St. John’s College (Annapolis/ Santa Fe) opening questions for the Freshman year reading list of the Great Books

St. John’s College uses the famous Great Book series as the foundation of its curriculum. The College has a set curriculum for most of the program. A few “electives” called Tutorials can be picked by students in the last two years of the program.

One of the key aspects of the program is the seminar. Seminars begin when one of two tutors asks an opening question. The questions are usually at the discretion of the tutors.

Here are at least two opening seminar questions for each of the books from the St. John’s College program freshman year:

Homer: Iliad

1. How does the portrayal of the gods in the Iliad contribute to the overall themes and messages of the epic?
2. What is the role of fate and free will in the Iliad?
3. What does the Iliad reveal about the nature of heroism and honor?
4. What do you think Homer’s purpose was in writing about the Trojan War?
5. How does the Iliad portray the relationship between the gods and mortals?
6. What do the actions of the characters in the Iliad tell us about ancient Greek society?
7. How does the Iliad compare to other epic poems or stories you’ve read?

Homer: Odyssey

1. How does the portrayal of Odysseus in the Odyssey compare to his portrayal in the Iliad?
2. How does the Odyssey reflect ancient Greek culture and values?

Aeschylus: Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, The Eumenides, Prometheus Bound

1. How does the theme of justice manifest itself in the Oresteia trilogy?
2. What is the significance of Prometheus’ rebellion against the gods in Prometheus Bound?

Sophocles: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Philoctetes, Ajax

1. How does Sophocles explore the theme of fate in his plays?
2. How do the characters in Sophocles’ plays embody Greek values and virtues?

Thucydides: Peloponnesian War

1. What is the role of power and self-interest in the events leading up to the Peloponnesian War?
2. How does Thucydides’ approach to history differ from that of other ancient historians?

Euripides: Hippolytus, The Bacchae

1. What do the portrayals of Hippolytus and Pentheus reveal about the ancient Greek attitudes towards gender and sexuality?
2. How does Euripides use mythology and religion in his plays?

Herodotus: Histories

1. What is the significance of Herodotus’ approach to historiography?
2. How does Herodotus’ portrayal of the Persian Wars reflect Greek identity and culture?

Aristophanes: Clouds, Frogs

1. How does Aristophanes use humor and satire to critique Athenian society and politics?
2. How do the themes and motifs in Aristophanes’ plays reflect ancient Greek culture and values?

Plato: Meno, Gorgias, Republic, Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Symposium, Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, Timaeus, Phaedrus

1. How does Plato’s theory of forms inform his ethical and political philosophy?
2. How does Plato use dialogue as a philosophical method in his works?

For Plato’s Republic:

1. What is the significance of the allegory of the cave in the Republic?
2. How does Plato’s conception of justice differ from other theories of justice?
3. What role does education play in the ideal society described in the Republic?
4. What does Plato mean by the concept of the “philosopher-king”?
5. How does the Republic address the relationship between the individual and the state?

Aristotle: Poetics, Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, On Generation and Corruption, Politics, Parts of Animals, Generation of Animals

1. How does Aristotle’s approach to science and metaphysics differ from that of his predecessors?
2. How does Aristotle’s ethical theory compare to other ethical theories of his time?

For Aristotle’s Ethics:

1. How does Aristotle define happiness and how is it related to ethics?
2. What is the role of virtue in Aristotle’s ethical theory?
3. How does Aristotle’s ethics compare to other ethical theories, such as deontological or consequentialist theories?
4. What is the relationship between ethics and politics according to Aristotle?
5. How does Aristotle’s ethics address the concept of moral responsibility?

