St. John’s College (Annapolis/ Santa Fe) opening questions for the Junior 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.

This is the third blog post on this series of posts.

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 junior year:

Miguel de Cervantes: Don Quixote

1. How does Cervantes use the figure of Don Quixote to comment on Spanish society of the time?
2. In what ways does Don Quixote challenge traditional notions of heroism and chivalry?

Galileo Galilei: Two New Sciences

1. How does Galileo’s understanding of motion and acceleration challenge Aristotelian physics?
2. What does Galileo’s work on the strength of materials tell us about the limits of human ingenuity?

Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan

1. How does Hobbes’s theory of the state of nature and the social contract relate to contemporary political debates?
2. In what ways does Hobbes’s understanding of human nature influence his ideas about government and society?

René Descartes: Meditations, Rules for the Direction of the Mind

1. How does Descartes’s method of doubt challenge traditional forms of knowledge and inquiry?
2. What is the relationship between Descartes’s philosophical project and his religious beliefs?

John Milton: Paradise Lost

1. How does Milton’s depiction of Satan challenge traditional notions of morality and ethics?
2. How does Milton use language and literary techniques to convey the scale and grandeur of his vision?

François de La Rochefoucauld: Maximes

1. How do La Rochefoucauld’s maxims reflect the social and political realities of 17th-century France?
2. In what ways do La Rochefoucauld’s maxims challenge traditional ideas about human nature and behavior?

Jean de La Fontaine: Fables

1. How do La Fontaine’s fables comment on contemporary French society and politics?
2. What is the role of morality and ethics in La Fontaine’s fables?

Blaise Pascal: Pensées

1. What is the relationship between Pascal’s religious beliefs and his philosophical ideas?
2. How does Pascal’s understanding of human nature relate to his understanding of faith and reason?

Christiaan Huygens: Treatise on Light, On the Movement of Bodies by Impact

1. How does Huygens’s work on light challenge traditional theories of optics?
2. In what ways does Huygens’s theory of impact contribute to our understanding of motion and mechanics?

George Eliot: Middlemarch

1. How does Middlemarch reflect the social and political realities of 19th-century England?
2. What is the role of morality and ethics in Eliot’s vision of society?

Baruch Spinoza: Theologico-Political Treatise

1. How does Spinoza’s understanding of God challenge traditional religious beliefs?
2. What is the relationship between Spinoza’s political ideas and his metaphysical system?

John Locke: Second Treatise of Government

1. How does Locke’s theory of the social contract relate to contemporary debates about individual rights and freedoms?
2. In what ways does Locke’s theory of knowledge inform his political ideas?

Jean Racine: Phèdre

1. How does Racine’s depiction of passion and desire reflect contemporary French society and politics?
2. What is the role of morality and ethics in Racine’s tragedy?

Isaac Newton: Principia Mathematica

1. How does Newton’s theory of gravitation challenge traditional theories of motion and mechanics?
2. What is the relationship between Newton’s scientific ideas and his religious beliefs?

Johannes Kepler: Epitome IV

1. How does Kepler’s work on planetary motion challenge traditional models of the universe?
2. In what ways does Kepler’s understanding of mathematics contribute to his understanding of astronomy?

Gottfried Leibniz:

1. How do Leibniz’s monads contribute to his metaphysics, and how do they differ from Descartes’ substance dualism?
2. How does Leibniz’s Principle of Sufficient Reason explain the order and harmony found in the universe?

Jonathan Swift:

1. How does Swift use satire to comment on contemporary political and social issues in Gulliver’s Travels?
2. What is the significance of the different societies and cultures encountered by Gulliver in the novel, and what does Swift intend to convey through them?

David Hume:

1. How does Hume’s empiricism challenge traditional notions of causation and induction, and how does he address the problem of induction?
2. How does Hume’s skepticism about the existence of a self relate to his overall philosophy of mind and knowledge?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau:

1. How does Rousseau’s concept of the social contract reflect his ideas on individual freedom and the role of government?
2. What is the significance of Rousseau’s idea of the “noble savage” in his criticism of contemporary society and culture?

Molière:

1. How does Molière use satire and comedy to comment on social norms and values in Le Misanthrope?
2. How does the character of Alceste reflect Molière’s views on authenticity and honesty in human relationships?

Adam Smith:

1. How does Smith’s concept of the invisible hand explain the workings of the market economy, and what are its implications for economic policy?
2. How does Smith’s analysis of the division of labor relate to his larger ideas on social and political organization?

