**Course will be RETIRED in the near Future** St. Thomas on the Human Person with Jean Rioux

Dear Student,

This course is scheduled to be retired on Nov. 30, 2024. You may continue to work on this course until then. We are not replacing this course at this time.  Please browse this subject to find other comparable courses.

 Please check out the Live courses that are similar here: https://caravel.homeschoolconnections.com/catalog/

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.

Total classes: 12

 Prerequisite: none

Suggested grade level: 11th to 12th grade.

Suggested credit: 1 full semester Philosophy

Instructor: Jean Rioux, Ph.D.

Course description: St. Thomas' account of the human person expounds upon what philosophers and theologians from ancient times to his day have said about ourselves and our unique place in God's universe. While Thomas discusses and references his views on human nature in nearly all his works, his ex professo treatment of the question can be found in questions 75 through 89 of the first part of his Summa Theologiae. While the context of this treatise is theological, Thomas' consideration includes an extended and integrated philosophical account of what we are, what we can expect of life, and why. Addressing issues as wide-ranging as whether and to what degree we can really know the world about us, upon what basis we can stake our claim to free action, and whether we can certainly know, as Socrates is to have said, that "our souls will truly exist in another world!", Thomas brings his brilliance to bear upon a discussion and resolution of life's most important questions.

Course materials: Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Prima Pars, questions 75-89 (selections) | materials will be provided by the instructor as a freely-downloadable PDF file.

Homework: Homework for each session will consist, first, of a close reading of the assigned materials, using online class preparation software designed by Dr. Rioux (see 'How to Use the Reading Closely App' below). Written assignments will consist of students' careful, short-essay responses to two or three prompts covering the last class' material, graded by Dr. Rioux. Students should expect to spend 3 to 4 hours outside of class time on the reading and assignments each week.