Here are 20 possible opening seminar questions for Aristotle’s Poetics:

1. What is the main purpose of poetry and how does it differ from other forms of literature?
2. What are the key elements of tragedy according to Aristotle, and how do they work together to create an effective work of art?
3. How does Aristotle define the concept of “mimesis” and what role does it play in the creation of poetry?
4. What is the relationship between plot, character, and thought in tragedy, and how do they contribute to the overall effect of the work?
5. How does Aristotle’s definition of tragedy compare and contrast with other definitions of tragedy from different cultures and time periods?
6. What is the function of spectacle in tragedy, and how does it contribute to the emotional impact of the work?
7. How does Aristotle’s concept of catharsis relate to the emotional experience of the audience when watching a tragedy?
8. What is the role of the poet in creating a work of art, according to Aristotle, and how does this differ from other literary theorists?
9. How does Aristotle’s definition of tragedy reflect the social and cultural values of his time and place?
10. How does Aristotle’s definition of poetry relate to other art forms, such as music and visual art?
11. What is the relationship between language and poetry, and how does language contribute to the overall effect of a work of art?
12. How does Aristotle’s theory of tragedy relate to his larger philosophical and ethical beliefs about human nature and society?
13. How does Aristotle’s theory of tragedy relate to the historical and political context of his time, and how might it reflect his own personal experiences and worldview?
14. How does Aristotle’s theory of tragedy relate to the broader tradition of Greek drama, and what influences from earlier playwrights can be seen in his work?
15. What are some examples of works of literature that conform to Aristotle’s definition of tragedy, and how do they demonstrate his principles in practice?
16. How does Aristotle’s theory of tragedy relate to other literary theories and schools of thought, such as romanticism, modernism, or post-structuralism?
17. How does Aristotle’s theory of poetry apply to other genres of literature, such as epic poetry or comedy?
18. What is the relationship between tragedy and history, and how does Aristotle’s theory of tragedy reflect the historical events and cultural context of his time?
19. How does Aristotle’s theory of tragedy relate to other philosophical or theoretical concepts, such as beauty, truth, or morality?
20. How might Aristotle’s theory of tragedy be applied to contemporary works of literature or film, and what changes or adaptations would be necessary to make it relevant to modern audiences?

Euclid: Elements

1. How does Euclid’s approach to geometry and mathematical proof influence later mathematicians and scientists?
2. What is the significance of Euclid’s axioms and postulates in the Elements?

Lucretius: On the Nature of Things

1. What is the significance of Lucretius’ materialist philosophy in ancient Roman culture?
2. How does Lucretius use poetry to convey his scientific ideas in On the Nature of Things?

Plutarch: “Lycurgus” and “Solon” from the Parallel Lives

1. How do the biographies of Lycurgus and Solon reflect the values and ideals of ancient Greek society?
2. How does Plutarch use the Parallel Lives to compare and contrast the political and social systems of different Greek city-states?

Ptolemy: Almagest

1. How did Ptolemy’s astronomical observations and theories influence later astronomers and their works?
2. In what ways did Ptolemy’s geocentric model of the universe differ from previous models?

Blaise Pascal: Treatise on the Equilibrium of Liquids

1. How does Pascal’s principle apply to the equilibrium of liquids, and how does it relate to other principles in physics?
2. What implications does Pascal’s treatise have for our understanding of fluid mechanics and the behavior of liquids?

Nicomachus: Arithmetic

1. How does Nicomachus’s classification of numbers into categories affect our understanding of arithmetic and its applications?
2. What significance does the relationship between numbers and music have in Nicomachus’s work?

Antoine Lavoisier: Elements of Chemistry

1. What were Lavoisier’s major contributions to the development of modern chemistry, and how did he revolutionize our understanding of chemical reactions?
2. How did Lavoisier’s experiments and observations lead to the development of the law of conservation of mass?

William Harvey: Motion of the Heart and Blood

1. How did Harvey’s observations and experiments challenge traditional beliefs about the circulation of blood and the role of the heart in the body?
2. What impact did Harvey’s discoveries have on the fields of medicine and anatomy, and how did they contribute to the development of modern physiology?

Essays by: Archimedes, Gabriel Fahrenheit, Amedeo Avogadro, John Dalton, Stanislao Cannizzaro, Rudolf Virchow, Edme Mariotte, Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch, Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, Hans Spemann, Guy Beckley Stearns, J. J. Thomson, Dmitri Mendeleev, Claude Louis Berthollet, Joseph Proust

1. What were the main contributions of each of these scientists to their respective fields, and how did their work influence the development of modern science?
2. In what ways do the essays reflect the scientific and philosophical debates of their time, and what relevance do they have for contemporary discussions in science and philosophy?