The Great Divide: Plato, Aristotle, and The Inklings (Mini-Class)
$120.00
Every era has to grapple with the eternal showdown of Plato vs. Aristotle. Plato is best-known for his transcendent Forms while Aristotle is forever aligned to the particulars of this world. But what are the universals? And what are the particulars? Is there any harmony of thought for the tutor and his pupil? This dialogue surrounding Platonic and Aristotelian philosophies has shaped the history of philosophy and criticism right down into the debates of contemporary academia. Whole schools of thought have aligned with one master contra the other. And yet, in a typical paradoxical move, C. S. Lewis claimed that he had a “neo-Aristotelian” literary theory while famously exclaiming through the mouth of
Professor Kirk: “It’s all in Plato!” How could Lewis espouse both fathers of the two different streams of Western thought?
In this mini-class, Dr. Anne Phillips and Jenn Rogers will explore what Plato and Aristotle actually said, how the Inklings’ creative and critical works embrace both Plato and Aristotle, and why that affects how we read literature today.
This mini-class will run Monday–Friday at 7:00 PM ET during the week of May 5–9. We will start with an introduction to the pertinent works of Plato and Aristotle and build towards an appreciation of their influence on major Inklings works.
Description
Every era has to grapple with the eternal showdown of Plato vs. Aristotle. Plato is best-known for his transcendent Forms while Aristotle is forever aligned to the particulars of this world. But what are the universals? And what are the particulars? Is there any harmony of thought for the tutor and his pupil? This dialogue surrounding Platonic and Aristotelian philosophies has shaped the history of philosophy and criticism right down into the debates of contemporary academia. Whole schools of thought have aligned with one master contra the other. And yet, in a typical paradoxical move, C. S. Lewis claimed that he had a “neo-Aristotelian” literary theory while famously exclaiming through the mouth of
Professor Kirk: “It’s all in Plato!” How could Lewis espouse both fathers of the two different streams of Western thought?
In this mini-class, Dr. Anne Phillips and Jenn Rogers will explore what Plato and Aristotle actually said, how the Inklings’ creative and critical works embrace both Plato and Aristotle, and why that affects how we read literature today.
This mini-class will run Monday–Friday at 7:00 PM ET during the week of May 5–9. We will start with an introduction to the pertinent works of Plato and Aristotle and build towards an appreciation of their influence on major Inklings works.
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