Immanuel Kant:

1. How does Kant’s transcendental idealism challenge traditional metaphysical concepts, and how does it relate to his epistemology and ethics?
2. What is the significance of Kant’s distinction between analytic and synthetic propositions, and how does it contribute to his overall philosophical project?

Lorenzo Da Ponte (music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart):

1. How does Da Ponte’s libretto for Don Giovanni reflect contemporary social and cultural values, and how does it contribute to the overall impact of the opera?
2. What is the significance of the character of Don Giovanni in the opera, and how does it reflect Mozart’s larger ideas on morality and human nature?

Jane Austen:

1. How does Austen use satire and irony to critique social conventions and gender roles in Pride and Prejudice and Emma?
2. How do the romantic relationships depicted in Austen’s novels reflect the larger societal context in which they are set?

Richard Dedekind:

1. What is the significance of Dedekind’s notion of a Dedekind cut in his development of the real number system?
2. How does Dedekind’s essay challenge traditional notions of mathematical objects and their existence?

Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence, and Constitution of the United States:

1. What were the historical and political contexts in which these documents were written, and how do they reflect the values and concerns of their authors and of the wider society?
2. What are the key ideas and principles embodied in each of these documents, and how do they relate to the development of American democracy and constitutionalism?

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay: The Federalist Papers:

Thirty questions:

1. How do the Federalist Papers contribute to our understanding of the structure and principles of the U.S. Constitution, and how do they address contemporary concerns and objections to its adoption?
2. What is the significance of the debates between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, and how do they reflect the broader political and ideological divisions of the time?
3. What are the main themes and arguments of The Federalist Papers?
4. How do the authors of The Federalist Papers justify the need for a strong federal government?
5. What is the role of the judiciary in The Federalist Papers?
6. How does The Federalist Papers address the problem of factions in politics?
7. What is the significance of the division of powers among the three branches of government in The Federalist Papers?
8. How does The Federalist Papers defend the idea of a representative government?
9. What is the role of the executive branch in The Federalist Papers?
10. How do The Federalist Papers address the concept of state sovereignty?
11. What is the relationship between liberty and government in The Federalist Papers?
12. How does The Federalist Papers defend against the criticism that the proposed Constitution grants too much power to the federal government?
13. What is the significance of The Federalist Papers in American political history?
14. How does The Federalist Papers address the issue of slavery?
15. How does The Federalist Papers address the concerns of small states in the proposed Constitution?
16. What is the role of the legislature in The Federalist Papers?
17. How does The Federalist Papers address the idea of a federal system of government?
18. What is the relationship between the proposed Constitution and the Articles of Confederation in The Federalist Papers?
19. How does The Federalist Papers address the issue of checks and balances in government?
20. What is the role of the Bill of Rights in The Federalist Papers?
21. How do The Federalist Papers address the idea of majority rule and minority rights?
22. What is the significance of The Federalist Papers in contemporary political discourse?
23. How do The Federalist Papers respond to the anti-Federalist arguments against the proposed Constitution? Are these responses convincing?
24. What role does the concept of “faction” play in The Federalist Papers? Do the authors propose an effective solution to the problem of faction?
25. Are The Federalist Papers primarily a work of political theory, or do they have practical implications for American government?
26. To what extent do The Federalist Papers address the issue of slavery? What can we learn about the views of the Founding Fathers on this topic from these essays?
27. How does The Federalist Papers conceive of the relationship between the states and the federal government? Is this relationship still relevant today?
28. What is the role of the judiciary in the proposed Constitution, according to The Federalist Papers? How does this compare to the role of the judiciary in modern American politics?
29. How does The Federalist Papers address concerns about the possibility of tyranny in the new government? Does the proposed Constitution effectively guard against this danger?
30. What is the role of public opinion in The Federalist Papers? Do the authors believe that the opinions of the people should play a large role in government decision-making, or do they prioritize the views of the political elite?

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:

1. How does Mark Twain use the character of Huck Finn to critique societal norms and values of the time?
2. What is the significance of the Mississippi River as a symbol in the novel and how does it contribute to the overall theme?

The Two-Part Prelude of 1799:

1. How does William Wordsworth use nature imagery and language to convey his philosophical ideas in The Prelude?
2. What is the significance of the concept of “the sublime” in The Prelude and how does it contribute to the overall theme of the work?

Essays by: Thomas Young, Brook Taylor, Leonhard Euler, Daniel Bernoulli, Hans Christian Ørsted, André-Marie Ampère, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell:

1. How did the work of these scientists contribute to the development of modern physics and mathematics?
2. How did these essays challenge and reshape conventional thinking about the natural world during the scientific revolution?