NU Splash Biography

In ancient ethics, we find one idea consistently emphasized: that while all animals are capable of living, humans alone are able to really have a life. In this class, we'll look into the nature of this distinction and try to figure out why it's so important to ethical reflection.

There must be something which unites the members of a community, something which ties them together. In this class, we'll attempt to figure out what this unifying element is, asking ourselves how a group of disconnected individuals can be transformed into a community. In order to approach this question, we'll discuss the surprising similarities and important differences between the accounts of the creation of the community suggested by two of mankind's greatest thinkers: the ancient philosopher, Plato, and the modern civil rights leader, Martin Luther King.