Course Description:
The human condition has always been diverse in its
aspirations, history, and accomplishments. The world we create are
accordingly multicultural, multiethnic and diverse in their values--even
as they share in common a Quest for a unified sense of self.
This course explores the character and quality of human discourse as it
tries to describe what it means to be human in the great dialogue between
faith and reason. In the course, we will explore some of the
sagas and histories of different cultures on this Quest. Our geography
is the realm of the internet, the magic of texts bequeathed to us by many
cultures in time, as well as our own limitless imagination. Through
the imagination we have vehicles to share with our fellow humans in time
who have conducted a similar search for truth--even as we explore our own
work, family life, childhood and expectations of death (and beyond) as
part of our own individual, and unique, adventure. Most often these journeys
are animated by a “Quest” or a search for something of value to the seeker.
Yet we are not alone on this adventure. Books
and works of art are often gateways on this Quest in that they demonstrate
direction, perceptions, ideas, and values of other seekers from other times
and cultures. An artwork or text is a gift to us from that common
human heritage which helps us find direction and meaning in our own lives;
just as our own perceptions, and the actions resulting from them, consist
of a dynamic interplay between our personal experiences filtered through
the universal themes of our own capacity for both faith and reason.
To conduct this Quest successfully it is perhaps
best that we initially recognize that the greatest part of our understanding
of the world in which we live is already composed of own individualized
belief systems; some of which have been inherited, and some of which we
have concluded on the basis of individual experience. Carl Jung stated
that 90% of all perception was in fact "projection." These projections
are founded in our being, our expectations and assumptions, whose basis
is formed by our unconscious mind. Thus we may process both sensory
stimuli and experience, and shape them or "make sense" of them, in order
to make them conform to what we already expect to be the case. Jung's
suggestion is that our beliefs are formed within our unconscious and become
so central to our being that we employ these beliefs to form criteria by
which we judge what is of value, as well as what is "real." Some
our beliefs may be universal because they are based on the experiences
of all human beings, such as the sunrise or the seasons. However,
many are unique to certain cultures as well as individuals, and thus create
many obstacles to cross-cultural and inter-personal understanding.
This course is designed to help overcome some of
these obstacles. This may prove to be a challenging task because
the stronger our belief systems, the more we seem to believe as well that
we "know" these systems are beyond doubt. Yet, a belief is something we
assume or take on faith. Most of us seem to generally take our faith
for granted and assume what we believe to "knowledge" as certain. Yet,
what most people call "truth" may be actually a very strong belief system;
the more absolute the "truth," the stronger the belief. Yet, true
knowledge might be more reliably found in the form of relationships that
can be consistently communicated to and experienced by others. Knowledge,
therefore, may not be eternal, unchanging or absolute.
Reason is often a process by which we test, and
even challenge, our beliefs; but for this process of purging to be successful,
we must believe in the power of reason itself as a trustworthy tool for
confirming our values. Thus even some "faith" is required to believe
that reason is capable of verifying our assumptions. That which is
beyond the power of reason, remains in the realm of faith. In turn,
it is our desire for meaning and purpose in our experiences, as well as
the patterns of the universe, that we turn to faith to add purpose, direction
and value to our knowledge.
The 13th century Cistercian text, The Quest of
the Holy Grail, has been chosen to provide a structure and metaphor
for the course. The text was written as a spiritual guide to
the nobility, during the days of chivalry, which could compete with the
popular literature of the time. Yet, it remains a suitable metaphor
for our search because its structure mirrors the Quest of humanity searching
not only for wisdom and truth, but also values worth believing. The
Holy Grail itself, the cup Christ drank from at the Last Supper which was
reported to have the power to endow unending life, demonstrates that our
search for knowledge to vitalize meaning, purpose, and value in our lives,
remains as well as search of faith in the concept that life itself, and
how to live it, is of ultimate importance.
The metaphor of the Grail will need to be “translated”
by each participant in the class, not only as an exercise in imagination,
but also one which will allow the student to synthesize the search for
both knowledge and faith as a unified project in time shared by all humanity.
The knights, as individuals, must struggle to determine the most appropriate
actions for themselves in their Quest, just as we must everyday--and just
as the collective of human cultures have throughout time. No action is
insignificant, and every object in the story has as well great spiritual
significance--just as perhaps do the everyday events of our own lives.
The Grail, a common cup, will nurture each participant in the fashion that
corresponds to their approach to it, and thus is perfectly suited to individual
tastes, as well as a common Quest for all. I this sense, the Holy
Grail may be seen as a metaphor for anything which enriches our daily lives
with meaning.
So let us imagine ourselves at a Round Table of
noble seekers who, although they come from different cultures, times and
stations in life, still all partake of the same global community.
All can be said to be on the same Quest, even as each seeks to finds something
different suited to their own unique natures. Let us join them and
set out on the noblest adventure of all: the search for self knowledge.
In this sense, the faculty member guiding this study is as well a fellow
seeker, although one who may be more like one of the many hermits and priests
that appear in the Quest Saga, and who give guidance while clarifying the
rules. S/he also may play the role of “the enemy” by suggesting ideas
which may challenge the student’s own belief systems. Part of such
challenges may be to inquire after the meaning of the Quest metaphor itself,
for many non-Western texts have been added to complement, or contrast,
the assumptions and events of the story from the perspectives of other
times and cultures. The Western texts are generally arranged to show
the development of reason throughout Western European history. Eastern
texts correspond more closely to stages that may occur in one's own personal
lifetime. The two traditions are joined by the Quest metaphor, and
thus this IS NOT a course on The Quest of the Holy Grail, but merely
uses the Quest as a metaphor for both Faith and Reason as they occur in
history, as well as within ourselves.
Human Discourse and the Sense of Community Course Objectives:
After successfully completing this course, students should be able to:
1) Determine their own systems of values.
2) Acquire a better sense of being part of the global community.
3) Compare and contrast philosophies concerning faiths from several
cultures.
4) Describe the development of reason, as represented by Western philosophers,
from Heraclitus to the present.
After successfully completing this course, students should be able to critique or evaluate:
1) His/her own cultural biases and perceptions.
2) The policies of his/her organization as relates to the beliefs of
others.
3) Government laws relating to the practicing of one’s faith.
4) One’s actions in relation to one’s values.
This course relates to the rest of the MAPS program in the following ways:
1) The student will be better prepared to plan a meaningful Capstone
Project.
2) The students experience a philosophical overview which complements
areas covered in the other core courses.
3) The student practices applying ideas from other fields, cultures
and times to their own life situations. This should be seen as further
preparation for all of the classes taken in the program.
Assignments:
There are three assignments, one at the end of each Quarter, leading to the final Paper, or fourth Assignment. The three assignments compose 25% of the student’s grade, and the final Paper, 75%. Ideally the assignments all contribute to the development of the paper as well as verifying a student's understanding of the material. The Final Paper should be 20 to 35 pages. Additional homework assignments made be made at the discretion of the instructor and would then be averaged in to the above mentioned 25%. Also, students are expected to keep an online journal and interact in online chats and conferences during the semester. The quality of input in these activities will also affect the student's grade.