Material for PHL 403 Senior Seminar on Heroism and the Human Spirit

In-class writings, group work, and some related links

·         In-class Future Autobiography exercise 

·         Group work on Saki's (1870-1816) story, "The Open Window"

·         Group Work on Jessica Amanda Salmonson's "Meditations and Confessions Regarding My Disturbing Ability" (from A Silver Thread of Madness)

·         Link to Violet Books, Jessica Amanda Salmonson's on-line bookstore, which will link you to some of her essays and another story

·         Group Work on Le Guin's "Those Who Walk Away from Omelas"

·         Link to an interview with Octavia Butler

·         Group Work on Octavia E. Butler and "Positive Obsession"

·         Group Work on Octavia E. Butler's "Furor Scribendi"

·         Group work on Rebbe Nachman's "The Turkey Prince"

·         Group Work on Orson Scott Card's "Mortal Gods"

·         Group Work on Orson Scott Card's "Bicicleta"

·         Group Work on Orson Scott Card's "Gert Fram"

·         Group Work on Sex and Gender Distinction

·         [In-class Writing on Childhood Heroes]

·         [In-class Writing on Night]

·         [Group work on Orson Scott Card's "The Porcelain Salamander"]

·         [Group work on "Harrison Bergeron"]

·         [Group work on Self-Deception]

·         Group work on Orson Scott Card's "Middle Woman"

·         [Link to Toni Morrison Page]

·         [Group work on The Bluest Eye]

·         [Group work on Night]

·         [Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Related Links from JEWISHNT - Jewish Global Information Network]

·         [Group work on "The Body"]

·         [Group work on Anthem]

·         [Group work on Slaughterhouse Five]

·         [Group work on The Autobiography of Malcolm X]

·         [Links to material on Malcolm X]

Notes, instructions, and samples

·         Notes for Lecture on "Aristotle, Becker, King, Childhood, and Scary Stories"

·         Reading S. King's "Breathing Method"

·         Some notes on identity, character and culture

·         Notes on Heroic Scripting

·         [Some notes on self-deception]

·         [Racism as a call to deception (outline)]

·         Some notes on sex/gender distinction

·         ["P" is a sample of the writing exercise in which biological sex and social gender characteristics are not stated and cannot be inferred.]

·         [One Way to Write a Philosophy Paper] (provides a brief outline of one of the standard ways to go about writing a philosophy paper)

·         [Theodicy: The Problem of Evil] (provides a brief discussion of some the responses to the problem of evil in the context of theodicy)

·         [Anthropodicy: The Problem of Evil] (a brief list of some of the explanations of human evil)

·         M. Kagan notes for lecture on possibilities and practice

Hillel's Patience and Akiba's Persistence

Hillel and Akiba links

Ayn Rand Links

·         [M. Kagan's notes on and reconstruction of Ayn Rand's Ethical Egoism, and links to other Rand/Objectivism material ]

·         The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies  

Vonnegut and Card Links

·         Hatrack River - The Official Web Site of Orson Scott Card

·         [Links to material on Kurt Vonnegut and Slaughterhouse Five]

Berne, Raffa, Campbell Jung and Becker

·         Kagan notes on Berne from Heroic Scripting lecture

·         Suppose Neo really is a machine or Trinity is "the one"   . . . some extra-credit work on Campbell's Monomyth and any of the following movies:  Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, or the Matrix

·         http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/monomyth.htm

·         ["Raffa and Campbell" - M. Kagan's notes on Jean Benedict Raffa's Bridge to Wholeness]

·         Someone else's (named Spencer?) excellent notes on Jung

·         Kagan notes on Jung

·         [Some more Links to C. G. Jung Information on the Internet] The Jung links include a brief biography & bibliography and additional information on some of the Jungian ideas discussed in class.

·         Becker--Perspectives on Culture, Heroism, and Excellence [Kagan notes from PHL 201 on Ernest Becker's Birth and Death of Meaning] [P.S.: Applying Confucius and Becker]

·         [The Legacy of Ernest Becker: Part I] and [The Legacy of Ernest Becker: Part 2] (Biography and commentary on Becker's work by Ron Leifer. M.D., one of Becker's closest friends)