 2016. He is an analytically trained Thomist with special interests in the Philosophy of Mind, the Philosophy of Science, and the Theory of Knowledge.

Dr. Nicholson is married to Homeschool Connections’ Victorian literature instructor Eleanor Nicholson. The Nicholsons homeschool their five children. By day, he is the Facilities Supervisor at St. Thomas Aquinas parish in Charlottesville, VA.

Click here for more info about Sam Nicholson!

Courses

  • Basic Symbolic Logic (Comprehensive Courses in Logic)

  • Basics of Inductive Reasoning (Comprehensive Courses in Logic)

  • How to Battle Relativism, Nihilism, and Other Errors

  • Rhetoric and Reasoning (Comprehensive Courses in Logic)

  • Modern Symbolic Logic (Comprehensive Courses in Logic)

  • Classical Syllogistic Logic

  • Theories of Knowledge

  • Virtue and Vice: Ancient Philosophy for Modern Catholics

  • Philosophy: Mind, Body, and Soul

  • Great Philosophers: Meet Plato

  • Great Philosophers: Meet Aristotle

  • Hellenistic Philosophy

  • The Human Person (Franciscan Advantage Program)

© 2019 Homeschool Connections; Sam Nicholson. All Rights Reserved.

  • This material is only to be used for its intended purpose by active subscribers of Homeschool Connections or purchasers of the course. Any other use without explicit permission is in violation of the seventh commandment, and in violation of US and International copyright laws.
  • You may print or download to your own storage extracts for your personal homeschool and non-commercial use only. This is not to be used for homeschool co-ops without express written permission from Homeschool Connections.
  • Upon completion of the course, you must delete all copies of course materials from any storage on which you saved permissible extracts.

Violation of the above copyright policies may result in expulsion without any refund and/or legal action.